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Travel Photos...Italy 2014, Page Five
Padua and Venice
In April/May, 2014, I spent about 5 weeks exploring the Northern part of Italy. I stayed in six cities: Milan, Turin, Genoa, Florence, Padua and Verona. From those cities I was able to do day trips to a variety of locations, like Venice, the Cinque Terre, Siena, Pisa, Lago di Garda, Lake Como and Lake Maggiore.
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Padua. The Palazzo della Ragione was built as a huge civic building to house the Law Court on the upper floor. On the ground level there is a centuries old market.
Even on a hot day, it was pleasant to stroll in the shade provided by these arcades. Many of the streets in the Old Quarter twist and turn and it was easy to get lost here.

I found Padua to be a most enjoyable city to explore.

There is a huge open space called the Prato della Valle. In the centre there is a wide stream flanked by over 70 statues.
The Church of San Gaetano is covered in 18th Century frescoes.
The building at the end of this street is the Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua. As the two photos below reveal, it is beautifully and extensively decorated. Without doubt, it is the most impressive Church in Padua.
The stunning medieval decoration of the apse of the Basilica of St Anthony. We can easily forget that such buildings were not meant to be gray and dull, as is so often the case today.

I suspect that the original architects and decorators would want to create a stunning effect and to transport the parishioner's imagination to heaven itself.

The Basilica of St Anthony in Padua.
The Doges Palace in Venice, with St Mark's Campanile behind it.

I stayed in Padua for six nights and used it as a base for exploring other locations. It was only a 30 minute train ride to Venice and I visited that splendid city on three occasions.

On one day, I arrived at the railway station in Venice at 7 in the morning and I paid 18 Euros for a 12 hour ticket on the ferries. It was a great investment. I spent the next ten hours criss-crossing Venice by water, and was able to hop on and off the ferries at various points in the lagoon, such as the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello.

Some of the ferry routes took me to places I would not normally have visited and gave me great views of Venice from unexpected angles. It was a delightful day... and the weather was perfect for taking photos!

Yes, that IS a leaning tower. There is no shortage of leaning towers in Italy.
The Island of Burano in the Venetian Lagoon. The residents here seem to prefer the strongest and brightest colours for their homes.
A modest wooden bridge over a canal in Burano.
The Island of Murano is famous for its glassmakers, and has been so for centuries.

The Venetian Republic was afraid that glass foundries could cause serious fires in Venice itself. That is why, in the 13th Century, they encouraged the development of this profitable industry on the island of Murano, far from the centre of Venice.

Murano.
This is the Island of Torcello in the Venetian Lagoon.

According to Wikipedia, Torcello was a trading outpost of Constantinople, and in the 10th Century it had a population of about 10,000 people. It was then richer and more powerful than Venice. However, by the 12th Century, the lagoon around Torcello became a swamp and trade eventually ceased. Then malaria finally drove most of the population away and, today, it only has a population of about 20 souls.

A fabulous legacy of the rich past of Torcello remains in the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. Its walls are coverd in stunning mosaics which are in superb condition.
Part of the Last Judgement in the Cathedral in Torcello.

Take a close look at the characters who are being driven to Hell. Keep in mind that Torcello was a trading outpost of the Byzantine Empire at the time this Cathedral was built.

These Saints line the Apse of the Cathedral in Torcello.
Torcello.

At first glance I thought that this depiction of Christ may have been a Salvator Mundi. But that would require Him to hold a globe in his left hand, with his right hand raised in a blessing. That object in his left hand looks like either a book or a box. It is the Angels on either side who seem to be holding spheres with crosses.

Does anyone have the answer to this puzzle?

That was one of the many ferries I caught on that most enjoyable day in Venice.
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