Venezia

The Palazzo di Doges today left me astounded at the sheer quantity and quality of the Venetian empire and their attention to the grandiose statement and delightful historical ceiling. Gold leafed life size faces all beardy staring down at the mavellers for 500 odd years...and a series of marble knees sculpted to lean over the edge of vast rooms filled with the heraldry of a bygone macho empire. I see now what Lanfranco's statement about Lurano being at the very edge of the Venetian empire and I was amazed by the grandeur of his well worn outpost ,,,then to see the salle de magiore consigli and really be blown away......nothing not even the Vatican prepares one for the huge gold strewn expanse of Veronese, Tintoretto and Bassano interspersed with faux marble and inlay work, real marble limbs and glorious terrazzo plains......nice to understand a tiny part of  some real grandeur...all offset by a very humble wooden dais for the throne...

The rest of Venice was tourist overload...vaporetti, restauranti, and shop staff quail before the onslaught of the 1000,s that flow like another tide through select avenues of the bejewelled narrow streets....how eager they were to wade at high tide through the notorious waters of the canal as it swept up pungently into the damaged san marco piazza....not even a 150euro gumboots could persuade me to wade through that particular mire.

Then in an hour it all subsides and it is as if no-one except Whistler had ever seen the waters rise past the gondolier posts...the locals I noticed had the good sense not to engage in foot bathing preferring to elegantly wait as their Doges obviously had in eras past watching from their raised and shuttered fiinestrei...

Again Bassano impressed me with his humble lambs and well defined portraits...

A luxurious dinner together after avoiding some noisy americanos by the canal while the sun set and moon rose mad e the day for both of us a special and romantic memory.....