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Secret Venice – Exploring the Lagoon – Treporti and Erasmo

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We have already visited Burano, Murano and Tortello, the best known islands in the Venetian lagoon. We want to return to Burano and Murano but also go to Erasmo via the Lido and Treporti. The sun is shining when we depart from Fondamenta Nuove at 11.15 on line 14 and after an enjoyable one-hour ride seated at the back of the vaporetto, we arrive at Treporti.

Forte Massimiliano, on the way to Treporti
Forte Massimiliano, on the way to Treporti

During the fifteen minutes we’re there, we admire the terrace of the only restaurant in sight and hope we’ll find something similar in Erasmo, which is Venice’s orchard and vegetable garden, according to Le Routard. As we haven’t been getting many vegetables apart from our 5:2 fast days, we’re hoping to make up for it.

The marshland between Treporti and Erasmo Chiesa with Burano and the snow-capped peaks of the Dolomites in the distance
The marshland between Treporti and Erasmo Chiesa

Our little vaporetto takes us past marshy land with decoy ducks on the posts instead of the usual seagulls, and Burano and the snow-capped peaks of the Dolomites in the distance.

The inviting terrace at Antica Dogana in Treporti
The inviting terrace at Antica Dogana in Treporti

It takes us twenty minutes to get to Erasmo Chiesa and we are almost the only ones to alight. Apart from a couple of those little three-wheeled pick-ups they have in Italy and a few bikes, there’s no one in sight. We walk about 5 minutes along the water to the right and decide it doesn’t look like restaurant material so we start walking in the other direction.

The church on Erasmo
The church on Erasmo

After the constant throng in Venice, we’re amazed at the tranquillity. We pass fields of artichokes, zucchini and rosemary  and can smell a barbecue somewhere but no sign of a ristorante or a trattoria or even a bar. After a half an hour we reach the Punta Vela vaporetto stop just as the boat arrives and waive to the driver so he’ll wait for us.

Three-wheeled pick-up next to an artichoke field on Erasmo
Three-wheeled pick-up next to an artichoke field on Erasmo

By now it’s 1.15 and we’re wondering how long the Antica Dogana in Treporti will keep serving. A few sunny tables are occupied on the terrace but it’s windy and a little chilly. We find a spot at a small round bare table close to the wall and ask if we can eat there. The waiter looks askance and goes off to find his boss. Other people arrive at the same time and suddenly the two waiters are moving laid tables in every direction. Our round one is whisked away and replaced with a square one.

Waiting for our table at Antica Dogana
Waiting for our table at Antica Dogana

After a short time, the first waiter arrives with a cold bottle of water, one menu (they’re short today because there are a lot of people inside) and a basket of grissini (bread sticks) and bread. Fortunately, we have a great view with a lot of boating activity because we don’t get to order for another 30 minutes!

Lots of activity on the lagoon including kayaks
Lots of activity on the lagoon including kayaks

We choose an excellent soave wine and a house welcome turns up consisting of fried baby prawns and polenta.

Strozzapreti - priest stranglers!
Strozzapreti – priest stranglers!

We then share strozzapreti with Dublin Bay prawns, queen scallops and asparagus and fresh egg pasta with cuttlefish. I check my iPhone app to see what strozzapreti means and think I must have misunderstood but at home I learn that it does indeed mean priest stranglers, one explanation being that that gluttonous priests found the hand-rolled pasta so delicious that they ate too quickly and choked themselves, sometimes to death.

Antica Dogana from the vaporetto
Antica Dogana from the vaporetto

By the time we are served it’s nearly 3 pm so we finally take the 3.44 boat to Burano after an excellent meal and very friendly (if not speedy) service – and no choking – promising ourselves desert in the form of a gelato on Burano, which turns out to be another interesting story!

Secret Venice – Carpaccio and Grande Scuola di San Marco

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As this is our second time in Venice and we’re (almost) living like locals, the main attractions are not on our list. Our home exchange is in Castello, which is a working class area of Venice. Our host, Pierleone, is waiting at the vaporetto station, Ospedale, when we arrive from the airport. He takes us in light rain through a maze of streets that I will never remember. I hope Jean Michel will.

Madonna Chapel only open in May
Madonna Chapel only open in May

Our first floor flat is on the a corner of two narrow streets. It is small but clean and appears to have everything we need. The windows give directly onto the street and we can see people walking past.  Pierleone, who speaks French, has set out a handful of brochures on the table and tells us about several places to visit that are off the beaten track.

In our building at least, everyone hangs their umbrellas on the railing
In our building at least, everyone hangs their umbrellas on the railing

We leave our luggage but don’t unpack, eager to be outside. We set out for nearby Piazza San Marco, taking photos of each little bridge and palazzo on the way, despite the rain. Even if there is no sun, it’s still Venezia la serenissima and our accumulated fatigue seems to melt away.

A very wet Piazza San Marco
A very wet Piazza San Marco

Strange as it may seem for people who know me well, we’re looking for Louis Vuitton near the Corer Museum on the corner of Piazza San Marco at Pierleone’s suggestion but don’t have the name of the street which turns out to be Salizzada San Moise. As we walk in, we’re given a long transparent plastic bag for our dripping umbrella. We head for the staircase, nodding at the shop assistants who all greet us with a friendly buon giorno. At the top floor, we browse through the books on display then enter a darkened room on the right.

One of the two paintings by Carpaccio
One of the two paintings by Carpaccio

There are two rather stiff-looking paintings by Vittore Carpaccio, a painter of the Venetian school (1465 to 1525), most of whose work remains in Venice, and two projections, one showing two women sitting on the ground on either side of a stone monument suffering some kind of angst, and the other depicting a diver splashing through the water with a sun in the background. We don’t find the artwork particularly interesting but we like the idea of a private exhibition!

Our street, Calle Lion
Our street, Calle Lion in the sun

It’s next morning and we don’t feel very refreshed. It turns out there is a very bright street light just outside our bedroom window which only has Venetian blinds (of course!) and we’re used to almost total darkness from wooden shutters in Blois and opaque curtains in Paris.

We send an SMS to Pierleone because we don’t seem to have a single sharp knife and one of our lights isn’t working. He obligingly comes by immediately, fixes the light and asks what sort of knife we want. We explain we want to cut up fruit and vegetables (it’s a fast day) so he brings us back two serrated knives. When we express surprise, he explains that it’s almost impossible to get a smooth-edged knife in Venice. Could this be true?

Campo des Santi e with the Scuola
Campo dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo with the Scuola Grande di San Marco

Following another of Pierleone’s suggestions, we go to nearby Campo dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo to visit the Scuola Grande di San Marco, originally a religious charity founded in 1261 and rebuilt in 1487. It is now a public hospital (Ospedale). The ground floor houses a majestic Renaissance hall but Jean Michel is sure there is something else to visit.

Main Hall of the Ospedale
Main Hall of the Ospedale

There are no signs to direct us and we are about to leave the building when a man in uniform indicates that we should take a flight of steps to the right. Halfway up we stop in amazement. Before our eyes is a magnificent gilt Renaissance caisson ceiling completed in 1519.

gilt_ceiling

Glass cases around the wall contain primitive-looking antique surgical equipment all beautifully presented as part of the Museum of the History of Medicine.

The Sale Capitolare with its magnificent ceiling
The Sale Capitolare with its magnificent ceiling and cabinets of antique medical instruments

A smaller room contains books and paintings, mostly copies (some the originals are in the Accademia). The one that appeals to me most is by Gentile and Giovanni Bellini depicting Saint Mark preaching in Alexandria, Egypt, the original of which is in Galleria Brera in Milan. I later find further information on Venezia Blog where you can see a lot more (and better) photos.

Saint Mark preaching in Alexandria
Saint Mark preaching in Alexandria

We then have our first espresso for the day in the Campo to rest our weary feet and watch the gondolas and working boats plying the river. We sigh in contentment.

Opening Hours for Grande Scuola di San Marco
From Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30 am to 1.00 pm, 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm
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