Peace of Tau: Venice in Winter

Traveling to Assisi this year included a five night stay in Venice, beginning in late February. A winter visit to Venice has its benefits, including far fewer crowds and no mosquitos. And the challenges brought on by cold winds and rain were offset by the beauty of a rare snowfall on Saint Mark's Square.

Here, between the Square and the Grand Canal, topped with a cap of snow, is the Winged Lion of Saint Mark, the symbol of Venice.

The platforms seen on the ground are lined up to create walkways when Saint Mark's Square floods. Foot traffic slows considerably when the water deepens in parts of the Square.
Nearby is the famous Bridge of Sighs, written about by Lord Byron some two centuries ago.

I stood in Venice, on the Bridge of Sighs;
A palace and a prison on each hand:
I saw from out the wave her structures rise
As from the stroke of the enchanter’s wand;
A thousand years their cloudy wings expand
Around me, and a dying glory smiles
O’er the far times when many a subject land
Looked to the wingéd’s Lion’s marble piles,
Where Venice sate in state, throned on her hundred isles!

Of course, many people snapping photos of the Bridge of Sighs may not be aware that they are standing on the Bridge of Straw (Ponte di Paglia), a much older bridge and the location, in centuries past, of straw deliveries to Venice.

Here's a picture taken near Saint Mark's Basilica at night.

And some gondolas tied up for the evening.

And, for those sweet of tooth, San Marco in chocolate.

A research project took me to the north part of Venice, far from any busy walkway, in search of an image of La Beata Contessa Tagliapietra, of whom I have written elsewhere on this blog. After a few missed turns, the 14th Century Church of the Madonna dell'Orto (Madonna of the Garden) came into view.

The Church houses several beautiful works by Tintoretto, a 16th Century Venetian Renaissance artist, who is buried there.

As the Church name indicates, it is also home to the 14th Century statue of the Madonna dell'Orto, by Giovanni de Santi, a statue to which some have attributed miracles.

In seeking the image of the Blessed Contessa Tagliapietra, I inquired of the attendant at the entrance of the Church. She was not familiar with the name. Undaunted, I enjoyed the Tintorettos and the impressive Madonna dell'Orto before discovering, on a nearby wall, the image of the blessed Venetian.