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Venice Journals

The city of Love.

Best of IgoUgo

A travel journal to Venice by garymarsh6

Quote: The unique and beautiful city of canals.

39 Photos

Basilica of St. Mary/Santa Maria della Salute

Attraction | "Huge domed Church dedicated to St. Mary."

Quote:

Santa Maria della Salute.Santa Maria Della Salute is the massive white double domed building you can see right at the end of the Grand Canal in Venice which was built by the people of Venice to appease God for stopping the plague which claimed over a third of the population of Venice. Over 46,000 people died in Venice and a further 94,000 from the surrounding areas.The senate met and decreed that should the plague stop then they would build a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. They would also mark in honour by holding a parade from St. Marks Square each year on the eve of the feast of the blessed Virgin on the 21st of November and it is still held to this day every November. ...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on September 21, 2025

Basilica of St. Mary/Santa Maria della Salute
Between Grand Canal and Bacino di San Marco
Venice, Italy 30124
+39 0415225558

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Getting around Venice.

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How to get about in and around Venice.Alilaguna.This is probably the first introduction to the means of transport you will encounter taking you from Venice Marco Polo International airport to the centre of Venice. The journey takes approximately an hour with two main routes the first skirts the island of Venice terminating at St. Marks Square and is known as the blue line. The alternative line is the orange line which takes you down the length of the Grand Canal via Realto.You can either buy your tickets on line prior to leaving home and are marginally cheaper than buying them once you arrive in Venice. It costs 15 Euro a single ticket. Print off your voucher and present ...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on September 21, 2025

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Aqua Palace Hotel

Hotel | "A beautiful peaceful and comfortable converted palace."

Quote:

AQUA PALACE HOTEL. VENICE.We stayed in the Aqua Palace hotel which is situated midway between Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco. It takes approximately five to ten minutes to reach it from either direction.The Hotel is beside a canal and in its former days was a palace as were much of the grand buildings in and around Venice. It was a grand palace known as the Scalfarotto Palace built in the 1500’s and up to recently has been used as the telephone headquarters until it was bought again and transformed into a beautiful hotel. The hotel has 30 rooms of various sizes ranging from basic ‘Elegant’ rooms to junior suites and family rooms spread over four floors. Prices range from E3...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on September 21, 2025

Aqua Palace Hotel
Calle De La Malvasia 5492
Venice, Italy

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Alilaguna.

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Quote:

Alilaguna.The Alilaguna is a method of transfer from Marco Polo airport to Venice by water bus. Although there has been a service from the mainland to Venice since the 1930’s it was only as recent as 1999 that the companies amalgamated forming one company. They initially started with four boats but now have 34 boats. They are easily distinguishable from the Actv water buses as they are brightly coloured with yellow paint and a white roof. The two main Alilaguna water bus routes to and from the airport are the blue line which skirts the island of Murano and the Orange line which heads down the Grand Canal both lines are destined to reach Piazza San Marco and the blue line will go on t...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on September 21, 2025

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Ateneo di San Basso

Attraction | "Classical Concert venue."

Quote:

Ateneo di San Basso. Venice.

For my recent trip to Venice I was looking for something that would be quite cultural and in keeping with the classical theme of our weekend away. I searched the internet and came up with a classical concert right in the heart of Venice at the Ateneo di San Basso right next to the Basilica San Marco. Our hotel was about five-ten minute walk from St. Marks Square and our friends were staying in another hotel five to ten minutes from St. Marks in the opposite direction so we wanted to base our activities on our first day around this area. (Actually during the day we went off to Murano and ended up in Duorodoro but it was all more or less in the same area).
According to some directions and maps on the internet it was actually quite difficult to determine where the venue was but if you stand in front of St. Marks Basilica look at the great cathedral and the building is actually to the left hand side, opposite the side entrance to the basilica. Some maps said it was to the rear of the Basilica, some maps suggested it was well off St. Marks square which left us a bit puzzled.

The Church of Ateneo di San Basso.

The Church of San Basso was one of the oldest churches in Venice built in 1076 but destroyed several times during its lifetime and the final building that we see today was built in 1665. In 1810 it was closed by the French, deconsecrated and then used as a marble and art workshop restoring precious pieces of art and statues for the Basilica San Marco which is directly opposite. It has been used as a conference and exhibition centre and since 2002 it has been used as a concert venue for the Virtuosi di Venezia (San Marco Chamber Orchestra) who performs Vivaldi’s Quattro Stagioni and Mozart’s operas. The hall is exactly the same size of the hall that Vivaldi used to perform all his concerts at the Conservatorio dell’ Ospedale della Pieta.

Buying the tickets.

I bought the tickets for the four of us a month or so before we left for Venice. The tickets were 25 Euros per person. We had to print off our order form and present it at the Venue. We went to the venue first thing on the morning of the Concert and the lady at the door told us that the sheet we had printed off was enough and just present it to them before the concert began. We then went off and did other things for the day returning in the evening at 20:20 as the concert was due to start at 20:30.

We presented the sheet to the lady who in return gave us a programme. When we found our seats which are not allocated I started to read the leaflet and order of the programme and was really pleased to read that we were going to be treated not only to the four seasons but to some of Mozarts work too. This was not to be the case it was only the four seasons as advertised unfortunately. However it was really quite good and the acoustics in the building were excellent for this concert of baroque music. There were six musicians performing on three violins, a viola, cello and double bass. The sounds were perfect and no one could have been disappointed with the concert. The lead violinist got a standing ovation and they performed the last movement one more time.

My thoughts.
I am really pleased that I had booked this concert which we and our friends really enjoyed. Although it was scheduled mid-evening it actually worked out quite well for us as it fitted in with all the things we wanted to do during the day. We had an early dinner which took quite a long time to eat so we had to miss the dessert course but we made up for the lack of drink in a bar after the concert till well after midnight. I would definitely recommend this venue as we found it really nice and in keeping with the theme of the weekend soaking up the culture and beautiful art and atmosphere of the city. It seemed very appropriate to hear this performance of the Quattro Stagioni as Vivaldi wrote this work while he was working in Venice. I would rate it a five star performance and a five star Venue right in the heart of Venice.

Address: Calle San Basso, Venice 30124 – Italy
Telephone +39 041 52 82 82 5

Web site. http://www.virtuosidivenezia.com/index.php

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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on September 21, 2025

Ateneo di San Basso
Calle San Basso
Venice, Italy
+39 041 52 82 82 5