I've been joking with my friends that, during my 28th visit to Venice, I am finally getting around to doing what most people try to do during their first visit to Venice. Never before have I done so much sightseeing! Naturally, I have been to most of the "major" sights at one time or another, with one friend or guide or another. But I have never before deliberately set out to "see the sights" here in Venice. (Yet another reason that I write a practical guide to Venice, not a historical guide!)
My excuse has been simple and very foolish: I am saving things for "next time". I never want to see all of Venice because as long as there is something left to learn I will always have a good reason to return. This can be romantic if you look at it in a certain light. But, yes, it is foolish. Even if I set out every single day for the rest of my life to see sights here in Venice, I could never see them all. And, even if by some miracle all of them did pass before my eyes, I would need yet another lifetime to learn the significance of each of them.
No one knows it all about Venice.
The images in this gallery are of sights that all exist within a few hundred meters of each other in the Cannareggio District. Without stopping to gape, crossing this area would be no more than a 7 minute walk for me. I spent more than three hours here today and I skipped things. And, naturally, what were to me the most intriguing sights - The Moores and the Palazzo Del Cammello - were not discussed in the guide book I was using! This necessitated a 20 minute break to research just exactly what the heck a camel is doing on the wall of Venetian Palazzo. It really is so much easier to shrug one's shoulders and say, "He's here because we're in Venice."
(Actually he is there to symbolize the ownership of the palazzo by a trio of wealthy Moores who were turned to stone as punishment for their financial crimes against an old woman. And, by the way, it may seem that there are actually four Moores based on the statutes you'll see in Campo Dei Mori when, in fact, no one knows just who the heck that fourth guy is supposed to be… This is sightseeing in Venice!)
I will not endeavor to describe the history and significance of each of the sights pictured here, except to point out that they are far from limited to Christian religious symbols. That kind of writing is best done by people who know about such things. (And would they please, next time, not leave out the most stand-out sights in the neighborhood!)
What I will say is this: Though I always leave Venice with the sense of having so much more to see here, that feeling will be five times stronger than ever when I pack my bags next week. I have have barely scratched the surface of Venice in all the years I've been coming here. How can anyone ever think that they've seen Venice?
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