Double Trips to Venice
I have a goal as of late: to take the train into Venice weekly (if possible) until it's time to go home to Idaho. There is so much to see and learn, and I am finding out new details about my Bassano heritage all the time (relating to Venice). It's also quick and easy to get there from Vicenza, so that makes it all the more inviting to go as often as I can. In this post, I will share my experiences from two recent day trips to Venice, along with some updates about my family (including grandchildren). XOXO
Trip #1 to Venice . . .
Below: The rough outline we made for the day when I went with my sister, Charmaine, and her husband, Scott. (September 12th) I spent some time mapping out the places we wanted to visit the most, placing them in order from who opened first, and then into as fluid of an order as I could, so we weren't criss-crossing all over the place. I made notes of how long it kind-of-sort-of takes on foot between locations so that we could gauge whether we wanted to hop on the ferry to get us there faster or not.
The Rialto Market is a historic and bustling market near the famous Rialto Bridge. It has been a central hub of commerce in Venice since the 11th century!! It functioned like a trading post for a long time, where merchants from around the world brought their goods, spices, and other wares to the city. Nowadays, this is where the local Venetians shop for daily supplies.
You can find fruits and vegetables, including these vibrant peppers . . .
Several fish of all kinds . . .
There are several varieties of pastas, grains, and gift ideas, too. Charmaine had fun filling up her basket with pastas and risottos for her coworkers back in San Diego.
Close to the Rialto Market, there is a Traghetto stop. This is a unique gondola experience where you can pay 2 euros per person and the gondoliers will paddle you across to the other side of the wide canal. It's a great opportunity to have the experience itself and to get a few photos in.
Video as we were ferried across in the gondola: (8 seconds)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/tdVzn8A8vfkAQY5QA
A few minutes later, we hopped onto the ferry, a larger taxi-boat service in Venice.
The Bassano House can be seen in the photo below: of the two bright coral-colored buildings, ours is the one on the right.
I didn't realize it until we got close to the Accademia Bridge, but we ended up passing right by the old Bassano House! I was excited to see it from the middle of the Grand Canal this time, since it took us a bit to find it on foot back in June. In the photo above, you can see the wooden bridge that is known as the Accademia. The Bassano House is just beyond the bridge on the left hand side, if you're heading toward St. Mark's Square.
Video #1 as we approached the Bassano House: (57 seconds)
Video #2 as we approached the Bassano House: (23 seconds)
- The water levels in the Venetian Lagoon, due to high tides, storms, and strong winds.
- Climate change: Venice is sinking by about 2 mm per year because of melting glaciers, which causes worldwide sea levels to rise. The average sea level of Venice has risen almost a foot since 1900.
- Groundwater Pumping: Venice also sank nearly 5 inches between 1950 and 1970 due to the pumping of groundwater. Although this has since stopped, Venice still sinks 2 mm per year.
- As we made our way toward the Doge Palace and Basilica, we had to navigate between several shallow puddles and a few much deeper puddles.
Video of the water next to where we stood: (7 seconds)
It only costs 3 euros to get into the Basilica (as of this writing), but the added "cost" comes with the time you spend standing in line just to get inside. (usually 30-45 minutes) Still, it's definitely worth it. This was my second time visiting the Basilica, having gone last September with my friends, Scott & Jenn Anderson, from Idaho Falls.
The vaulted ceiling above the ticket booth . . .
Video of the flooded square: (16 seconds)
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em . . . as Bugs Bunny would say.
Above: Scott, Charmaine, and Me
There was the skinniest of skinny pathways for 3 lanes of pedestrian traffic down in the flooded square, and it was difficult to navigate. The shallowest section consisted of regular 2-way foot traffic through the square, plus a line of people who were waiting to get into the Basilica. We all wanted to stake our claim to the 10-inch wide path with the least amount of water depth, ha ha. Charmaine wanted to take off her socks and shoes and just slosh through it all, which would have made our journey a lot faster. But (her) Scott and I weren't "feeling it", so we just slowly worked our way through instead. A sloth might have made it through faster than we did . . . but we finally got through the worst of it and made our way back to the ferry stop near the Royal Gardens.
The Grand School of San Rocco was right across the "street" from the DaVinci Museum, and there was a Church of San Rocco right next door as well. I began my tour there first.
Video of a street performer outside the church entrance, playing a song with several glasses filled with water: (54 seconds)
This was a thought-provoking scene . . . Mary and an empty chair. Maybe the empty chair is symbolic of the empty tomb?
I didn't spend too long in the church, because I wanted to have some time to spend in the Scuola Grande di San Rocco before Charmaine and Scott were done at the Museum. I paid something like 8 or 10 euros to enter the School.
This was the ground floor . . . I didn't understand at first what the layout of the building was, or what all I would even be seeing. I had done a total of ZERO research prior to my entering, lol.
THIS is what was in that uppermost "room": (22 seconds)
Several of the masterpieces that adorn the walls and ceiling of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco were made by the artist Jacopo Tintoretto. He attended this school and became quite famous during his lifetime.
I took a video of the video, so it's not a complete explanation, but I took the video with my artist daughter, Amber, in mind.
In summary, the impromptu visit to the Grande Scuola di San Rocco was absolutely worth my time. It ended up being a super special experience. When I went up that second grand staircase, I remember thinking, "I wonder if . . . (my Bassano ancestors ever came here or worked here)?" No sooner did the thought begin to unfold in my mind, then I received the most joyous and energetic response, "Yes! We were here! We were here! And we are here now, too . . ."
Just imagine my shock at such an emphatic and immediate response! Firstly, they knew my thoughts! And secondly, they were there with me. Wow. No longer did I consider myself "alone" as I continued on that tour. It brought tears to my eyes as I contemplated those reassurances and communications from the spirit world. We are not alone in this realm of existence. And each time I seek to connect to my ancestors by visiting someplace that was significant to them long ago, I am never disappointed.
It does require being quiet and still, though. If I am with someone who is talking "too much", I might ask them to be quiet for a moment so that we can have the potential to feel something, or to hear something in our hearts. I often enjoy going to places like this on my own for that very reason. I want to be able to be in tune with whatever thoughts, feelings, or impressions might come, and not be distracted by whatever present conversation we might be having.
I am so very grateful for the sacred interactions that I have had with my Bassano family in Venice. This is what made me want to make the effort to go back every week, or as often as possible, until I leave Italy for good. I want to make more connections, find more places of significance, and then document them all.
We had one more stop to make before we finished up in Venice: the Jewish Quarter. After getting lost a few times trying to find the San Toma ferry stop, we eventually had success and got on the ferry. The rain was starting to fall while we rode up the canal, and it rained the rest of the time we were there.
A sign on one of the buildings, pointing us to a synagogue . . .
It was humbling and special to share this square in the Jewish Ghetto with my sister. In a corner of the square, there are several plaques that hang on the walls paying homage to the Jewish family members who were hauled off during WWII from this very place. Out of 289 individuals who were deported and sent off to Auschwitz, only 7 returned home alive.
I ended up buying 2 necklaces made from Murano glass, both for a great price. (less than $20 a piece)
We hauled our little goodies back to the train station and went home. 'Twas a very good day. I'm glad I was able to visit Venice with my sister and to share one of my favorite places in the world with her.
In between Round One of company and Round Two, I cleaned the house, tried some new recipes, and prepared some boxes for shipping. I wanted to send my mother something special from Italy for her 75th birthday, and I was so excited to see my friend Michele (pronounced "mee-KELL-eh" in Italian) with his olive wood wares set up inside the PX on base. I decided on a beautiful cutting board with the phrase "Buon Appetito" on it. Due to its length, it required a little bit of finesse to fit it into a box to send to my mom, but I made it work, ha ha.
While the tidbits in this children's guide don't tell us EXACTLY which Bassanos are directly connected to Jacopo dal Ponte, it is clear (and important) that the ITALIANS consider them to be related. I did a little bit of perusing on FamilySearch and Ancestry.com and saw that someone had linked these two articles as record sources for Jacopo. (see below)
I shipped off a whopping SEVEN packages that day. Holy cannoli . . .
At a second store, we got to see how some serving platters are made: (47 seconds)
Video of Avery's excitement as she recognized us: (4 seconds)
Video of Avery flinging a soft soccer ball and giggling while I rode in the back seat with her to their house: (9 seconds)
Kylie and Avery . . .
We ended up spending about 3 hours with them and it was just lovely. Nothing felt rushed or awkward. It was relaxed and comfortable and wonderful. On a side note, I just found out that Kylie got married last weekend! Her boyfriend, Miles, who is also in the Air Force, just came back from a 5 or 6 week deployment. I know that Kylie has been hoping for this for a long time, and I think they are very happy together.
When I asked Benson how he felt about this, since he is the one who told me, his response was, "I am genuinely happy for her." What a stand-up guy he is. :)
Digression: When I was typing up my blog recently, Scott came in and pointed out the creepy shadow on the wall behind me . . .
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Amber, Abby, Weston, and Gwen . . .
Maisie continues to delight everyone with her cuteness . . . XOXO
I had a favor to perform for our friends back in Idaho Falls (the Blatters) who have been taking care of a few tasks for us (installing new light fixtures next to the garage door & cutting up the wood from the tree that was taken down in August). When I asked Stephen if there was something I could send him from Italy, he suggested that I could find a bracelet for his daughter, Mercedes, who will be graduating in the spring. You betcha!
I had no idea where to start, but I started with Shop #1 in downtown Vicenza (a town who - incidentally, is known not just for the architect Andrea Palladio, but also for its jewelry making!). Their prices were quite high (in the 1700-2900 euros range) and they didn't have any silver offerings, but they very kindly sent me over to a colleague of theirs who has a lot of jewelry made from silver.
I walked over (less than 5 minutes away) and this is where I totally hit the jackpot.
The jewelry shop is literally this close to the main Piazza in Vicenza, and you can see the green copper roof of the Palladian Basilica, as well.
Another dinner success we tried recently was this soup: Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup
Link to the recipe: https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/cozy-autumn-wild-rice-soup/
If I could only make ONE SOUP the whole winter long, it would be this one.
My friend, Kelly Campbell, was hoping to join me on this day trip (September 26), but was unable to, so I went to Venice by myself. I wasn't too sad about this, because I do love to explore by myself, which allows me to pay better attention to any impressions and feelings that I might have.
Most "neighborhoods" in Venice had just one cistern/well as part of a system for collecting rainwater, but the Jewish Ghetto had three. Why? Because there were roughly 700 people that lived in this very small ghetto and they required more than the average amount of water to survive. Families would collect rainwater into the cisterns using rain gutters, and this was supposed to be enough to support everyone, even through the very hot summers.
There were two large gates to keep everyone locked in the Ghetto at night. The only ones who could freely go in and out were doctors and a few bankers. The medical professionals didn't have to wear the yellow cap that distinguished them from Venetian Christians, nor did they have to wear the typical yellow badge to identify them as a Jew.
Jewish families were required to pay the guards who kept them locked in at night. Can you even imagine?
There are two bridges that connect this tiny "island" to the nearby neighborhoods of Venice. I arrived early in the morning on a Thursday, so I had some time to kill before the synagogue tours began at 10:00 a.m. I paused on the north bridge as I left the Ghetto to take it all in.
Looking to my right (east) . . .
In my studies on the Bassano Family, I learned that my 17th great grandfather, Jeronimo Bassano, attended and worked here. The note that I attached to my saved "pin" for this landmark on Google Maps records the following:
Jeronimo de Bassan was the leading pifaro player at this school. It was a school, or brotherhood, and a secret Venetian confraternity, of which the Bassanos were members. Jeronimo led sacred musical processions through the streets of Venice to honor the dead with illuminated candles.
I didn't want to hurry on to the next place on my list, because this spot was so peaceful. So I found a place to sit on the edge of the canal across from the Monastery.
Video of the peaceful scene before me: (19 seconds)
Apparently, there are FOUR distinct and different places that I was easily mixed up by, and they are all in very close proximity to each other.
1. Monastero di Santa Maria della Misericordia: This was a religious convent and dates back to the 13th century. This is the building that appeared to be abandoned from the outside and this was the one I actually visited.
2. Palazzo da Lezze alla Misericordia: "Palazzo" means "palace". This was a noble family's residence and was built in the early 17th century. It is just across the canal from the Monastery (#1 above) and is situated to the south.
3. Scuola Vecchia della Misericordia: "Vecchia" means "old", so this refers to the Old School of the Misericordia. This was the original building used by the Confraternity of the Misericordia, a lay religious brotherhood dedicated to charity and community service in Venice. It was located in a smaller structure before they eventually needed to move into something larger. THIS smaller one is the building that I need to go back and visit, because - on further investigation - as I dug through my historical book about the Bassano Family, this is where my 17th great grandfather, Jeronimo Bassano, worked and conducted various community projects (including leading an annual parade with candles and music through the streets of Venice). *Note: sometimes when you type something into Google Maps, the app may alter the name you typed in, to coincide with the current name that is presently identifiable. In my case, I had to use ChatGPT to distinguish all of these confusing similarities and to get the ACTUAL and ORIGINAL address. Now I have it pinned correctly on Google Maps for my next visit. The address is: Fondamente de la Misericordia, 3539, Venezia.
4. Scuola Grande della Misericordia: This is the newer and larger version of #3 above. The Confraternity finally moved into this location in 1583 after several decades of work and various efforts to get it all ready.
This is the famed (and miraculous) statue of the Madonna, the reason for the church's name . . .
Above: a list of some of the works of Tintoretto that surround the altar, seen in the photo below.
Now it was finally time to head back to the Ghetto and prepare for a tour of the synagogues.
As I crossed the bridge, where one of the gates to keep the Jewish people in used to be, I stopped to watch some "worker guys". If you have ever wondered how they get building supplies from place to place when everything is surrounded by WATER, here is your answer.
Video of the worker guys: (24 seconds)
Something I hadn't noticed before, on the outside of the restaurant where Scott and I ate back in June, is a large Memorial Wall, dedicated to the Jews of the Venetian Ghetto.
The plaque reads (with translation): The Jewish Community of Venice to its Deportees. Sculpture Project. The Last Train. 1943 - 1993.
This one shows a portion of the Book of Psalms as it had been translated into Yiddish in 1545, the first of its kind in Italy.
The dark shape in the photo below is actually a "cupola" that sits above the "bimah", a small hint to observers down below that here is a synagogue. A bimah is a raised platform inside the synagogue with a reading desk where the Torah is read and other services are conducted. This second synagogue is known as Scola Canton. It was founded in 1531 by the Ashkenazi Jews (from Germany and Central Europe). We did not go inside this one.
Per AI info on the internet: In the Venetian Ghetto, Jewish Banks were famously known by colors, like "Red Bank", "Green Bank", and "Black Bank", which refers to the color of the receipts issued to customers when they pawned items, essentially acting as pawnshops. The phrase "going into the red" is thought to originate from this practice of the "Red Bank", where borrowers received red receipts when taking out loans against pledged goods.
There is a shop that still exists today in the Venetian Ghetto, called "Banco Rosa", effectively the "Red Bank".
This is the Bimah, directly across from the Aron. In Hebrew, Bimah means "elevated place". Occasionally, the rabbi delivers his sermon from here, but mainly it's for the scriptures to be read from the Torah scrolls.
The Hebrew text in the frames hanging on the walls was difficult to translate, even with using Google Translate. I don't think it's a perfect translation, but here is what I got: "And you shall pray, but build above the Temple of the Cross, and build the city of justice, for the mercy of God, remove the dead end, every check, the crowd will celebrate, the king will rejoice in the stands, the king of Israel will ascend, and peace will abound in the city at the coming of the Messiah."
When using Google Translate, it can be a little hilarious at times. Take this next sign for example.
From Hebrew to English (the top half in the photo below): "A righteous person will run, sniff Jesus, from his front, the temple of God will look, pour out his speech, and you will slowly go out to keep his guest. The innocent flint will always be present."
From Italian to English (the bottom half): "Humble in action and with sincere faith here on the prayers may every pious man come to deposit. And whenever he turns his foot else, may he always keep his thought directed to God."
At the end of our tour, we were invited to visit the nearby "Secret Garden". It's not exactly secret anymore, because your synagogue tour ticket also allows you to enter this charming little garden, tucked away from most foot traffic. The entrance is through an old door that leads back to this . . .
The garden reclaims a former orchard that stood for over 300 years. The orchard contained fig and pomegranate trees, vines for wine, and olive trees, all of which have deep symbolic meaning in Jewish tradition."
The fountain that symbolizes the River Jordan . . .
Video of the Garden: (13 seconds)
As I sat there eating my lunch, a lady at the table next to me began speaking to me - at first in Italian, ha ha, until she realized I couldn't quite keep up. Then she began cheerfully explaining to me in English how happy she was that there were some ripening pomegranates on the trees next to us (see photo below). That's when a second lady at another table a little further away overheard our conversation and started chiming in as well. They were talking about the significance of the pomegranate (particularly the seeds) with the upcoming Rosh Hashanah holiday (Jewish New Year). I didn't quite catch everything they were saying, but it had something to do with the number 613 and the number of seeds inside, and how this was somehow linked to the Old Testament.
Using ChatGPT (my favorite AI app), this is what I later found:
"In Jewish tradition, the pomegranate holds deep symbolic significance, often representing righteousness, abundance, and divine favor. Its association with Jewish culture and religion is rooted in several key aspects:
1. 613 Seeds Symbolism: According to tradition, a pomegranate is said to contain 613 seeds, symbolizing the 613 mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah. Although the exact number of seeds varies, this connection highlights the fruit's representation of fulfilling the commandments and living a righteous life.
2. Biblical References: The pomegranate is mentioned multiple times in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), often symbolizing fertility, prosperity, and beauty. For example, it is listed as one of the seven species that are special to the Land of Israel (Deuteronomy 8:8).
3. High Holidays: The pomegranate is commonly associated with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It is customary to eat pomegranates during the holiday, accompanied by a blessing asking that one's merits be as plentiful as the seeds of the pomegranate in the coming year.
4. Temple Symbolism: Pomegranates were also used as decorative motifs in the First and Second Temples. The tops of the pillars in Solomon's Temple were adorned with pomegranates (1 Kings 7:18-20), symbolizing beauty and divine presence.
These various meanings and uses contribute to the pomegranate's enduring significance in Jewish culture, symbolizing a connection between the physical and spiritual worlds."
In typical Italian style, they packaged it all up beautifully for me to transport home on the train.
On the outskirts of the Jewish Ghetto, I walked past a few of the locals eating their lunch . . . and they made my heart happy. I'm glad that these deeply religious people have more rights and freedoms today than what they've experienced in the past. Life is not perfect. Humans are not perfect. But as long as we are trying to do better than whatever we've done (or not done) in the past, we are on the right trajectory.
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