We awoke on Tuesday morning to find the rain pouring down on Venice. There’s something quite inspirational about having water below and water above, and we welcomed the opportunity to experience stormy weather in Venice. And, after having breakfast at our hotel, we set out into it.
We soon learned just how strong the storm had been, and still was—defeated, mangled umbrellas lay everywhere, discarded by their owners when the winds made them unusable. Fortunately, our umbrella managed to survive, even as the winds whipped down canals with almost tropical storm force. But we soon learned that ferries provide no protection from the wind and rain. Even under the covered portion, the rain manages to whip in, soaking us from head to toe. As we made our way down the Grand Canal, we noticed that most of the gondolas were out of service, covered up to protect them from the elements. The few on the water were being operated by their gondoliers, struggling to fight the heavy winds.
We disembarked the ferry near the Accademia, our first destination for the day, and the rains thankfully subsided for a bit. We were excited to see the Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice’s foremost art museum located in the former church and convent of Santa Maria delly Carità. The museum provides a chronological look at Venetian art from the 14th to the 18th centuries, including works by Veneziano, Carpaccio, Bellini, Mantegna, Giorgione, Tintoretto, Titian, and Tiepolo. I was most looking forward to seeing Veronese’s Convito in Casa di Levi (Feast in the House of Levi). This painting was originally called
The Last Supper, but it was far from being a typical last supper scene. Sitting at the table along with Jesus are dwarfs, drunks, shady looking characters, and several animals. During the Roman Catholic Inquisition in 1573, the higher-ups objected to the painting, calling it obscene. But Veronese wasn’t about to repaint his masterpiece; instead, he simply renamed it, and that seemed to appease the church. Unfortunately, though, I never got to see this famous work. You see, we arrived at the Accademia to find a sign saying that the museum was closed for a “Staff Meeting.” Turns out that this is a euphemism for a strike. Burned yet again by a strike in Italy!
So we headed over to the Ca’Rezzonico, which was Robert Browning’s last home; in fact, he died here. It now serves as the home of a museum specializing in 18th-century Venetian art. Alas, even though our guidebook said it would be open, we arrived to find that it was closed. Not again!
No problem! The Peggy Guggenheim Collection was right around the corner. Peggy Guggenheim was quite the belle of the ball in the mid 1900s, hosting many a fabulous party at her Palazzo on the Grand Canal, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni. In between planning parties, she also managed to build an extremely important 
art collection, with a focus on 20th-century art. This collection, including works by Picasso, Kandinsky, Ernst, Chagall, Klee, Miró, Dalí, Pollock, Magritte, and Bacon, is now on display at her palazzo. In fact, Ms. Guggenheim is even buried here in the sculpture garden, along with her two beloved dogs. But would you believe it? When we arrived, we found this museum closed too. What was going on? Three in row? What could we do but laugh? In fact, this became the theme for the rest of Chip’s time in Italy. Every time we set off for something we really wanted to see, we’d look at each other, smile, and say, “It will probably be closed!”
Since everything on this part of the Grand Canal appeared to be closed, we decided to take the ferry down to the Castello district, passing more 
beautiful palazzos along the way, many 
embellished with elaborate artwork. We disembarked once again at the San Zaccaria stop, and once again the skies became darker and more threatening. We even experienced a bit of aqua alta (high water), something that is quite common in Venice in the winter and spring as the levels in the canals rise, spilling out over the sidewalks and walkways.
We walked by the Arsenale, Venice’s maritime shipyard, whose dockyards were founded in 1104. We then passed by some activity in the canal. Several men were on a bridge over a small canal, while their colleague in a scuba diving suit, searched the canal. For what? We speculated: a lost item, trash, a dead body? Who knew? But Venice seems to have a way of conjuring up forbidding images. As our wanderings continued, the winds once again picked up and then the rains began, this time harder than before. In fact, at one point the rains became extremely hard, pelting down on our umbrella. Suddenly we realized that it was hailing, huge pellets of ice showering down over Venice. Hail in Venice! We screamed over the wind in delight!
After our celebration over experiencing something so exciting and unique in Venice, we ran for cover and were fortunate enough to stumble upon a charming little osteria on a side residential street, the Ostaria Ale Do’ Marie. This cozy trattoria had an outdoor garden area, fully enclosed with a plastic-type roof. We chose to sit out there, where we were able to hear the rain pounding down as we ate. I can’t imagine a more romantic meal.
Our plan was to stay at the restaurant until the rain let up, but it was showing no sign, so we headed out into it for some wet explorations. We headed in the direction of Piazza San Marco, getting rather lost along the way, an easy thing to do in Venice.
We soon learned just how strong the storm had been, and still was—defeated, mangled umbrellas lay everywhere, discarded by their owners when the winds made them unusable. Fortunately, our umbrella managed to survive, even as the winds whipped down canals with almost tropical storm force. But we soon learned that ferries provide no protection from the wind and rain. Even under the covered portion, the rain manages to whip in, soaking us from head to toe. As we made our way down the Grand Canal, we noticed that most of the gondolas were out of service, covered up to protect them from the elements. The few on the water were being operated by their gondoliers, struggling to fight the heavy winds.
We disembarked the ferry near the Accademia, our first destination for the day, and the rains thankfully subsided for a bit. We were excited to see the Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice’s foremost art museum located in the former church and convent of Santa Maria delly Carità. The museum provides a chronological look at Venetian art from the 14th to the 18th centuries, including works by Veneziano, Carpaccio, Bellini, Mantegna, Giorgione, Tintoretto, Titian, and Tiepolo. I was most looking forward to seeing Veronese’s Convito in Casa di Levi (Feast in the House of Levi). This painting was originally called
The Last Supper, but it was far from being a typical last supper scene. Sitting at the table along with Jesus are dwarfs, drunks, shady looking characters, and several animals. During the Roman Catholic Inquisition in 1573, the higher-ups objected to the painting, calling it obscene. But Veronese wasn’t about to repaint his masterpiece; instead, he simply renamed it, and that seemed to appease the church. Unfortunately, though, I never got to see this famous work. You see, we arrived at the Accademia to find a sign saying that the museum was closed for a “Staff Meeting.” Turns out that this is a euphemism for a strike. Burned yet again by a strike in Italy!
So we headed over to the Ca’Rezzonico, which was Robert Browning’s last home; in fact, he died here. It now serves as the home of a museum specializing in 18th-century Venetian art. Alas, even though our guidebook said it would be open, we arrived to find that it was closed. Not again!
No problem! The Peggy Guggenheim Collection was right around the corner. Peggy Guggenheim was quite the belle of the ball in the mid 1900s, hosting many a fabulous party at her Palazzo on the Grand Canal, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni. In between planning parties, she also managed to build an extremely important 
art collection, with a focus on 20th-century art. This collection, including works by Picasso, Kandinsky, Ernst, Chagall, Klee, Miró, Dalí, Pollock, Magritte, and Bacon, is now on display at her palazzo. In fact, Ms. Guggenheim is even buried here in the sculpture garden, along with her two beloved dogs. But would you believe it? When we arrived, we found this museum closed too. What was going on? Three in row? What could we do but laugh? In fact, this became the theme for the rest of Chip’s time in Italy. Every time we set off for something we really wanted to see, we’d look at each other, smile, and say, “It will probably be closed!”
Since everything on this part of the Grand Canal appeared to be closed, we decided to take the ferry down to the Castello district, passing more 
beautiful palazzos along the way, many 
embellished with elaborate artwork. We disembarked once again at the San Zaccaria stop, and once again the skies became darker and more threatening. We even experienced a bit of aqua alta (high water), something that is quite common in Venice in the winter and spring as the levels in the canals rise, spilling out over the sidewalks and walkways.
We walked by the Arsenale, Venice’s maritime shipyard, whose dockyards were founded in 1104. We then passed by some activity in the canal. Several men were on a bridge over a small canal, while their colleague in a scuba diving suit, searched the canal. For what? We speculated: a lost item, trash, a dead body? Who knew? But Venice seems to have a way of conjuring up forbidding images. As our wanderings continued, the winds once again picked up and then the rains began, this time harder than before. In fact, at one point the rains became extremely hard, pelting down on our umbrella. Suddenly we realized that it was hailing, huge pellets of ice showering down over Venice. Hail in Venice! We screamed over the wind in delight!
After our celebration over experiencing something so exciting and unique in Venice, we ran for cover and were fortunate enough to stumble upon a charming little osteria on a side residential street, the Ostaria Ale Do’ Marie. This cozy trattoria had an outdoor garden area, fully enclosed with a plastic-type roof. We chose to sit out there, where we were able to hear the rain pounding down as we ate. I can’t imagine a more romantic meal.
Our plan was to stay at the restaurant until the rain let up, but it was showing no sign, so we headed out into it for some wet explorations. We headed in the direction of Piazza San Marco, getting rather lost along the way, an easy thing to do in Venice. 
Once we reached the Piazza, we decided to visit the Museo Correr, the civic museum, which focuses on the art and history of Venice. I was thrilled to come upon Luca Pacioli’s famous work, Summa de arithmetica, geometrica, proportioni et proportionalita, which was published in Venice in 1494. This important work includes a chapter that describes the double-entry system of accounting, a system that is still used today. Because he was the first to write about this system, he is now known as the “Father of Accounting.” I teach my students about Pacioli in my accounting classes, so it was especially thrilling to see his work in person.
After exploring this fascinating collection, we headed over to the Palazzo Ducale, the doge’s official residence and the seat of the Republic’s government. Today you can walk through this massive palace, wondering why anything so large would ever be required by anyone. Ostentatious is an understatement. However, the most fascinating part of the Palazzo Ducale isn’t ostentatious at all. I’m talking about the Ponte dei Sospiri (the Bridge of Sighs). This fully enclosed 16th-century bridge, which crosses over the Rio di Palazzo, connects the prison to the Palazzo Ducale. Prisoners would be sentenced in the courtrooms of the Palazzo, where they would be taken immediately over the bridge to the prison. Lord Byron gave this bridge its name in the 19th century when he suggested that prisoners would sigh as they looked out the small windows while crossing over this bridge, dismayed that this would be their last view of beautiful Venice. How eerie it was to walk in their footsteps, peering out those same windows.
We needed something a bit more uplifting after this, so we set off to find Teatro La Fenice (The Phoenix Theatre). This is Venice’s opera house, one of the most famous in Europe. It dates back to the mid 1700s. The name of the theatre is really quite ironic given that the theatre has burned twice and subsequently rebuilt. The most recent 
fire occurred on January 29, 1996, in which the theatre was completely destroyed. Arson was immediately suspected, and this charge was proven in March 2001. The story of the La Fenice fire is wonderfully described in John Berendt’s book The City of Falling Angels, a book I highly recommend. Although we weren’t able to go inside, we were able to admire the theatre’s grand façade.
Well, we had been walking around for hours and were quite exhausted by this time. So we had a light dinner and headed back to the hotel. After all, we had a train to catch the next morning…
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