Two Seniors Strolling the Alleys of Venice and Verona

A stroll through the calli and fondamenta of Venice with a day trip to Verona, senior style by Ferny Forner and Rita Risoli Friday 7 May Rita and I set off from Turin for Venice on a high-speed train, taking advantage of a rock-bottom offer; we arrive and buy two 7-day unlimited vaporetto tickets (60 euros each). The square in front of the station is very crowded, although from direct experience we know that tourists concentrate in St Mark's Square, Rialto, Accademia and the surrounding areas. We reach the sestiere of Santa Croce, crossing the Ponte degli Scalzi, and arrive at the B&B "Il giardino dei ciliegi", finding out for ourselves how hard it is to find an address, even though the B&B is only about 300 metres away. It's a century-old building typical of old Venice.

The room is spacious, with period furniture, a full bathroom with bidet, free Wi-Fi, no TV by the owner's choice, price 100 euros a night, quiet area, close to most vaporetti. We head for a light lunch at the Cafeteria of Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti, located along the Grand Canal near the Ponte dell'Accademia; you enter from the palazzo through a garden on the ground floor, modern decor, in practice a self-service, at a fixed price of 15 euros, there's no limit to how much you take, the choice is wide, the dishes can be reheated in the microwave, it's not haute cuisine but we were happy with it. We're a bit tired, so we decide to take a vaporetto to do the whole circuit of the Grand Canal and thus see many of the historic palazzi, which although built in different eras seem to be from the same age.

Luckily we manage to sit down; note that the following Saturday the Biennale opens, and many palazzi display large signs for the exhibitions and events organised inside them, especially those used as museums or art galleries. Having completed the circuit we get off at San Marco. The inclement weather, rather cold and at times rainy, means that the famous cafe-concerts of the square are deserted, although they still play regularly; in any case, in the late afternoon the square is never crowded, because of the departure of day-trippers. Then dinner at the Osteria Marciana, located near the B&B opposite the Ponte degli Scalzi, with a menu at prices to be considered low for Venice.

Wednesday 8

We go to visit the church of San Pietro di Castello, seat of the city's patriarchate until 1807, built in the 8th century when Venice did not yet exist; needless to say it has undergone changes over time that make it unrecognisable as a Gothic-style building; the current church was in fact designed by Palladio, and the Baroque-style facade is in Istrian stone. The interior has three naves, with chapels at the sides, notable large canvases flanking the entrance, the altar with frescoes depicting the Supper in the House of Simon, and Jesus seated with the disciples, works by painters of the Venetian school; the first canvas, in my opinion, is very similar to Veronese's canvases. The only ancient element is the "chair of St Peter", a simple marble and stone throne from the 13th century of Byzantine origin, which contains phrases from the Quran in Arabic.

Outside, the tall bell tower was rebuilt in the Renaissance era. Of no artistic merit is the former patriarchal palace, now converted into a civil building. The area is rather deserted; it's a district with relatively recent buildings. We go to the Cafeteria of Palazzo Grassi for a light meal; it's a modern art gallery and there's a lot of activity, with preparations for the Biennale; the restaurant is on the first floor, no entrance ticket is required, the menu isn't very large (it can be found on the web) but the dishes, served at the table, are well made, and we'll come back in the following days too; average prices. In the afternoon, a visit to the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, considered the Sistine Chapel of Venice; it was the seat of guilds devoted to charity and the protection of professional activities.

We had been before, and we returned following the important restorations carried out on the pictorial decoration, begun in the 16th century and continued almost to the end of the 19th century; it is one of the greatest masterpieces of European art, and almost a celebration of Tintoretto.

Having passed the ticket office and crossed the ground-floor hall, divided into three naves by classical columns with large Venetian-school canvases on the walls, climbing a monumental staircase with magnificent canvases on either side, we reach the grand first-floor hall (Sala Maggiore), a large rectangular room decorated almost entirely by Tintoretto, including the inlaid and gilded wooden ceiling, divided into compartments with paintings inside; the canvases covering the walls depict scenes from the Bible and the Gospel; the ceiling is very high and to make viewing easier, magnifying mirrors the size of a large tablet are available to visitors, a bit heavy but very useful. Thursday 9: Verona As is our habit on our travels, we treat ourselves to a day trip to another city. We set off early in the morning for Verona, arriving after about an hour.

We head for the city centre along the elegant avenue of Corso Porta Nuova, which ends in front of the Bra Gate, two 15th-century stone arches, the remnant of a fortress; they were the gateway to the city built in the 13th century and later rebuilt in their current form; the clock is 19th-century. We pass through the arches, cross Piazza Bra, and notice some interesting 19th-century buildings. We reach the Roman Arena, a 1st-century amphitheatre, universally known for its famous summer opera season, which we have attended in past years. We continue our visit to see the famous Juliet's balcony, a legend from Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name; the square is packed with people busy taking selfies and waiting to climb the building's staircase to be photographed on the famous balcony; there are many copies, a shame that it was only added to the building in 1932.

We go on to visit a few squares, then lunch at the Antica osteria al Duomo, good value for money. Then we cross the Ponte di Pietra, a Roman bridge, destroyed during the Second World War and rebuilt using the material of the destroyed bridge; we reach the Cathedral (12th century), noting the frescoes and pictorial decorations; exceptional is the Baptistery with its octagonal baptismal font finely decorated with sculptures depicting the Holy Family. We then reach the Roman Theatre, an archaeological area of which very little remains. By now we're rather tired, and we're quite far from the station; we reach Piazza delle Erbe, where we sit in a bar, then head back.

Friday 10 It's a beautiful day, ideal for wandering around without any particular plans; strolling through the narrow calli we reach the Basilica di Santa Maria dei Frari; it has a beautiful facade in terracotta, very simple, without the architectural richness of the Gothic churches; original are the 3 circular white-stone rose windows that form a triangle with a large central rose window; high up, leaning against the portal, is a statue of Christ. The interior is divided into 3 naves with six side chapels, separated by six columns. Works by great painters are not lacking, such as Titian (Madonna di Ca' Pesaro), Vivarini, Palma il Giovane; in the central altar is the Assumption, one of Titian's great masterpieces; a shame that at the moment it is replaced by a copy because it is being restored; also not to be missed are Donatello's St John and Bellini's Madonna and Child.

There are also precious sculptures; the best known is that of the Canova monument, even though he is buried elsewhere; the design had been made by Canova for Titian's tomb. In the end, the churches of Venice, like those of Rome and Florence, are true art galleries. In the afternoon we visit the Church of the Madonna dell'Orto, built in the 14th century and located in a somewhat peripheral area of the city, and for this reason not much visited; naturally over time it has undergone many changes. The building is in a certain sense very similar to the Frari, an artistic facade of Verona marble and decorations in white Istrian stone, a large rose window in the centre and above it a smaller rose window, a tall bell tower (one of the tallest in Venice), with a fine belfry.

The interior has three naves with chapels at the sides; notable is the presence of great painters such as Cima da Conegliano, Tintoretto, Palma il Giovane, Titian, Bellini. We then visit the large cloister, surrounded on 3 sides by arcades with columns; it is opened only for exhibition events and, since it's Biennale time, we visit the exhibition of sculptures of horse heads and photos of the Venice flood by an English artist. Note the original terracotta flooring that begins at the church entrance and ends at the canal opposite.

Saturday 11

Huge crowds; on Saturdays it's very difficult to get around the best-known places in the city, not to mention the difficulty of boarding packed vaporetti, so we decide to visit our own sestiere, starting with the church of S. Giacomo dell'Orio, one of the oldest churches in Venice, naturally rebuilt and modified several times over time; to get there we walk along the Fondamenta del Forner, arriving in the campo of the same name; the church presents a facade that looks like a plastered wall, with a 13th-century bell tower at the side; the interior has three naves and the paintings are almost all from the Renaissance period, with famous names among the painters such as Veronese (the ceiling).

Then, taking advantage of the fine day, we return to the area of St Mark's Square, then board a vaporetto to do the full circuit of the Grand Canal and enjoy the view of the magnificent facades of the palazzi and the sunset panoramas. Sunday 12 It's pouring rain; a last lunch at Palazzo Grassi, then the station.

Ferny Forner, Rita Risoli