My favorite day trip we took during the Italy Business Program was to Venice. I have wanted to visit this city since I read The Thief Lord in the sixth grade, so having the opportunity to explore and even take class there was a dream come true. Venice is truly as beautiful a city as I had always imagined it to be, and I learned on the trip that it also has a deep and rich history to accompany its beauty.
Our day trip started with a walking tour to several of Venice’s iconic landmarks. It was during this tour that I learned a lot of Venice’s history. My favorite fun fact now is that Venice was constructed using 10 million tree trunks. That’s a lot of trees! The stops on the walking tour included the Scuola di San Rocco, the Rialto Market, St. Mark’s Basilica, and the Doge’s Palace, among others. These stops especially stood out to me because each destination held an important place in the city’s history, and it was almost impossible for me to believe that the buildings were still in decent condition after several hundred years of use. For example, the Scuola di San Rocco looks pretty unassuming from the outside, but on the inside, it is filled with artwork so beautiful that they look like they belong in a palace instead of a former plague hospital.
After the walking tour, we stopped for lunch. The group lunches on our day trips were always fun for me, because they gave me the opportunity to sit with and get to know different people from my program, and this lunch was no different. It was an interesting mashup, with only me and another girl at a table of guys, but we made it work. We all had fun laughing together at the jokes the guys told, and we were enjoying all of the cool artwork the restaurant had covering their walls. I must admit that this restaurant experience really taught me the lesson of how difficult it can be to get service in Italy; we had to ask for water about three times before we got some, but that is a cultural difference in Italy that I had to adapt to!
Once we were done with lunch, we got some free time to explore a bit. My friend and I walked along the canal by St. Mark’s Square and found a really delicious gelato shop. I must say that my favorite food I tried from Italy was gelato; it never gets old! I especially appreciated this time we had to ourselves, because we were able to slow down and take in the wonder of the old architecture surrounding us. It did start raining around this time, which I had not planned for at all. Fortunately, Dr. Schwartz had an extra and let me borrow it (thank you!). My advice from this experience is to always check the weather forecast before you go anywhere in Italy. Weather there can be just as unpredictable as it is in Texas sometimes.
At around 2:30, we had our guided tour through St. Mark’s Basilica. This was definitely my favorite part of the day trip. One thing about me is I love exploring old churches, because the architecture and artwork is always so stunning, and it sometimes astounds me how people hundreds of years ago were able to create something that amazing. Of course, this meant that me going into St. Mark’s Basilica was like a kid entering a candy shop. Already from the outside, it was clear that the basilica was an architectural wonder. Its style was so different from other churches that we had seen in Italy before, and we learned that this difference was due to Venice’s connections with the Byzantine Empire. Then, once we stepped inside, the true masterpiece made itself known. It was dark inside, but we could still see the gold mosaics that covered almost every inch of the ceiling. I had definitely never seen so much gold in my life. Then, the lights were turned on, and the image became even more beautiful. The ceiling literally appeared to glow. The images of the different biblical figures and stories were also beautifully done. I was sad to eventually have to leave St. Mark’s Basilica, but it was definitely an experience that I will never forget.
Following the tour, we had a bit more free time before heading back to Florence. My friend and I decided to check out some of Venice’s Murano glass shops, since this glass has been a staple of Venice’s economy for centuries. We were not disappointed, and we actually had a really nice conversation with one shopkeeper about our experience in Italy and his experience in the U.S. Finally, it was time for us to return to Florence.
My day in Venice is one that I will remember forever. Standing in a city that used to almost be an empire itself, surrounded by its narrow streets and blue waterways steeped in history, I can officially say that I learned a lot about the history of the city, the history of Italy, and how it all eventually connected to the modern world. After all, Venice was a major trading power back in the days, and without its trade, many other global powers surely would have never gotten their start.
