The 10-day 73rd Venice International Film Festival kicks off August 31, and chances are those who need to be there have already booked a room. This time of year, they tend to go fast. But let’s not forget that Venice existed for a long time before motion pictures and is in fact the greatest picture in motion there ever was. That’s why, whether you’re a film aficionado or not, the time to visit “the most serene republic” is sempre adesso — always now.
And don’t think you can avoid the clichés, because Venice rolls them out non-stop; your job is delectate in them. The 14th-century Palazzo Ducale, or Doge’s Palace, once housed the Venetian senate, hall of justice, state archives and private apartments of the Doge until the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797, and is a must-stop on any Venice tour. Spring for a bit more than the general admission and join a guided “Secret Itineraries” tour that will take you into a warren of rooms beneath the palazzo roof. It includes the secret state archives (an impressive room made to look like a ship captain’s quarters) and jail cells for political prisoners. You can also see the cell where 18th-century lothario Casanova was incarcerated until he slipped out.
Venice has 118 islands, 160 canals, 446 bridges and six sestiere (districts). One is San Marco, and across the Grand Canal from it in one large section is Dorsoduro, the “hard back” of the city. It’s home to many things, including the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, but skip it, and head instead to the Ca’Rezzonico, to my mind one of the loveliest and most overlooked museums in town. Behind the somewhat austere façade of this Baroque palazzo, facing the Grand Canal, sits the Museum of the Eighteenth Century in Venice. The visit begins in the refurbished second-floor grand ballroom and continues through a succession of parlors and five floors sumptuously decorated with original Venetian furniture. There are frescoes by Tiepolo and paintings by artists such as Canaletto and Pietro Longhi at every turn.
In the northernmost district of Cannaregio lies the old Jewish ghetto. Did you know ghetto is a Venetian word? True. The one here was established in 1516 and lasted as such until Napoleon put the finis on segregation in 1797. Of the handful of remaining synagogues, three can be seen on the excellent guided tours organized by the Jewish Museum in Venice. They were constructed between the early 16th and mid-17th centuries and are richly adorned, in keeping with the Jews’ prominent, if restricted, place in Venetian society.
It’s easy to fall in love in, and with, Venice, so it may as well happen in a church — after all, there are more than 400 of them. Repositories of great art as many are, it’s also worth exploring the Scuole Grandi, flamboyant buildings that used to be the homes for charity and social service centers in the days of the Republic. The ceiling of the Scuole Grande di San Rocco is graced with so many Tintoretto canvases that mirrors are available to help you inspect them in detail.
Remember, even in the busy season it’s possible to feel more like a traveler than a crowd-dodging tactician. Keep your distance from Piazza San Marco and Rialto and look for the hidden campos, or squares. You can meander in any direction for hours and then find your way back to your hotel. One of my favorites is the legendary Hotel Cipriani, which occupies a privileged location on the tip of the Guidecca Island. Access is via private shuttle boat from the waterfront in front of Piazza San Marco. The swimming pool here is legendary; a source tells me George Clooney once took a refreshing dip in it with all his clothes on (let’s hope he wasn’t drinking a Nespresso at the time!). The place exudes genteel luxury and boasts a charming garden and fine eateries too. For a different atmosphere altogether, you might try the Boscolo Venezia, in the Cannaregio sestiere. The quiet canal-side byways here are highly atmospheric, even in the busy season. But for anyone whose tastes run to things cinematic, Venice is the place. For more Venice travel ideas and for help designing unique itineraries, visit SelectItaly.com.
