Day 2

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Doge's Palace Courtyard

The class started the day in Venice by touring the Doge’s Palace and the dungeons. The palace is very impressive; most of the ceilings and walls are covered in Renaissance paintings and gold detailing. Because trials were held in the palace, it is connected to the dungeons by the Bridge of Sighs. There isn’t much transition between the palace and the dungeons. One moment I was in a palace, and the next moment I was in a completely enclosed, cramped bridge, and then in the dungeons. Each cell in the dungeon is a bare stone room large enough to hold multiple prisoners. It’s strange to think that the Doge lived so close to the prisoners and in such different conditions.

French Architecture in Correr

After the tour of the Doge’s Palace, my group visited the Correr, the clock tower, and then the Basilica. The Correr is a museum of Italian history housed in a French palace. When Napoleon conquered Venice and ended the final Doge’s reign, he built himself a palace modeled after French architecture, which he was unable to use after he was defeated by the British. Just as Napoleon seized control of their city, Venetians seized control of their narrative. “And this raises the suspicion that narrative in general... has to do with the topics of law, legality, legitimacy, or, more generally, authority” (White, p. 13). When Napoleon had authority, he controlled the narrative by building himself a grand palace. Once the Venetians regained authority, they turned a symbol of France’s grandeur into a narrator of Italian history.

After finishing at the Correr, the group toured the clock tower. Venice was very powerful during the Renaissance because their navy allowed them to control trade and defend the city. “Mastery over the sea demands that over Time” (Virilio, p. 68). In order to become good sailors and navigators, it was necessary for Venetians to accurately keep track of time, which is why they have such an impressive clock tower.

Basilica di San Marco

The last tour of the day was of the Basilica di San Marco. The church is huge, with massive vaulted ceilings covered in gold mosaics. The church is old enough that the mosaics on the ceiling are Byzantine, which means that they focus more on symbolism than trying to represent reality. The ceilings are covered in gold because gold represents anagogic space, which is used to show that the figures in the murals are holy.

The last official activity today was a Vivaldi concert at San Vidal Church. I really appreciated how complex the music was. Before the Renaissance, Gregorian chant was the only kind of music. I can’t imagine the transition from the simplicity of Gregorian chant to the complexity of music like that composed by Vivaldi.

Because Gregorian chant was so simple, many churches weren’t designed with acoustics desirable for complex performance. In Sound and Space, Howard and Moretti study the resonance and clarity of different concert venues. They found that many old churches have vaulted ceilings that create too much resonance for complex compositions. Although many older concert venues don’t have proper acoustics, spaces can be temporarily modified to improve sound quality. For example, “the hanging of tapestries could have improved the acoustics” (Howard and Moretti, p. 201). I noticed some tapestries hanging on the columns in the church. They could have been hung in order to improve the acoustics for the concert.

Acqua Alta

Although I enjoyed the concert, getting there was challenging because of the Acqua Alta. Sometimes the high tide in Venice is higher than normal, so parts of the city flood as the tide comes in. I didn’t think there would be standing water as early as there was, so I had to put on my plastic shoe covers in the rain while I was on my way to the church. After the concert when it had stopped raining the Acqua Alta was kind of enjoyable. The class waded through the water in Piazza San Marco, which is one of the lowest points in Venice. It was a unique cultural experience; most cities don’t experience regular flooding.

I really enjoyed touring the Doge’s palace, Correr, Clock Tower, and Basilica and seeing how Venetians use narrative to tell their history. I enjoyed the Vivaldi concert and gaining a better understanding of the complexity that the Renaissance contributed to music, and I’m glad I got to experience something as unique as an Acqua Alta.

Sources

Howard, Deborah, and Laura Moretti. Sound and Space in Renaissance Venice. Yale University Press, 2009.

Virilio, Paul. Speed and Politics. Semiotext, 1977.

White, Hayden. The Content of the Form. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987.