Churches in Venice

A Magical Encounter

2009-11-05T20:05:46Z

This material better viewed on its originally published location: Churches in Venice]]>

The more I blog about Torcello, the more I think of to say (and I’ve got photos galore) so this may keep going for a while. But I’m going to jump ahead to the best part – what happened in the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta (my best church visit ever).

The Torcello cathedral celebrated "il millennio” (its thousandth anniversary) last year – it’s the oldest monumental building in the lagoon and is such a gorgeous place with everything I love about Venetian sacred architecture….lots of old glowing marble, a magical Madonna mosaic on the golden apse, multi-coloured mosaic floors, an ancient wooden ceiling, fresco fragments here and there, and Byzantine carvings with peacocks and flowers and twining grape vines.

So I was already blissed out just strolling around the cathedral when I looked over and saw two of the Torcello cats walk in the church, one a lovely long-haired fluffy cat and the other a cute short-haired tabby. They went over and climbed up onto the pews (it was a very cold day and I figure they wanted to get off those cold marble floors).

]]> As anyone who reads my blog knows, I’m a cat lover and I’m also very interested in the cats of Venice. For the past several years, the first thing I’ve done after I’ve dumped my luggage off at the Locanda is go to feed the semi-feral cat colony on the porch of the church of San Lorenzo, and I’m always on the look-out for cats when I’m in Venice. I never expected to see them in this cathedral though!

So I went over and sat down close to them, but not too close because I didn’t want to scare them off. The San Lorenzo cats aren’t completely feral (they don’t run away in terror when humans come around) but they aren’t friendly either.

Well, the Torcello cats seemed okay so I moved a little closer to the tabby and finally reached out to see if it would let me touch it, and it did. The long-haired fluffy cat got down on the prayer rail at my feet, and I sat there and petted the tabby.

And then the tabby stood up and climbed into my lap, curled up, and went to sleep!

I felt like my heart was going to explode. It was so surprising and unexpected and sweet.

I flashed back to a post I did a couple of weeks before my trip….E.V. Lucas’ story about a cat climbing into his lap in the Frari. Lucas wrote his guidebook in the early 20th century and I loved his story but thought, that’s the kind of thing that might have happened a hundred years ago but would never happen now, they don’t let cats in churches anymore. So I was blown away when it happened to me too! I told this story to A Lover of Venice who said, “That’s what I would call a magical encounter” and it really was....

I sat there for about 30 minutes and held that cat and looked at the cathedral. Both cats were purring off and on. And it was fun to watch the faces of people who came into the cathedral. There weren’t a lot of tourists that day, but a steady stream of people was coming in. Most people looked at me and smiled but a few looked at me and made this face, like “Why in the world did that woman bring her cats to church?” Very funny.

I was so blissed out. It was by far the best visit I’ve ever had to any church, Venice or otherwise, and there’s no way to top it. I was so touched by these cats and if I could have figured out a way to bring them home with me, I would have. I did wish that someone had been with me to take a photo. The best I could do was snap a few non-flash photos of the fluffy cat (with glimpses of those amazing mosaic floors) and this one of the tabby’s head in my lap.

The photo at the very top of the post is what I was looking at as I sat there and held the cat. Then the church lady yelled at me to stop taking photos. :)

Finally, the long-haired cat on the prayer rail woke up and jumped up beside me. I petted it for a while too (its hair was very matted and I wished I'd had a comb). Then it nudged the tabby, and they both jumped down and left the church. When I left the church, I looked for them but didn’t see them again.

Okay, this was Torcello cat story Number One. More about the cathedral and Torcello cat story Number Two (!) coming soon.

A poster for the Torcello "il millenio" with another view of the interior of this amazing church.

Ruins of the Baptistry

2009-11-03T19:53:25Z

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In front of the Torcello cathedral are the ruins of the 7th century baptistry – a round and romantic hole-in-the-ground that in December 2008 was filled with water. Not sure what's so fascinating and attractive about these ruins but I stood and looked at this for a long time.

In the early days of Christianity, it was common to build a separate baptistry so that believers could be purified before entering the church. Two of the most famous free-standing baptistries in Italy are the one in Florence across from the Duomo and the one in Pisa with its amazing acoustics. At some point, churches began including the baptistry as a chapel or separate room that's inside the church itself.

]]> This one was built on a circular plan with its entrance facing the cathedral; the interior had eight columns supporting a dome with an overall design reminiscent of classical Roman temples.

I love that round piece of pink marble. No clue what it was used for, but it’s quite beautiful.

A black cat walking by the fence that surrounds the ruins~

And speaking of ruins...on the way to Torcello, you pass the abandoned island of Madonna del Monte (now split into two islands). It used to have a church but I don't know if any of these ruins are it. It's a cool-looking place but to visit it, you'd need your own boat (the vaporetto doesn't stop there!). I've said this before, but I think being an archeologist in the Venetian lagoon would be a blast.

PhotoHunt: Bags

2009-10-30T16:55:31Z

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This week's PhotoHunt theme is "Bags."

A big paper shopping bag is one of little Maria's favorite toys:

My orange cat LuLu loves bags too:

You can find more Photo Hunters and join the hunt here.

Thanks for visiting and have a great Halloween weekend!

Santa Fosca

2009-10-27T17:09:03Z

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This is the smaller of the two churches that remain on Torcello and was built in the 11th century to house the body of the third-century virgin martyr saint, whose body and that of her nurse and fellow martyr, Santa Maura, were brought to Torcello in the 10th century. Santa Fosca was a local girl of sorts, from Ravenna, who was enormously popular in the Middle Ages (there’s also a church dedicated to her in Venice in Cannaregio).

This is a perfectly harmonious little Byzantine church built on a Greek Cross plan with a wooden ceiling and very little decoration inside. There’s something very magical about the simplicity of the interior of this one. The porch connecting Santa Fosca with the cathedral was added in the 16th century.

]]>

Decorative brickwork on the apse~

When I visited Torcello last December, there was a wedding going on in Santa Fosca and I wasn’t able to go inside. I was bummed because I wanted to see it again, but I did get to see an Italian bride (which brings good luck!). And I enjoyed watching the wedding party and guests depart from the church. The most interesting thing was that there were at least five people who had brought their little lap dogs to the wedding! I told Barbara at the Locanda about it, and she said that’s common in Italy and that there were several dogs (including her own) at her own wedding. More proof that Italians are more civilized than Americans. :)

This shows the cathedral (Santa Maria Assunta) on the left and Santa Fosca on the right with the wedding party departing the church. You can (barely) see a couple of the little dogs on the left.

A relief on the exterior showing Santa Fosca Adored by Brethren:

I'm intrigued by the monk on the far right. Is he swooning? All the others have the same face, but he's unique. And I like the lions' heads underneath too.

A view of the roof of the church taken from the Torcello campanile (taken with a film camera (remember those?!) and scanned in)

Sunday Small Bites: Pumpkin

2009-10-25T16:45:19Z

This material better viewed on its originally published location: Churches in Venice]]> Our ingredient of the week (pumpkin) was selected by Deborah, whose blog is Old Shoes, New Trip. Deborah visited Scotland this summer and has been sharing photos and stories from her trip.

Tis the season for pumpkin! Sometimes I have to remind myself that a pumpkin is a vegetable and works just as well for savory dishes as for sweet. It's easy to get in a pie rut with pumpkin. I was intriqued when I found this recipe since I love hummus, but I have to say, I like hummus made with garbanzo beans better. The flavor of this hummus was great - it was the texture I didn't love (think baby food). But I'm glad I tried it. It definitely helps to serve it with something crunchy (toasted pitas or crackers) and the pepitas help too. MarciaB made pumpkin hummus this week too, and she put some garbanzo beans in hers - a great idea that I'll do next time I make this.

Other Small Bites cooks are listed here. Next week's ingredient is olives.

]]> Pumpkin Hummus

(adapted from a Cooking Light recipe found on What's Cooking America)

2 tablespoons tahini
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree (unsweetened, not pie filling)
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (or more to taste)
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
A few chopped chives
3 TB. pumpkin seeds (pepitas), toasted

Place tahini, pumpkin, lemon juice, cumin, olive oil, salt, red pepper, and garlic in a food processor or blender, and process until smooth. Add parsley and chives; pulse until blended. Spoon into a serving bowl; sprinkle with pumpkin seed kernels.

Serve with pita wedges or crackers.

PhotoHunt: Tied

2009-10-23T17:49:08Z

This material better viewed on its originally published location: Churches in Venice]]>

This week's PhotoHunt theme is "Tied."

Found this laying on the ground in a parking lot. A bit mysterious - purple beads and pretzels tied together with a piece of white string. I thought it was probably an art project that some kid had dropped.

But later, I found out that it was a necklace that people were wearing at a World Beer Festival that had taken place nearby. The pretzels are to cleanse the palate in between beers. Go figure. :)

You can find more Photo Hunters and join the hunt here.

Thanks for visiting and have a good weekend.

The Shrines of Torcello

2009-10-22T19:36:28Z

This material better viewed on its originally published location: Churches in Venice]]> I only found a few shrines there but wow, this first one might be my all-time fave. I'd like to copy this one for my own garden. It doesn't look like it would be too hard to build.

What a great use for a tree stump.

I also like this empty niche on the side of the cathedral.

]]> A Madonna with vines, not completely overgrown yet but the vines are moving on up.

This is the shrine at the vaporetto landing, with another glimpse of the "cyclopian works in steel and reinforced concrete" that I mentioned in my last Torcello post. Not crazy about the bricks but I do like the shrine. When I was walking around the island, I found a pretty little sea shell that I put on this shrine before I headed back to Venice.

This weather-beaten ceramic Madonna was behind the church of Santa Fosca.

The churches of Torcello coming up next week....

Work Underway (Torcello)

2009-10-20T19:21:50Z

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I saw a "Work Underway" sign at the vaporetto landing on Torcello, but I didn’t know that this work was so controversial until I read the book, Venice: The Tourist Maze , and learned about what the locals refer to as "lo scempio di Torcello" (the ruination of Torcello). In 1999, a plan was unveiled to widen the vaporetto landing and the fondamenta along the main canal and rebuild them with modern materials. The book reports that by May 2000, posters were plastered all over Venice and other lagoon islands that read:

"Goodbye Torcello! The Magistrato alle Acque is spending 28 billion lire to devastate the island with cyclopian works in steel and reinforced concrete. Of the very ancient charm of the island there will not remain a trace. Visit it while you can, because before too long you won't recognize it anymore."

]]> The protestors were afraid that the main motivation for the canal improvements was not to allow visitors to stroll more safely or to protect the island from high water, but rather to allow water taxis and motor boats to haul people down to the piazza. That was NOT happening in December 2008, thank goodness, and in fact, I didn’t have to walk very far to see a “Rio Chiuso” (canal closed) sign.

“The Tourist Maze” says that these protests got the work halted but much had already been done. The book was published in 2004, and I don't know what happened in between then and now but there was definitely work going on in winter of 2008. Well, there wasn't any actual work happening the day I was there, but there were signs of work (scaffolding and piles of materials laying around). In addition to the work on the canals, the famous Ponte del Diavolo or Devil’s Bridge (a bridge with no parapets) was covered with scaffolding as was the campanile of the church and the exterior of the museum. The old palazzo in the first photo above seemed to have something going on too.

A couple of views of "the cyclopian works in steel and reinforced concrete" ~

The red sidewalk IS kind of icky but the canal looks more scenic and less modern as you get closer to the piazza:

For now, I don't think that Torcello has been ruined. But if they do end up allowing motor boats in that canal, it will truly be the pits. I hope it doesn't happen.

The sign says that they are "undertaking a programme of work on Torcello to protect the island from high waters and improve the environment. The work does not affect access to the monumental area where you can visit the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the church of Santa Fosca, and the Museum of Torcello. Shops and restaurants are also open as normal. We apologise for any inconvenience...."

**********************************************************************************************************
Venice - The Tourist Maze.
A Cultural Critique of the World's Most Touristed City
by Robert C. Davis and Garry R. Marvin

I enjoyed this book, by the way, especially the parts about the early days of Venetian tourism (in medieval times).

More about Torcello coming soon...

Sunday Small Bites: Pecans

2009-10-18T15:38:47Z

This material better viewed on its originally published location: Churches in Venice]]> Our ingredient of the week (pecans) was selected by Sheri of the blog As the Seasons Change. Thanks Sheri!

I love to make roasted spiced nuts for parties and for the holidays, but almost every recipe calls for cooking high-fat, high-calorie nuts in a bunch of butter. So I started looking for a recipe that was a bit lighter and found one from Emeril's new show on the Planet Green network. These nuts are roasted in oil, not butter, and I lightened it up even more by cutting the amount of oil in half. I also changed the spices a bit by using Aleppo pepper instead of cayenne.

Aleppo pepper, from Turkey, "has an Ancho-like flavor, plus a bit of tartness and a nice bite" according to Penzey's Spices which is where I bought it. Cayenne would work just fine.

Anyway, this is my favorite Small Bite I've made so far. Very tasty with a glass of wine or a cocktail. Recipe is below.

Other Small Bites cooks are listed here. Next week's ingredient is "pumpkin."

]]> Herbed and Spiced Pecans

(adapted from this Emeril Green recipe)

1 TB. vegetable oil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (or cayenne)
1 cup pecan halves

In a bowl whisk together oil, thyme, salt, sugar, and pepper. Add nuts and toss to coat.

Transfer nuts to a cold skillet. Heat to medium high heat, tossing nuts until lightly brown and aromatic, about 5 to 7 minutes. Watch carefully to make sure they don't burn!

Serve nuts warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

PhotoHunt: Free Week!

2009-10-16T18:16:27Z

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This week's PhotoHunt theme is "Free Week (Share Any Photo)."

No surprise that I'm going to share a few favorite scenes from Venice.

I love this cathedral (Basilica di San Marco)~

I love the leaning bell towers~

And I love the hidden courtyards~

You can find more Photo Hunters and join the hunt here.

Thanks for visiting and have a good weekend.

When you get there (Torcello)

2009-10-14T20:03:06Z

This material better viewed on its originally published location: Churches in Venice]]> When you get to Torcello, the first thing you see is a shrine to Madonna right there at the vaporetto landing. In the distance, you see the campanile of the cathedral. Turn around to see how vast and lonely and beautiful the lagoon looks.

To get to the piazza and the churches, you walk about a third of a mile along the main canal. The modern brick sidewalk you walk on is a bit controversial (more about that later). You don’t have to walk very far before you begin to see cats. Lots of cats! The Torcello cat colonies are what I expected to see when I first went to Venice but didn’t. There are cats in the gardens, cats hanging out with the young girls working at the souvenir kiosk, cats lounging around the piazza, cats on the rooftops of houses, even cats inside the cathedral!

]]>

Cats galore are scattered all over the island and have little houses supplied by the Venetian cat rescue organization, Dingo, which also takes care of the condo full of cats on the porch of the church of San Lorenzo back in Venice and runs a large cat sanctuary on the Lido.

The Torcello cats seem to be healthy and well-fed, and some of them are very friendly. The girls at the kiosk were calling them by name and seemed to be amused that I was taking so many photos of the cats.

This crowd was taking turns jumping up into the wheel barrow and getting something to eat out of one of those plastic bags. They were behind a gate so I couldn't get closer to see what was for dinner.

Needless to say, this cat lover was in heaven but there's lots more to see on Torcello besides the cats. More to come….

Torcello (part one)

2009-10-12T18:33:32Z

This material better viewed on its originally published location: Churches in Venice]]>

So the three highlights of my December trip to Venice were the Joy Singers concert in the church of Santo Stefano, my daytrip to Padua to see the Giotto frescoes, and the day I spent on Torcello. And I can’t believe I haven’t written about Torcello yet! It’s mainly because I took so many photos that day and it’s taken me a while to go through them and also because I just didn’t know where to start, it was such a wonderful day with my best church visit ever.

It’s easy to get there from Venice. Go to the vaporetto stop on Fondamenta Nuove in Cannaregio and catch boat LN (Laguna Nord) which is the express boat to Burano. There you change boats to line T (for Torcello). The whole trip takes about 45 minutes to an hour and it’s a fun ride. You’ll pass San Michele, the cemetery island, with its beautiful Renaissance church, cruise past Murano and then by a number of romantic and mysterious abandoned lagoon islands with ruins on them. You can enjoy the crazy colors of Burano either before or after the trip to Torcello.

But why go to Torcello? Lots of reasons (and it’s going to take many blog posts to share them all) but in the words of writer Henry James, go to Torcello because enchantment lurks there. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.

]]> Here’s a brief history of Torcello paraphrased from the multi-language historical marker on the island. I took a photo of the marker because in the background, behind the words, there’s an image of the Madonna and Child who reside in mosaic above the altar of Santa Maria Assunta, Torcello’s cathedral. The mosaics in that church are one of the many unforgettable sights on this island.

Archeological excavations done in the 1960’s found signs of life on Torcello since Roman times, with artifacts from a fishing colony and evidence of glass-making. But it was beginning in the 5th century when a huge influx of people moved into the lagoon, fleeing Attila the Hun and other barbarians wreaking havoc on their cities on the mainland.

Within a few centuries, Torcello was the most prosperous of all the lagoon colonies. At its height, it had 50,000 citizens and was a Mediterranean trading port of prime importance, with metalworks, glass making, and a wool industry. Torcello had its own government and nobility, and the island was the seat of the bishop from 638 and was also an important monastic community. Even as late as the 15th century, Torcello still had 16 monasteries and numerous churches forming 12 parishes.

The island’s decline began in the 14th century and was caused by three key factors: its canals silted up, impacting trade and the economy; Venice then became the prime trading port in the lagoon; and a lingering malaria epidemic devastated the population of Torcello.

Only a few reminders of Torcello's glorious past remain: two churches and a few medieval palaces including the two that now house a museum.

************************************************************************************************************

Well, I would love to know more about ALL those demolished churches! Actually, I’m sure I’ve seen remnants of them in Venice. In “The World of Venice, Jan Morris writes that any citizen of Torcello who survived the malaria epidemic moved to Venice and that…

“Presently the island was so deserted and disused that the Venetian builders, when they were short of materials, used to come to Torcello and load the remains of palaces into their barges, scrabbling among the rubble for the right size of staircase or a suitably sculptured cornice.

Through the centuries, poor Torcello rotted, crumbling and subsiding and declining into marshland again…by the middle of the 19th century, a visit to Torcello was, for every romantic visitor, a positive ecstasy of melancholia.”

Maybe I’m not a romantic visitor but Torcello doesn’t make me melancholy at all. It’s too beautiful and peaceful and interesting. Civilizations rise and fall and that’s just the way it is and if we’re lucky, they leave some remnants behind, and what’s left to see on Torcello is truly magnificent. Especially those churches...

So today, Torcello has a little grassy piazza where you can find the churches, a few restaurants, a famous five-star inn, and the museum. The rest of the island is farmland with beautiful green fields of artichokes, grape vines, goats and whatnot.You can see how green it is in the aerial view postcard above.

“A trip to Burano and Torcello will take up a whole day if you have not a motorboat to yourself, but a whole day spent in the lagoon will allow you to enjoy the infinite, varied, and incomparable beauty of the lagoon landscape, and give you the pleasure of several hours of complete freedom.”

Guilio Lorenzetti, Venice and Its Lagoon

More to come...

The Bellini altarpiece in San Zaccaria

2009-10-11T19:32:50Z

This material better viewed on its originally published location: Churches in Venice]]>

The photos above show Giovanni Bellini’s Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints, in the church of San Zaccaria where there are almost always a group of people gathered in front of the painting in rapt silence. So many recognizable Venetian details in this painting: the gold mosaics above the Virgin, the red and white marble floor, the mascaron on the top of the throne, a Murano glass lamp hanging down, the Lombardi carvings surrounding the scene, all the glimpses of veined marble. The architecture in the painting is connected to the actual frame itself with tiny glimpses of trees and skies on each side. Everyone is so quiet and beautiful, and only the young angel looks out at us.

]]> The very top part of the painting is missing – this happened in the 19th century when the French stole the painting and took it to Paris. J.G. Links (Venice for Pleasure) tells us that this theft had a happy result -

"This was one of the treasures stolen by Napoleon and it was kept in Paris for twenty years during which time it was transferred from panel to canvas. Nowhere but in Paris could this have been done at the time and it probably saved the picture for posterity."

So thanks to the French for saving it, but thank goodness it was returned to Venice AND to San Zaccaria. I'm glad it's not hanging in the Louvre - it's a painting that definitely belongs in a church.

A sacra conversazione is a type of painting which shows a group of saints in “sacred conversation” surrounding the Mother and Child. Rather than illustrating a Bible story or legend about a saint, these paintings show the sacred figures in some kind of divine trance or state of intense devotion, and are meant to inspire the same timeless state in the viewer. Not every painting manages to do this, but this one does. Sit in front of this one for a while and you'll get blissed out, I promise. It's a little window to another world.

The saints in the painting are Peter and Catherine on the left, Lucia and Jerome (or James) on the right. And the sweet musician angel in the front.

Here's a photo of the altarpiece inside the church (photo is from the Metropolitan Museum of Art website). As you can see, San Zaccaria is dripping with art on virtually every surface (don't even try to look at it all). I always go straight to the Bellini and hang out for a while, and then explore the rest of the church. Bring some coins for the light box.

Last winter in Venice, I spent an evening in the lounge of the locanda with a group of fellow Venice lovers from around the world. We were drinking wine and quizzing each other...what's your favorite church, favorite sestiere, etc. and someone asked, which Bellini altarpiece is your favorite, the one in the Frari or the one in San Zaccaria? Several people did have a favorite but not me, I love them both and it's too hard to choose. I look forward to visiting both of them each time I return to Venice. :)

San Zaccaria

2009-10-11T17:16:30Z

This material better viewed on its originally published location: Churches in Venice]]>

On many of the "must-see in Venice" lists, San Zaccaria is a church with lots of layers and art that spans the centuries and styles – it’s a fascinating place but even someone not into churches should pop into this one and spend 10 minutes or so with the Bellini altarpiece, one of the great masterpieces in the city.

One of the San Magno churches, San Zaccaria was founded in the 7th century and then rebuilt after an 1105 fire. The church we see today was built in 1456-1515 and parts of the older churches were incorporated. The façade is a blend of Gothic and Renaissance styles, and the church has an enormous collection of art from Gothic to Baroque. The campanile (12th century) is one of the oldest in the city. San Zaccaria was John the Baptist’s father; some Byzantine emperor gave his body to Venice as a gift, and it's inside the church too.

]]> For centuries, this church complex included a Benedictine convent which was among the richest and most powerful in town; the convent became even wealthier when they sold their orchards to the Venetian government during a Piazza San Marco expansion project. The abbess of San Zaccaria was usually a sister or relative of the Venetian Doge, and one of the early abbesses created the famous Doge hat. Every year on Easter, there was a grand procession where the Doge and all the other bigwigs would visit this church, not always a happy occasion as three doges were assassinated in the San Zaccaria campo.

Stories abound about the scandalous behavior of the San Zaccaria nuns, most of whom were girls from noble families who’d been placed in the convent against their wills. There were some wild times in the convent parlour where the nuns threw parties and hosted a sort of salon. During the 16th century, the powers-that-be organized an effort to get all unseemly convent behavior under control and in 1514, the authorities came to break up a party at San Zaccaria and the nuns chased them off by throwing stones at them! When I read that, I thought, way to go girls! Unfortunately the Council of Ten reacted to the rebellion by walling up the doors and windows of the convent.

Art in the Church

The walls of this church are packed with paintings, too many to look at in one visit. The highlight is the Bellini (more about that later; it deserves its own post!) but there’s also a mysterious Tintoretto altarpiece (it’s a nativity scene, but no one is sure whether it shows the birth of John the Baptist or the Virgin). There's also an elaborate marble high altar designed by sculptor Alessandro Vittoria, who is buried in this church.

Painting of the interior of San Zaccaria by Federico Moia, 1851.

Admission to the main church (where the Bellini is) is free but it costs a Euro to visit the three chapels of the old church and the crypt. I highly recommend spending the money since some of the most interesting art is back there. The chapel of San Tarasio is the Gothic choir of the 12th century church with early Renaissance frescoes by Florentine artist Andrea del Castagno; these frescoes are an interesting contrast to several large and intricate golden Gothic altarpieces in the same chapel. There's a hole in the floor with one of those little "viewing windows" where you can see remains of mosaic floors from the first church.

You can also go down into the crypt which contains the tombs of several early Doges as well as the ghosts of 100 nuns who perished when they fled to the crypt to escape that 1105 fire. Crypts are rare in Venice for obvious reasons (and there aren't really ghosts down there, but I do think about those poor nuns when I visit it). It’s often filled with water, but you can usually go halfway down the stairs and have a look. Kind of cool and spooky. Here’s a photo of it (flooded) from Wikipedia commons.

To Visit This Church

Open from 10-12 and 4-6 Monday-Saturday, and 4-6 on Sunday.
Mass: 6:30 weekdays; 10, 12 and 6:30 Sunday

The beautiful carvings around the entrance look rather pagan to me:

Sunday Small Bites: Salmon

2009-10-10T16:44:36Z

This material better viewed on its originally published location: Churches in Venice]]> Our ingredient of the week (smoked salmon) was selected by MarciaB, whose blog is Happy Trails to Us. I ended up making salmon cakes with unsmoked pink salmon since I had a pouch of it that I needed to use. Plus, I love seafood cakes (fish, crab or salmon) and wanted to try to make them.

A number of "country cooking" restaurants here in NC serve salmon cakes for breakfast. You can order them with your eggs and toast instead of bacon or sausage. When I see them on a menu, I almost always get them.

I modified the recipe on the package and they came out great. Very tasty and easy to make. For a party, I'd put these in little buns or biscuits and make sliders. The recipe is below.

Other Small Bites cooks are listed here. Next week's ingredient is "pecans."

]]> Salmon Cakes

1 6-oz. package pink salmon
1 banana pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 TB fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup mayo (or maybe a little bit less)
1 TB dijon mustard
1 tsp dill weed
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
Dash cayenne
A few sprigs of chives, minced

Mix all ingredients and make into cakes (this recipe makes about 10 small cakes). Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil over medium high heat. When it's hot, add salmon cakes and cook until brown on both sides, about 2-3 minutes per side.