Here's a small collection of water doors (porte d'acqua) in Venice (there are hundreds of these in the city of canals).

Hard to tell if some of these are still being used or not. A couple of them aren't even doors anymore!

A beautiful former door~

Not sure about this one but it looks like the door is now two windows, maybe?~

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I'm participating in two PhotoHunts this weekend.

First up, the theme for this week's Saturday Photo Hunting is "twigs."

I took this photo this past November when the color of the leaves caught my eye. The more I look at it, the more I realize that the twig is tiny compared to the leaves. Must be stronger than it looks.

And next, I was happy to learn that long-time fellow photohunter, Archie (of Archie's Archives) has started a theme-based photo meme called Friday Foto Finder. This week's theme is "dedication."

As I wrote earlier this week, most of the street shrines in Venice are dedicated to the Madonna. But here's one that's different - this shrine is dedicated to Santa Lucia (St. Lucy) and can be found in the campo outside the church that is co-dedicated to her and San Geremia.

Thanks for visiting!

See a list of upcoming Saturday Photo Hunting themes on Gattina's website here.

The Foto Find Challenges are here.

Capitelli is the Italian word for shrines (singular: capitello), one of my favorite things to look for and find as I wander around Venice. Actually, there are several Italian "C" words connected to shrines.

Venice was one of the first cities in the world with an organized plan to light its streets at night. In 1128, the Doge of the Venetian Republic issued a decree that oil lamps in the shrines should be lit each evening at nightfall, a Middle Ages public works project-of-sorts. Venetians called these lamps cesendeli because the small flickering flames reminded them of fireflies (cicendelae). I love to imagine seeing the city when the shrines were the main source of light.

So here are a few capitelli. A shrine is usually a niche or a tabernacle with a sacred image inside. The vast majority of the shrines in Venice are dedicated to the Madonna with San Antonio (St. Anthony) a distant second.

Some of the capitelli are small and simple like this little niche that houses a statue of San Antonio holding the baby Jesus~

Others are larger and more elaborate~

Some of them still have lights inside, electric lights now~

I love the ones with flowers~

Visit the home of ABC Wednesday to find more Round 10 participants!

This week's PhotoHunt theme is "Dark.."

An appropriate theme for me today. This morning before the sun came up, there was a thunderstorm that caused a power outage in my neighborhood. It was completely dark and I had to creep around my house for a while to find my hurricane lamp and flashlights, but thank goodness I'd already made coffee before the electricity went out.

It was too dark to take any power outage pics, so here are a couple photos of Venice after dark (with a full moon).

Thanks for visiting! You can find more photohunters and see a list of upcoming themes on Gattina's website here.

The Latin word Basilica is an architecture term; it is also, in the world of Catholic churches, a "title of honour given to certain churches because of their antiquity, dignity, historical importance or significance as centers of worship." There are close to 1,600 churches around the world designated as basilicas.

Eight churches in Venice are allowed to use the title "Basilica di" before their name, and here they are, roughly in order by age (oldest to newest). By age, I mean when they were built not when they were founded (some of these churches were founded earlier, but the original buildings have been replaced).

Santa Maria Assunta on the lagoon island of Torcello. Built in 1008 so it just recently celebrated its thousandth birthday. Absolutely gorgeous inside.

San Marco, the cathedral of Venice. The building was completed in 1063 though the Venetians continued to decorate it inside and out for centuries after that.

Ss. Maria e Donato on the island of Murano. The date 1140 can be found on the floor. A perfect example of Veneto-Byzantine architecture plus this church has the bones of a dragon hanging on the wall behind the high altar.

Ss. Giovanni e Paolo (aka San Zanipolo). It took over a hundred years for the Dominicans to build this enormous Gothic church: 1234-1368.

Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, built by the followers of St. Francis of Assisi. This Gothic church also took over a hundred years to build (1340-1443).

San Giorgio Maggiore, and now we have moved into the Renaissance. This church was built from 1566-1610.

San Pietro di Castello (1567-1621). This one is honored because it's the former Cathedral of Venice. After the fall of the Venetian Republic, San Marco became the city's cathedral.

Santa Maria della Salute. The new kid on the block. this Venetian Baroque church was built from 1631-1687. So it's only 325 years old.

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Founded in the 9th century, this church was originally dedicated to Santa Caterina but was later re-dedicated it to Pope Leo (Leone) IX, an 11th century saint who, when he was pope, defended Venice’s right to independence in one of the many religious skirmishes the Venetian Republic had with Rome. The church was remodeled and restored in both the 16th and 18th centuries.

The campo and the façade of an older incarnation of the church can be seen in the Accademia in Miracle of the Relic of the Holy Cross in Campo San Lio, painted in 1494 by Giovanni. Mansueti. The relic involved in this miracle still resides in Venice in the Scuola di San Giovanni Evangelista.

San Lio is now the headquarters of the Pastorale del Turismo e Beni Culturali (Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Heritage) created by the Patriarch of Venice a few years ago. You can read about this here; the church is intended to be a place of reflection and refuge for tourists and even has a reading room with books about Venice, art, and spirituality.

This week's PhotoHunt theme is "Animal."

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated."- Mahatma Gandhi

Everytime I read this quote from Gandhi, I can't help but get a little bummed. Let's just say that there is MUCH room for improvement here in the USA.

Three great organizations that I supported in 2011:
Independent Animal Rescue
Best Friends Animal Society
Mercy for Animals.

Being a passionate animal lover made this theme hard for me since I've got so many photos...hundreds of my own cats and then lots of animals I've met elsewhere. I decided to go with a few I took recently at the Museum of Life and Science.

This is Christopher, a Barred Owl. Many of the animals at the Museum have handicaps or other issues that make it impossible for them to live in the wild. Christopher is blind in one eye. I love owls and think Christopher has such a soulful face.

This is Max the steer, a friendly guy who seems to enjoy people visiting and talking to him.

I love the underbite smile this sheep has! She was very interested in having her photo taken.

Thanks for visiting! You can find more photohunters and see a list of upcoming themes on Gattina's website here.

ABC Wednesday is a meme that's been rolling through the alphabet for over five years. This week is the beginning of Round Ten, and I decided to join in the fun.

A is for Angel, and while there are many lovely angels in Venice, this is my favorite. This one can be found outside on the back of the church of Santa Fosca and is 700 or so years old, older than the church building itself. Santa Fosca was founded in the 10th century but rebuilt in 1679. More than likely, the angel was inside an older incarnation of the church and then moved outside when they rebuilt. She's a beautiful guardian for the little campo behind the church.

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This week's PhotoHunt theme is "Joy."

There's so much amazing architecture in Venice, palaces and churches that I love to see. But it also brings me joy to find these charming little neighborhoods, especially when they have a happy and colorful shrine like this one, dedicated to San Antonio (St. Anthony of Padua).

Thanks for visiting! You can find more photohunters and see a list of upcoming themes on Gattina's website here.

There are a couple of quirky things about this church that every guidebook mentions. First is the name - there’s no saint in existence called San Trovaso. The real name of this church is Ss. Gervasio e Protasio, brother saints who were the sons of San Vidal but were merged into one in Venetian dialect.

The other thing that’s unique is that the church has two facades and two main entrances, one facing the canal (photo above) and the other the campo (photo below). The story goes that two rival families who both attended this church insisted on having their own separate doors. It’s hard to believe that in a city with as many churches as Venice, families would fight over custody rights to one church!

The Renaissance church we see today is at least the fourth incarnation. San Trovaso has ancient foundations and was renovated for the first time in 1028, burned down in 1105, collapsed in 1583, and was then rebuilt in a quick seven years as we see it today. The design was inspired by Palladio though he wasn’t the actual architect. Another unique thing about this church is that there are a few trees and some grass around it, things that few churches in Venice have.

A beautiful shrine in San Polo, this one is unique with the vases on each side and the trailing vine surrounding it. Someone is taking very good care of this shrine - it's lovely.

IHS is carved on the top; thanks to google, I learned that this is a monogram of the name of Christ.

This week's PhotoHunt theme is "Tree Branches."

A tough theme because I take so many photos of trees. To narrow it down and since it's winter, I decided to choose ones with bare branches.

This first one shows a goddess on a garden wall in Venice~

Here in North Carolina, a shadowy wall of a supermarket where I stopped for groceries on my way home from work one evening (like many of you, I carry my camera everywhere)~

And the winter solstice sunrise, taken last month~

Thanks for visiting! You can find more photohunters and see a list of upcoming themes here.

Happy Holidays! I hope that everyone is having a wonderful time. And best wishes for a peaceful 2012.

This 13th century carving of the Nativity scene is above the Porta dei Fiori entrance to the Basilica di San Marco. An interesting scene, rather non-traditional in that Jesus looks more like a little boy than an infant, and Mary's posture is unique. :) I think those are little sheep peering out of the bottom of the manger.

This week's PhotoHunt theme is "Lights."

A few scenes from Venice...

A glass and light baptismal font in the Basilica dei Santi Maria e Donato on the island of Murano. This church, built in 1140, is one of the oldest in the lagoon, and the font is modern. I like the contrast.

Another glass and light display, this one is at the San Marco vaporetto (water bus) stop. Gave off some wild looking blue reflections~

Here's an example of what natural light can do to the surface of the canals~

Thanks for visiting and happy holidays! You can find more photohunters and see a list of upcoming themes here.

This week's PhotoHunt theme is "Natural."

I love to visit the Magic Wings Butterfly House at the NC Museum of Life and Science. It's a large conservatory that recreates the natural habitat of various tropical flora and fauna. It's especially fun to visit in the winter because it's toasty warm in there, and it's nice to see so much green when everything outside is brown. Here are a few shots from a recent visit:

Not sure what kind of butterfly this is, but he was very cooperative about posing~

This very cool plant is called a Chenille or Red Hot Cat's Tail. It's native to New Guinea and Maylaysia~

This is a malachite butterfly hanging upside-down. These are native to South America. What a beautiful creature!

Gattina of Keyhole Pictures hosts a Photohunt each week; a list of upcoming themes is here.

Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend!