Another action packed day in Venice is complete and now only three days remain in this beautiful city.  Time is flying and before I know it I will be leaving the watery city of Venice for the rolling hills of Tuscany and Florence.

We began this morning by walking to the other side of Venice.  We were headed for the Jewish section of town, known as “Il Ghetto”.  It is famous because this is where the word ghetto came from.  There were three types of Jews who lived in Venice: German, French, and Italian jews.  The area was named after the word “jetto”, but the Germans could not pronounce this word and accidentally said ghetto.  This would eventually become the word that would be associated with the area.  Jews were strictly forbidden in Venice to hold most jobs, so they became moneylenders.  There were two bridges that connected the Jewish island to the rest of Venice, but these were guarded by Venetian guards.  The Jews were free to go as they pleased during the day, but would not be allowed out at night.

We did the synagogue tour around Il Ghetto.  We viewed the German and French synagogues, and saw the Italian synagogue from outside.  All three of them are no longer used.  We then took a short walk to the newer Spanish and Levantine synagogues, which are currently in use.  I had never been in a synagogue and found it quite neat.  All men had to wear kippah’s and that was interesting.  The most interesting thing of the synagogue is in the architecture.  Women are not allowed in the main section, so they have to build viewing platforms known as “Women’s Galleries”.  Another interesting fact is every synagogue has an architectural mistake.  Jews believe that since synagogues were made my man, they cannot be perfect, as man is not perfect.  Every synagogue has a mistake in the architecture, whether it be floor tiling or wall art.  I found this quite interesting.

The group then split up and a friend and I decided to take the vaporetto to St. Mark’s Square, so we could climb St. Mark’s Campanile, the main bell tower of Venice.  We had heard about the amazing views and were quite excited to see them.  We reached the Square and were informed that the bell tower was closed due to restoration.  We decided to head across the canal to San Giorgio Maggiore Island, which was home to a church, a monastery, and another bell tower.  We paid three euros and took a fast glass elevator to the top.  The views were stunning.  We could see up and down the Guidecca Canal, St. Mark’s Square, the entire island of Venice, the Lido, Cemetery Island, the Venetian Islands and the indutrial mainland of Mestre.  The scenes were breathtaking and we were both really glad we went to this bell tower, as we believe it offered a better view than what St. Mark’s Campanile would have offered.

We took the elevator back down and toured the church on the island.  It was a beautiful Catholic Church that is known for its Gregorian chanting.  I lit a candle in the Church in honor of my family, did the sign of the cross, and then we boarded the vaporetto back for St. Mark’s Square.

We decided we really wanted to see St. Mark’s Square from the air so we paid five euros to climb to the top of St. Mark’s Basilica.  The basilica is not very tall, but it gave us a nice view of the square down below.  We then took the vaporetto back towards our hotel and got sandwiches to go in preparation for class.

Today we discussed “The Merchant of Venice” by William Shakespeare.  I have to say I am one person who hates Shakespeare.  I have never been as bored reading books as I have when I read Shakespeare.  I debated a Shakespeare class and am so glad I did not take it.

We returned to the room after watching the movie version of Shakespeare’s play, and I took a nap.  The guys went out for a quick dinner and now I am back finishing this blog.

Tomorrow we will tour a museum that focuses on Venetian life in the 18th century.  Thursday will be a gondola ride and Friday will feature a tour of the three main Venetian Islands: Murano, Burano, and Torcello.  Murano is famous for its glass and we will tour a glass making factory.  Burano is famous for lace and we may tour a lace factory.  Torcello is known as the quiet island and I’m sure it will be quite peaceful there.

Three days remain in Venice as this trip is reaching its conclusion.  Every day has impressed me and I realize how lucky I am to be in this city.  I hope everyone is getting a nice taste of Venice and I hope your enjoying almost as much as me.  Ciao from Venezia.

Here is the link to the next photo album:

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