A Wanderer in Venice

"In like manner I say, that had there bin an offer made unto me before I took my journey to Venice, eyther that foure of the richest manors of Somerset-shire (wherein I was borne) should be gratis bestowed upon me if I never saw Venice, or neither of them if I should see it; although certainly these manors would do me much more good in respect of a state of livelyhood to live in the world than the sight of Venice, yet notwithstanding I will ever say while I live, that the sight of Venice and her resplendent beauty, antiquities, and monuments, hath by many degrees more contented my minde, and satisfied my desires, than those foure Lordships could possibly have done."--THOMAS CORYAT.

[Illustration: A Bird's Eye View Of Venice]

PREFACE

For a detailed guide to Venice the reader must go elsewhere; all that I have done is invariably to mention those things that have most interested me, and, in the hope of being a useful companion, often a few more. But my chief wish (as always in this series) has been to create a taste.

For the history of Venice the reader must also go elsewhere, yet for the sake of clarity a little history has found its way even into these pages. To go to Venice without first knowing her story is a mistake, and doubly foolish because the city has been peculiarly fortunate in her chroniclers and eulogists. Mr. H.F. Brown stands first among the living, as Ruskin among the dead; but Ruskin is for the student patient under chastisement, whereas Mr. Brown's serenely human pages are for all. Of Mr. Howells' Venetian Life I have spoken more than once in this book; its truth and vivacity are a proof of how little the central Venice has altered, no matter what changes there may have been in government or how often campanili fall. The late Col. Hugh Douglas's Venice on Foot, if conscientiously followed, is such a key to a treasury of interest as no other city has ever possessed. To Mrs. Audrey Richardson's Doges of Venice I am greatly indebted, and Herr Baedeker has been here as elsewhere (in the Arab idiom) my father and my mother.

E.V.L.

June, 1914.

CONTENTS

PAGE

PREFACE vii

CHAPTER I

THE BRIDE OF THE ADRIATIC 1

CHAPTER II

S. MARK'S. I: THE EXTERIOR 6

CHAPTER III

S. MARK'S. II: THE INTERIOR 17

CHAPTER IV

THE PIAZZA AND THE CAMPANILE 31

CHAPTER V

THE DOGES' PALACE. I: THE INTERIOR 46

CHAPTER VI

THE DOGES' PALACE. II: THE EXTERIOR 65

CHAPTER VII

THE PIAZZETTA 78

CHAPTER VIII

THE GRAND CANAL. I: FROM THE DOGANA TO THE PALAZZO REZZONICO, LOOKING TO THE LEFT 91

CHAPTER IX

THE GRAND CANAL. II: BROWNING AND WAGNER 100

CHAPTER X

THE GRAND CANAL. III: FROM THE RIO FOSCARI TO S. SIMEONE, LOOKING TO THE LEFT 110

CHAPTER XI

THE GRAND CANAL. IV: FROM THE STATION TO THE MOCENIGO PALACE, LOOKING TO THE LEFT 119

CHAPTER XII

THE GRAND CANAL. V: BYRON IN VENICE 130

CHAPTER XIII

THE GRAND CANAL. VI: FROM THE MOCENIGO PALACE TO THE MOLO, LOOKING TO THE LEFT 143

CHAPTER XIV

ISLAND AFTERNOONS' ENTERTAINMENTS. I: MURANO, BURANO AND TORCELLO 151

CHAPTER XV

ON FOOT. I: FROM THE PIAZZA TO SAN STEFANO 162

CHAPTER XVI

THE ACCADEMIA. I: TITIAN, TINTORETTO, AND PAUL VERONESE 168

CHAPTER XVII

THE ACCADEMIA. II: THE SANTA CROCE MIRACLES AND CARPACCIO 179

CHAPTER XVIII

THE ACCADEMIA. III: GIOVANNI BELLINI AND THE LATER PAINTERS 187

CHAPTER XIX

THE CANALE DI S. MARCO AND S. GIORGIO MAGGIORE 195

CHAPTER XX