Travels in Italy--Venice (Part 2 of 2)

Our Venice visit continues with a tour of the Gran Teatro La Fenice, Venice's opera house.

La Fenice:  Venice's main opera house is a sight to behold.  It was first built in 1792.  It was named the Fenice (or Phoenix), because the opera company's earlier home had burned to the ground 18 years earlier.  The opera company survived, rising from the ashes like the mythical Phoenix.

The name perhaps brought bad luck.  The 1792 Fenice burned to the ground after four decades.  It was quickly rebuilt and reopened in 1837.

The 1837 Fenice, after surviving for nearly 160 years, burned to the ground in 1996.  The 1996 fire is the subject of the 2005 book The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt.  (The title refers to statutes of angels on the exterior of a prominent church in Venice not far from the opera house.  A piece of one angel broke off and crashed to the ground.  A warning sign was then posted in the square:  Beware of Falling Angels.) 

The 1996 fire was intentionally set.  Two electricians working on the building were convicted of arson.  The alleged motive was avoidance of financial penalties for work delays.  However, there is a theory that a local construction company arranged for the building to be destroyed in order to obtain the lucrative contract to rebuild the theater.  The final cost was about $100 million. 

After a long delay, La Fenice once again rose from the ashes and reopened in 2004.  The 2004 Fenice closely resembles its predecessor.  It is one of the most beautiful opera houses we have seen in Italy.  Let's take a look. 

  

The Fenice is a very important symbol in Venice.  Venetians and others consider the Fenice the greatest opera house in the world.  Aside from its beauty, it has excellent acoustics and it premiered 5 operas by Giuseppe Verdi, including Rigoletto and La Traviata.  The Fenice plays a pivotal role in the 1956 Italian film Senso about the last days of the Austrian occupation of Venice.  You can watch the critical scene here.

Still from Senso (1956)

The Fenice's royal box (pictured below) is lovely. 

The side walls of the royal box are mirrored, creating an infinity mirror effect.

The Fenice's many public spaces, including a grand vestibule and large ballroom, are beautifully decorated.

Two visitors reflect in the Fenice's ballroom

After visiting the Fenice, we rambled around Venice and enjoyed many unique sights. 

A fire truck boat in the Grand Canal

The famous Rialto bridge over the Grand Canal, complete with shops on the bridge

A view from the Rialto of the Grand Canal and the many palazzos along the canal

The Leaning Tower of Venice?  The Santo Stefano bell tower is 215 feet tall and about 6 feet off center at the top.  We did not climb the tower. 

A view of one of the many canals in Venice

One of many temporary art installations around Venice.  The installations are part of the biennial celebration of art and culture in Venice,  La Biennale di Venezia

A view of the Grand Canal at it widest point

The Venetians know ball gowns

Birds of a feather:  A lawyer on the Street of Lawyers

A view of our hotel, Hotel Giorgione.  A carved plaque above the doorway honors St. George slaying the dragon.  (St. George is big Venice.)  The hotel is actually named for the Venetian Renaissance painter known as Giorgione, or Big George.

A colorful Murano glass chandelier in the hotel lobby

The hotel building is centuries old, with wooden columns and beams, and is decorated in the Venetian style.  Above, some dude is surfing the bed and web.   

There was very little street art in Venice, but we did see one work by Florentine street artist Exit Enter.

Thanks for joining our voyage around Venice. 

Next Up:  The nearby island of Murano.