Basilica San Marco e Il Ponte dei Sospiri

After the Pescaria, continuing being a tourist, here's a brief look at the Basilica San Marco and the Bridge of Sighs, il Ponte dei Sospiri in Italiano.  All the photos here are of the facade, mostly showing some of the great mosaics.

What is it with selfies?  Take it quick before the crowds start to thicken up.

Above the left door, the body of Saint Mark is presented to the doge of Venice, showing the basilica itself how it looked in 13th century

Over the main door, the Last Judgement

The two left bronze horses above the main door, copies, the originals looted from Constantinople during the fourth crusade, are in the church museum.

Saint Mark's body venerated by the doge

OK, now let's go around the corner to the Bridge of Sighs.  It's necessary to get all the punches in your ticket before moving on to more contemporary things.

A traffic jam of gondolas, maybe a dozen

From the other side with a rather elegant looking taxi

And of course the crowd on the Ponte della Paglia taking their selfies with il Ponte dei Sospiri.

Leaving the Piazza San Marco, a bit of western economic contrast

During odd numbered years Venice hosts Biennale Arte, this year running from the 9th of May to the 22nd of November.  It probably would take that long to see it all.  The idea was to cross the Pointe Accademia but that stopped at the exhibit from Azerbaijan.  One of the two exhibits, Beyond the Line, spotlighted the resilient spirit of artists whose lives and work were overshadowed by the repressive Soviet regime of the mid 20th century and presented works from the Soviet period artwork of the non-conformist artists Javad Mirjavadov, Tofik Javadov, Ashraf Murad, Rasim Babayev, and sculptor Fazil Najafov.  Here are photos of Rasim's painting and Frzil's sculpture.

From the words of art critic Veli-Matti Hentonnen, "The work of this painter exists apart from politics. He creates in an untraditional manner. His colors are unexpected and shocking. The artist does not belong to the Russian Soviet School of realism. Rasim Babayev's paintings represent a mixture of the modern art of avant-garde and oriental color. The work of this artist is deeply rooted in Azeri mythology, in the wonderful and original world of folk fables, stories and legends."

There is a nice interview with Fazil Najafov where he talks about the changes in Azerbaujan and the impact on him as an artist but also as a citizen.  

"People aren't treating art as if it's important....   The feeling of anticipation and expectation is one of the most difficult experiences in life. Waiting. Waiting. We're all waiting. It gnaws at me, preventing me from concentrating on my work. Spiritually, it's very difficult to create in an atmosphere when I no longer feel needed.   ...  I've named one of my most recent works, "Knock at the Door". When you hear a knock at the door, you never know what will happen? Who is knocking? Will it bring fortune or disaster? That's how I see the period we're living in."

"The Epoch" by Fazil Najafov. "We were all waiting for something to happen. But nothing ever did. There was no protest. And all the faces among the masses looked the same."

Fazil Najafov. The Blinds, 1973

Fazil Najafov

The following Venice posts will be mostly from Biennale 2015, I hope you enjoy.  Many of the installations were not really photographable and of course those that were aren't the work itself.