Venice


Actually I have only been in Venice once. It was on the 13th of February 2018, the day of the Carnival Finale. Surprisingly it was not that crowded as I expected it to be on that day. They day brought a gentle springlike sun and people were happy and dressed up for the Carnival. We were able to fully enjoy the city, and so we did. At the time I did not have the Italy book of Kurt Hielscher in my possession, so all the photos that are (almost) identical, I shot them by accident. I guess Kurt Hielscher as well as myself have an eye for highlights, though in his prefaces he always states that he does not want to be a postcardphotographer. I am very happy with the results, but I have to go back one day.  Kurt Hielscher made 18 photos here, so still a lot to capture and Venice is worth it, overtourism or not. Taking that in to account I'll keep February in mind as a good month to visit.


The Bridge of Sighs, Venice, 1925

Photo: Kurt Hielscher

The Bridge of Sighs, Venice, 13th of February 2018

Photo: Casper Molenaar


That 13th of February 2018, there was a pleasant temperature and some sunshine. I managed to get a moment to take this photo on the Bridge of Sighs, the Ponte dei Sospiri. At the time, I did not know I was in the footsteps of Kurt Hielscher because I bought his 1925 photobook from Italy later. So I call this a lucky shot of the 1600-1630-constructed Ponte Dei Sospiri taken from the Ponte Della Paglia just around the corner of Saint Marco square at the Canal Grande. The Bridge is a connection between the Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale) and the prison. Convicts had to walk across this bridge before being locked up in the dungeons, and its name refers to their sighing when they realized they had seen daylight for the last time crossing the bridge. Casanova and Galileo Galilei were held in this prison.

View from the shores in front of the Palazzo Ducale to  the island of San Giorgio di Maggiore with the Campanile di San Giorgio and the Chiesa di San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, 13th of February 2018

Photo: Casper Molenaar


And then there's ofcourse the Ponte di Rialto, derived from rivo alto, high bank. Since its building in 1591, the Rialto Bridge was the only bridge connecting both shores of the Canal Grande for a long time till the Ponte dell'Accademia was finished in 1854. Today four bridges span the Canal Grande. The first bridge however dates back to 1181 and was, of course a wooden raft bridge. Around 1250 the floating bridge was replaced by a wooden bridge without closing the waterway underneath it, but it collapsed several times by the weight of the crowds on it. A thought that came also to my mind when I came across the bridge for a second time that day when crowds were coming in more and more and I feared: "would the bridge hold?" Designed by Venetian architect Antonio da Ponte (1512-1597), what's in a name, he won the contest held by the local authorities under Doge of Venice at the time Pasquale Cicogna. Antonio da Ponte was also head architect of the rebuilding of the Ducal Palace when it was seriously damaged by fire in 1574.

Ponte di Rialto, 1925. Photo: Kurt Hielscher

Ponte di Rialto, 13th of February 2018. Photo: Casper Molenaar


View towards the Piazza San Marco with the Basilica di San Marco in the middle and the Palazzio Ducale on the right. I made a kind of a snapshot while walking towards San Marco Square.

Piazza di San Marco, 1925

Photo: Kurt Hielscher

Piazza di San Marco, 18th of February 2018

Photo: Casper Molenaar


Porta della Carta di Pallazio Ducale, 1925 

Photo: Kurt Hielscher

Porta della Carta di Pallazio Ducale, 13th of February 2018

Photo: Casper Molenaar

The Porta della Carta, a 15th Century built Gothic style portal, used to be the main entrance to the Doge's Palace, the Palazzio Ducale.

Porta della Carta di Pallazio Ducale, 13th of February 2018

Photo: Casper Molenaar


Some photos from people dressed up for the Carnival.



Campo della Pescaria/Mercato di Rialto, 1925

Photo: Kurt Hielscher

Online I found a lot of photos with the fish market in full swing, but it seems that Kurt Hielscher was a little late as was I 93 years later. Seagulls fought for the last fish scraps between chunks of ice. When I look back at these photos I can still smell it but I also feel the beauty of this market place and its surroundings. The market is only a few steps away from the Rialto Bridge. 

Campo della Pescaria/Mercato di Rialto, 13th of February 2018

Photo: Casper Molenaar 


Over a million wooden pillars are needed to keep the baroque Santa Maria della Salute on its place. Built to celebrate the ending of the page pandemic in 1630 at the beginning of the Canal Grande. The church was ready 57 years later, five years after the death of Baldassare Longhena who dedicated his life to the building of the church. For us the church and sunset from the ferry was the finale of all impressions of a day to never forget. 

Santa Maria della Salute

Photo: Kurt Hielscher, 1925

View from the ferry on the Santa Maria della Salute

Photo: Casper Molenaar, 13th of February 2018 


View from the Rialto Bridge to the north, 13th of February 2018 

Photo: Casper Molenaar 


Happy family about to get stunned by the Grand Canal, its terraces and ofcourse the Rialto Bridge.

In the footsteps of Kurt Hielscher