Chapter 41 Venice

Venice Venice is a chic place.Once you get out of the train station, you will immediately feel that there are no cars here, and to get there, you must either take a small steamer or hire a "Gondola".The Grand Canal runs through Venice like an S written backwards; this is the Avenue.There are also 418 small rivers, these are small alleys.A ship is like a bus, walking on the street; a "gondola" is a kind of rowing boat, which is unique to Venice, and it goes everywhere.Venice is not without bridges; three hundred and seventy-eight, there are.As long as you are not afraid to beat around the bush, you can walk there without going down the river.But there were still a lot of people on the ship, and the business of the "Gandora" didn't seem to be bad.

Venice is the "city in the sea". On the northeast corner of the Italian peninsula, there are a group of small islands separated by a sand embankment from the Adriatic Sea.Viewed from the bell tower of St. Mark's Square, clusters of flowers are rippling in the green waves.In the distance, water and sky meet, a vast expanse.There was no soot here, the sky was clean; in the mild daylight everything seemed transparent.The Chinese come here, as if they are in a water town in the south of the Yangtze River; when they come from northern Europe in early summer, they can still clearly see the back of spring here.The sea water is so green and so thick, it will take you to a dream.

Venice is not only beautiful, you will know it by walking around St. Mark's Square.The square faces a canal in the south; the southeast of the square is the bell tower that can be seen from a distance.The liveliest place in Venice is here, and it is also the most splendid and solemn place.Except for the west side, it is surrounded by buildings over 300 years old. In the middle of the east side is St. Mark's Church, but it is 800-900 years old-the bell tower is on the right side of it.To the right is the "New Yamen"; to the left of the church is the "Old Yamen".The lower floors of these two buildings are now full of shops.There is a long corridor in front of the shop, and people come and go all day long.Immediately after the church, stretching straight to the canal is the Duke's Mansion; half of this belongs to the small square, and the other half belongs to the canal.

St. Mark's Church is the owner of the square. It was built in the eleventh century and was originally in the Berzantine style, with straight lines as the mainstay.In the 14th century, Gorcy-style decorations were added, such as pointed arches; in the 17th century, Renaissance decorations were added, such as railings.So majestic and magnificent, and both; this is the beauty of the Venetian.The roof and walls of the church are full of paintings inlaid with broken glass, probably real golden ground, blue and red statues of the Holy Spirit.These portraits are done very solemnly.The floor of the church is paved with marble in various colors and patterns.In that empty and dark atmosphere, you feel both majestic and solemn.The two rows of buildings on the left and right of the church are of different styles and are not symmetrical; the bell tower, 322 feet high, is also on one side.But these two houses have three storeys, and both have many arches, just matching the facade and dome of the church; they are both made of white stone, which further accentuates the magnificence of the church.On the right side of the church is the road to the canal. It is a small square, which originally seemed empty, but the bell tower just filled the gap.It seems that in our play, when the general appears on the stage, the flag behind him is always biased; the rhythm of the buildings in this square is actually harmonious.In the 18th century, Italian painters of the Canaletto school specialized in painting architecture in Venice, and many of them were drawn from this square.There are a few in the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts in Germany, which are really good.There are many murals and roof paintings of famous people in the Duke's Mansion, among which Tin D#oret#o (TinD#oret#o, sixteenth century)'s big painting "Paradise" is the most famous; but more important is its architectural value.With this house on the canal, a lot of color has been added.This is completely Gosi style; the construction started at the beginning of the ninth century, and after that, it was repeatedly burned and rebuilt many times. It is said that the current one is still the original style.The best thing to see is its two southwest sides; the west is diagonally facing St. Mark's Square, and the south is on the canal.Looking in the canal, it really looks like in a painting.It is also three floors: the lower two floors are pointed arches, and at a glance, there are countless columns.The arches on the lowest level are simple and wide, and they look like they carry heavy loads; The entire wall.White and rose red marble are used on the wall to form simple square patterns, which are as bright as a girl in the sunlight.The Venetians are really good at coloring.Viewed from the canal, the house appears to be in the water.The lower two floors are exquisite shelves, and the upper floor is the room; this is a very clever structure, coupled with the bright and elegant colors, it makes people feel confused.There is Taixi bridge behind the mansion; in the past, there was a prison on one side and a court on the other. Prisoners had to pass here for interrogation, so it got its name.It was chanted in Byron's poems, so it became very popular, but in fact it is only a modern thing.

Venetian nocturnes are very famous.Nocturne is originally a lyrical piece, which is sung casually under the windows of people's houses at night.But there are also canals: at night on the riverside of St. Mark's Square, I saw red and green paper ball lights in the river, which are boats singing nocturnes.I hired a "gondola" to swing over, and stopped by the boat. The boat was in the middle of the water, and "gondolas" were lined up on both sides, swinging in the microwave, like two wings.There are men and women who sing songs, sitting around a table, and stand up and sing when it's their turn, accompanied by music.The lyrics are naturally Italian, and the Italian voice is said to be the purest and clearest.It does sound cut off, especially for women—Italian showgirls are famous.The music has a dense rhythm and a warm voice. It is the most popular "jazz".Under the slightly swaying traffic light ball, with a trembling voice, the hazy night on the canal also seemed to reveal a rose red appearance.After singing a few songs, someone on the boat stepped over and took the money with the hat turned upside down, more or less casually.If you don't want to listen, you can go to the second place.This is slightly like the scene of the Qinhuai River back then, but the Qinhuai River is much more lively.

Going northwest from St. Mark's Square, there are two churches that are artistically important.One is St. Rocco Hall, and there is a room next to it, the walls and roof are full of paintings; there are three rooms on the upper and lower floors, with a total of sixty-two paintings, all of which were written by Ding Taolaituo.The room is extremely dark, only in the morning can see clearly.When Ding Taolaituo made his paintings, he adjusted his measures to local conditions, and most of them were only rough and rough, using shadows, which made people feel that they had been carefully thought out. The "Cross" is in the upstairs cabin and is the most powerful.The Ferrari Church is near St. Rocco, and there are monuments to the great painter Titian (16th century) and the modern sculptor Canova.Kanuwa's is dexterous, and it looks like it was made by myself; Tieqin's is magnificent, and it was only completed in the middle of the nineteenth century.His "Picture of the Ascension of the Holy Virgin" is hung behind the altar. The two colors of vermilion and bright blue are very vivid, and the whole picture flows like a wind on the water.Bellini (GiovanniBel#ini, 15th century)'s "Madonna" is also his masterpiece.They all have other paintings in this church.

Going straight east along the river from St. Mark's Square, there is a park; since 1895, an international art exhibition has been held here every two years.This year is the 18th edition; there are thirteen countries participating in the exhibition, including Holland, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, France, Britain, Austria, Soviet Russia, the United States, Hungary, Switzerland, and Poland. Of course, Italy has the most things and a wide variety ; Futuristic cubist pictures and sculptures can be seen, and there are many other novel works that cannot be counted.The colors are probably bright, making people's eyes bright; the architecture is also new, simple and unobtrusive, to the point of joy.There are not many works in Soviet Russia, which are probably the expression of the life of workers and peasants, with a calm and cheerful tone.They also use bright colors, but they obviously didn't put much thought into the art, and their style is honest, and they don't look for novelties in the horns of bulls.

Venetian glassware and engraved leather goods are famous products. They are elegant and beautiful, and Kesi is also good.Marble figurines are abbreviated copies of famous masterpieces, and they are still tasteful for famous masters. Made on July 13, 1932. (Originally published in "Middle School Students" No. 27 on September 1, 1932)