Venice, 2004
St Mark's & Doge's Palace
Please do not feed the tourists; they are a pest and make a terrible
mess.
That goes for this lot, as well. Actually, compared with a few
days later, there aren' t an awful lot of tourists about here.
More to the point, the long line of people on the left of the frame
turned out not to be queueing for the Doge's palace, thank God!
This staircase is the one a new doge would climb after his
investiture. It is one of the few parts of the Doge' s palace
where one may take photographs. I cannot understand why the city
has this anti-camera attitude. It is one thing demanding that
tourists behave respectfully in church. But Venice has "No
cameras" signs everywhere.
The same stairs are side on in this shot (bottom, right), together with
an abstract pattern in scaffolding round St Mark´s.
This would have been better, taken from the first floor arcade, but
that was out of bounds. So I have to put up with the odd
perspective this corner vantage point gave me.
Lastly, here is the view along the ground-level arcade to the
steps. By now, I would have photographed a gondolier, I was so
annoyed about the restrictions!
And a well deserved drink was had by all ... when it eventually came.
Lastly, here is the panorama shot from S Giorgio's tower, showing the
whole length of the Riva degli Schiavoni.
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Mike Murphy