San Giorgio Island tour: the labyrinth of senses and spirituality
Visit the most photographed island of the Venetian lagoon and glimpse the authentic Venice that is inexorably vanishing, before it has completely gone.
Only a few minutes boat ride divide the noisy St. Mark’s Square from the peaceful and picturesque island of San Giorgio Maggiore, one of the most photographed sights of Venice, with breathtaking views over the Doge’s Palace, the Basilica and St. Mark Basin. This is a monastery-complex that the Benedictine order commissioned Andrea Palladio to build, and today still shines in all of its beauty and light.
This important Benedectine monastery was built on a small island and it is designed around the church and two cloisters. Just get lost into the tiny paths on the island, fully experiencing the spirituality that still lingers here. Admire priceless art masterpieces, and literally step into history.
The tour will start with a visit to the San Giorgio Abbey, amazing masterpiece by Andrea Palladio where still lives a small comunity of Benedectine monks. Here, you will admire the priceless works of art of Jacopo and Domenico Tintoretto, Palma il Giovane, Carpaccio, and many more.
After this walk across history and tradition, you will be escorted to the top of San Giorgio bell tower. Just one piece of advice: prepare you cameras well loaded since the view from here is one of the most beautiful in Venice. A breathtaking view over St Mark’s Square, the Salute Church, and the Venetian lagoon extends till the eye can see.
Follows a visit to the prestigious Cini Foundation, a non-profit cultural institution located on the small island and keeper of incomparable heritage. It will be a charming itinerary which will take you among courtyards of the Renaissance and the majesty of the Baroque, timeless cloisters and monumental libraries keepers of immortal knowledge.
Stepping through the Palladian Cloister, the Cypress Cloister, the Palladian Refectory, the Longhena Staircase, the Manica Lunga (once the Benedectine dormitory turned into the central library of the Foundation), the Longhena Library, will be like stepping back in time, to a dimension of that Venice that is inexorably vanishing but still preserving tradition and an historical heritage of inestima-ble value.
The picturesque Borges Labyrinth, designed by architect Randoll Coate will also be admired during the tour. After the visit you will be free to spend time exploring the Island or go ahead with your Venice trip schedule, worth a visit is the “Glass Tea House” by Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto, a temporary pavilion and architectural work of art.
