Other Islands, Venice

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Located on a homonymous island 10 minutes south of Venice, la Chiesa di San Clemente was built in 1131 as part of a monastery that hosted Crusader armies on their way to the Levant. The original church was probably Romanesque in style, but it received its existing Renaissance-style façade in 1485. In the 17th century, the Camaldolese (Benedictine) monks who occupied the monastery renovated the interior, which left us the frescoes and Baroque decorations we see today. The entire monastery closed down after the Napoleonic suppression and the church was deconsecrated. While the church has since been empty, the monastic complex has been turned into one of Venice's most luxurious hotels, the San Clemente Palace Hotel & Resort. For those wishing to visit the church, the hotel provides a prompt and frequent shuttle service from San Marco.

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The nearby island of Lido, known for it annual film festival, is a pleasant small village to escape to when you're tired of the tourist crowd in San Marco. There are a couple of attractions here like the beaches which attract the beach-loving summer crowd, and the huge Tempio Votivo.

But I came to Lido not for some serious sightseeing but to soak in the laidback vibe that is so missing in the main islands. While the place has its fair share of tourist-packed hotels, there are also lots of friendly locals who are just sitting on the many cafés sipping their cappuccino and watching the world pass by along their leafy streets and unpolluted, non-stinking canals.

Vaporetto nos. 1, 51/52, 61/62, and 82 take tourists and locals to Lido island.

Hardly off the beaten track this little island its across from St Marks Square. Take water bus no 82 from Zaccharia for the 5 minute crossing and enjoy a wander around the little harbour area before you visit the Greek-styled church and monastery here. The views of Venice from its bell tower are well worthwhile paying the escalator fee for - you can see these on my San Giorgio Magggiore page.

In fact Venice has many small island in the lagoon that are worth exploring and I'll mention a few more of these in the next few tips.

I enjoyed Chioggia very much. This is south of Venice on the lagoon. You can take a boat/ferry and be in Venice within an hour.
Sandy has a couple tips-
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/e376/25405/4/

For some lovely photos
http://www.galenfrysinger.com/chioggia_italy.htm

Happy travels!

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I really can recommend a boattrip to the islands in the lagoon. Just opposite San Marco you can see the long island Giudecca, witch seems to be out of sight for the tourists. What a pity for them. I spent several hours just walking around enjoying the peace and the splendid view to San Marco on the other side of the canal.

San Pietro is isolated and peaceful island, mostly "tourists-free", on the east side of Venice, just north from isola di Santa Elena (but not connected by any bridge with it). It is dominated by San Pietro di Castello church. There are two bridges connecting San Pietro island with other parts of Venice and "San Pietro" vaporetto station on the east side of the island.

As you go to the other Islands around the Achipeligo you will probably see this vista of Venice. Though the water appears dirty it is really just a reflection of the grey sky - when the sun comes out it looks a clean blue!! Due to the amount of water between the Islands the only way to travel is by boat - more specifically Vaporetto - which can be caught not far from St Marks Square to most destinations. A trip to Murano for glass, Burano for lace or Torcello for a wander all start with buying a ticket for a boat ride. A wonderful memory of a great place.

The main feature of this island, located accross the canal from Piazza San Marco (San Marco Square), is the large and impressive Chiesa e Campanile di San Giorgio Maggiore. Without a doubt, this monumental complex is among the most important in the world - for its vastness as well as it artistic value. It's definately the materpiece of Andrea Pallido, a great Renaissance architect from nearby Vicenza. It's built in 1566 inside a Benedictine monastery, that was erected in 1000.

When we entered it we saw that the interior of the church had large whitewashed surfaces, it was stark but majestic. It's and unadorned but harmonious space. The main altar is flanked by two paintings by Tintoretto. We went through the doorway to the right of the choir leading us to the Cappella dei Marti (Chapel of the Dead). To the left of the choir is an elevator that you can take to the top of the Campanile. The charge was €3.-, but we didn't do it as the weather had changed so much and the view would be so bad.

We must admit that our visit to Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore was shorter as planned, but it was well worth it. We didn't wasnt to miss this spiritual as well cultural centre.

Operating hours:
Every day:
10:00 - 12:30
14:15 - 17:30

Address:
Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore
Venice, 30133