Clare_4

18/05/07

After visiting the beautiful gothic church in Milan, I decided to travel onwards to Venice to see the Grand Canal. I decided seeing as though the trip there took up most of the day, that I would visit it tomorrow and with the remaining part of the day today, go and see the Basilica Dei Frari.

I arrived at the great Gothic Franciscan church, Basilica Dei Frari at about 1:00p.m. It was absolutely amazing, two large columns marked the entrance, and when I stepped inside I was speechless. It was magnificent, the walls were so elaborately adorned with carvings and paintings. I turned south, which lead down to Antonio Canova’s tomb. Antonio Canova was a Venetian sculptor, the church was primarily built in the 14th century as his and Titians burial place. At the end of the south aisle I entered a large room, in the middle of this large room is a large marble pyramid which was created for Canova and towards the back of the room is Titians tomb.

After viewing that room, I returned to the main or central area. The interior of the church is a marvel of the works of famous artists. Paintings cover the walls, with famous works from Donatello, Giovanni Bellini and Titian himself.

The depth of Italian culture and its astounding religious and cultural history is extremely interesting and has blown me away. With every day a spend here I am becoming even more excited for the next.