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ITALIAN SITES VISITED BY MARGERY KEMPE: VENICE (Ch. 27 & 28)
Than went thei forth to Venyce and thei dwellyd ther thir-teen wekys. And this creatur was howselyd every Sonday in a gret hows of nunnys and had gret cher among hem (lines 1517-19)
Kempe does not specify here devotions at the many churches in Venice during her thirteen-week stay, reserving her explanations for a description of the complexities of purchasing bedding and provisions for the journey to Jerusalem by ship, and her companions unkindness towards her.
Venice is sometimes called the "Queen of the Adriatic." A cluster of islands connected by bridges in the lagoon of Venice offered ideal protection as a port.  Its location linking Western Europe with the East is unparalleled.  Overland routes from German and France pass through Switzerland and the rich farmland of Northern Italy. Venice emerged from the Fourth Crusade (1202-04) with an empire that included Crete and other Greek Islands; with the defeat of Genoa in 1381 it gained more land and commercial hegemony in the Eastern Mediterranean.  Venice was a republic ruled by a council of prominent citizens headed by a Doge.  Their cultural patronage made Venice one of the most richly embellished cities of the late Middle Ages.

During Kempe's visit in Venice the great cathedral of San Marco, constructed in styles of Byzantine, Greek, and Gothic, had acquired its extensive mosaic cycles.  The huge brick churches of the Preaching Orders were complete.  The Dominicans were located in San Giovanni e Paolo to the north, and to the south, the Franciscans were housed in Santa Maria de Gloriosa (the Frari).  Still with its narrow streets barred to vehicular traffic and canals, the city offers a location that encapsulates much of what an early 15th-century pilgrim would have experienced.
 

Cathedral of St. Mark San Marco

VESM1 Venice, Cathedral of San Marco, patron of the city, with view of the square

VESM2 Venice, Plaza of San Marco columns with Lion of St. Marc and St. Theodore, late 12th century

VESM3 Venice, Cathedral of San Marco, west façade 12th and 19th centuries

VESM4 Venice, Cathedral of San Marco, west façade, close view, 12th and 19th centuries

VESM5 Venice, Cathedral of San Marco, Byzantine painting with silver overlay, part of treasury of sacred images and relics in the interior

VESM6 Venice, Cathedral of San Marco, west façade portal, 12th century

VESM7 Venice, Cathedral of San Marco, detail of carving of portal, 12th century

VESM8 Venice, Cathedral of San Marco, south facade

VESM9 Venice, Cathedral of San Marco, south façade, porphyry statues of Tetrarch, c. 300 AD, installed during the Middle Ages at the building corner.


Doge’s Palace

VEDP1 Venice Doge’s Palace, west façade 1309-1425

VEDP2 Venice Doge’s Palace, west façade detail of column 1309-1425

VEDP3 Venice Doge’s Palace, Porta della Carta, Doge kneeling before the lion of St Mark

VECI1 Venice, View of the narrow streets

VECI2 Venice, View of the canals

VECI3 Venice, View of the canals


Church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo

VESGP1 Venice, Santi Giovanni e Paolo, west façade  (statue by Verrocchio of  Bartolommeo Colleoni 1481-96)

VESGP2 Venice, Santi Giovanni e Paolo, west façade portal, 1330-1340

VESGP3 Venice, Santi Giovanni e Paolo, west façade, detail of portal, 1330-1340

VESGP4 Venice, Santi Giovanni e Paolo, south side, 1330-1340


Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari

VEFR1 Venice, Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, west facade

VEFR2 Venice, Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, north side

VEFR3 Venice, Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, exterior of apse

VEFR4 Venice, Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, interior

Torcello
TORCA1 Torcello, Church of Santa Fosca and Cathedral, west 11th century

TORCA2 Torcello, Church of Santa Fosca and Cathedral, from the east 11th century

TORCA3 Torcello, Cathedral, west façade 11th century

TORCA4 Torcello, Cathedral, interior,  Last Judgment mosaic, 11-12th centuries