Days 1-2:
Ciao a tutti! In the beginning of our trip to a famous city built over water: Venice, Italy! Unfortunately, we experienced a setback in our scheduled itinerary due to our delayed 7-hour layover at Paris airport, but we made it to Venice! Venice is known for its Murano glass, which has been built over 100 small islands connected by bridges or canals. Who can forget about the gondolas (p.s. they are on every corner you walk by)? On our 1st day in Venice, we toured and learned that the Doge's Palace automatically demonstrates the Venetian Gothic style on its façade with the Gothic arches, quatrefoils, and the pink/white marble facade. Traveling through all the different types of rooms showcased their purpose to the Venetian royalty and government of the Doge.

Then, on our 2nd day in Venice, we first visited the Fondazione Quiereini Stampalia, where I got to experience how Carlos Scarpa defines different thresholds with variations of material languages. Next, one of my favorite architectural gems from Venice was San Marco’s Basilica! A small group of us toured San Marco’s Basilica, and from the patterned tiled motifs to the golden mosaic domes of illustrated Bible figures/stories, my jaw dropped at the amount of ornamentation and the remarkable beauty of it all. After that visit, we went to the Venice Biennale, where we saw multiple palettes of creative architecture projects from different architecture schools and firms worldwide! It was a joy reading and seeing CBU’s exhibit of research projects from professors and students!

Over the past two days, we traveled mainly on foot or water taxis, which gave me a culture shock; my entire life has been the longest time I have not witnessed any cars, because most people function and transport by foot or water taxis. My favorite part of Venice was every threshold walking by to get to your destination. The circulation of traveling through the narrow alleyways and crossing countless bridges over canals, and you turn the corner to a spacious piazza. Those experiences made me ponder the open vs. closed space relationships with the narrow thresholds surrounded by businesses, restaurants, and apartment complexes from the 2nd floor to above, eventually leading to your destination. I appreciated the wonder of exploring because, from every turn you take, you can find several piazzas, statues, or even some basilicas!