by Eric Millirons, special correspondent

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Travelers these days frequently head for Venice, Italy - about 20 million of them a year. They often find in going to St. Marks Square, thousands of people, more pigeons than people, and long lines to access either the cathedral located there or its next-door neighbor, the Doge’s Palace. Probably more often than not, this is just a two- or three-day portion of a much longer trip, as many come here for a cruise to other parts of the Mediterranean. With limited time, they hit the high spots after reading travel guides that tell them what they “must see” in the few days they are in the city. Regrettably, they often come back with an unfavorable view of this mighty city that once was the queen of water borne trade. To use a time worn phrase, they may have “missed the boat”.

The city itself is about two-and-one-half miles long by one-and-one-half miles wide; however, there are no short cuts to get from one place to another, as canals cut the streets randomly and bridges are not always where one needs them. Furthermore, unless you have or are in a boat of some kind, your only means of travel is by foot. Many of the pedestrian streets are what we would call alleys and when the tourist horde hits the city, it is “back to back and belly to belly” as one tries to access those special places of interest. To give you the proper perspective, consider that there are currently about 70,000 residents of Venice and on an average day during the roughly nine month tourist season (tourists don’t travel there as much in the winter), the city’s population will increase to 210,000, with two-thirds of them having no idea how they intend to get to St. Marks Plaza except by walking what is commonly referred to as the “shopping route”, and this would be an average day.

If all of this sounds too negative to even consider going to this city that is not the intent. Venice is a beautiful city. To step out in the early morning and smell the fresh bread and pastries being baked at a local shop, to sit in St. Marks Plaza sipping wine while an orchestra performs classical music at one of the restaurants, to take a gondola ride through some of the back canals with that special person, or to view the city from the belfry of San Giorgio Maggiore, that is the Venice one should see.

I have previously touted the benefits of what is referred to as “untouring” and through the Untours organization, my wife and I were able to spend an absolutely fabulous two weeks in this city. We were met at the Marco Polo Airport by Deny Jenkins, the local Untours representative, and were provided transportation via a water taxi to our apartment in a mostly residential neighborhood of Venice. The apartment consisted of a well-appointed living/dining area, kitchen, full bath and large bedroom. One of its major assets was a patio, where we spent considerable time listening to the sounds of the city while sipping on coffee or wine. Beyond the patio, but included within the walls, was a grassy area. While that may seem of little interest, given Venice’s architectural and historical background, there is very little in the way of grassy areas within the city other than in parks or very expensive private dwellings. Using this as our base, we were able to take in all of the “must see” places that we wanted to visit, to travel the back streets to avoid the crowds, and, in so doing, find places of incredible beauty and charm that are not listed on anyone’s “Top 10” list.

Since Venice is covered more completely than I ever could by the various guidebooks, my purpose is to give you just a tad of insight into some of the things you won’t find in those books. Certainly, we went to see St. Mark’s Cathedral, the Doge’s Palace, the “Bridge of Sighs” and many other notable places, and yes, we fought our way through some of the crowds, just like regular tourists, on the shopping route so we could take home that perfect souvenir, but we were able to do it at our own pace and not crammed into the course of just a few days. Besides, there is much more to Venice than the tourist spots.

On our first Friday night in Venice, Deny had arranged for us to attend a performance of the “Musica a Palazzo”, which could be called a light opera and string concert at the beautiful Palazzo Barbarigo-Minotto. Arriving at this magnificent “palace” located on the Grand Canal, we entered a large room with a beautiful harp standing in one corner and highlighting that area. However, the real beauty came in the next room where a fresco on the ceiling was simply fabulous. The program was to start in one of the rooms and move throughout that floor in order to allow visitors to view all of it. As we waited in our folding chairs, it was much like being in the parlor of a stately mansion.

First to be presented were the musicians, which included a pianist, two violinists and one bass violinist. The music they performed was exquisite. The first chair violinist threw himself into his performance and created the most beautiful music with his instrument.

The two opera singers, one male and one female, performed a “Duet of Love”, with portions of La Traviata, Manon Lescaut, La Bohème and Cavalleria Rusticana. Even though I do not understand Italian, their voices were superb and I could, by their actions, get a general idea as to the stories they were presenting in each vignette. The lady had such a range on her voice that I feared the glass in the windows might break.

But it was the violinist that stole the show for me. His violin sang with beauty and grace - with force and vigor. He was captivating as he constantly shifted his weight and moved his feet to get that perfect alignment with his bow on the violin. It is quite obvious that I am not a music critic; however, I do know what I like.

I am certain that no Top 10 listing would display “Musica a Palazzo” but they all should. In retrospect, it was one of our most entertaining and interesting evenings during our two-week stay.

Changing the pace somewhat, another site that piqued our curiosity and interest was found in the Church of Saint Barnabas. It should be noted that many of the churches in Venice have lost membership and in order to remain a vital part of the architecture and history, they are being used as exhibition halls. Saint Barnabas Church has an exhibition of the “machines of Leonardo da Vinci”. Most of us are familiar with the paintings of this great artist, but not with the machines that he designed, some for war, some for peace and possibly a few just for fun. One interesting aspect of this exhibition was that it allowed visitors to touch and actually work some of da Vinci’s machines.

If I were to tell you that helicopters, hang gliders or bicycles are really nothing new, you might think me mad. However, da Vinci proposed such machines at the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th. These plus many more machines were taken from the notes of the great artist and have been replicated in wood, fabric and steel by noted artisans of Italy.

Whether he was designing a moveable bridge, the hang glider or an Archimedean screw that would lift fresh water from a stream or well to a higher point, the sheer genius of this man is unbelievable. When coupled with his amazing abilities as an artist in such noted paintings as Mona Lisa or the Last Supper, his skill and brilliance cannot be overestimated.

Since the exhibit was housed in a church, it also gave us another opportunity to see some more of the charming religious paintings that grace every one of the churches in this city.

As in any city, the sights are what one makes of them. Just because someone believes a particular location to be absolutely breathtaking does not mean that all will view it in the same light. Fortunately, we were able to see all of Venice over a two-week period, and we needed every minute of that time to visit as well as to allow for relaxation. If the opportunity arises to visit this magnificent city, my advice would be to take it; it is something that will forever fill your mind with pleasant memories.