La Pelletteria Venezia

Venetian leather arts.

I passed by this shop on the way to the Fortuny Museum and it caught my eye since it reminded me of those souvenirs from Italy I got as a child which I thought were probably made in Hong Kong.

I saw some stuff that were cool.

(Kiss-lock eyeglass case)

The first thing that caught my eye was the kiss-lock eyeglass case.  It had structure but wasn't hard edged.  These would make a great minaudiere.  It fits small cell phone, cash, credit card and small lipstick.

(Interior detail)

I'm not sure what they do to the interior but they sueded the leather in such a way that it was so dense it almost felt like it had a rubber coating.

I interviewed the shopkeeper, Pagan, who married into the family that manufactured the leather goods.  He said while this type of leather is more commonly associated with Florence, their family business has been in Venice for hundreds of years.

(Key-ring coin wallets)

The leather is first painted, then stamped in 22k Gold using stamps that has been in their family for at least 300 years.  The stamps reflect what was being traded at the time, which explains the Oriental/Middle Eastern motifs.  Then the leather pieces are assembled and finished.

(Detail)

(Pagan and me.  That's gelato I'm holding.)

Pagan mentioned that they sold some stuff to Barney's.  He said they could not supply large quantities since there are fewer and fewer tradesmen familiar with this technique.  In short, it's a dying art.

(Map of La Pelletteria)

I love the way they drew the map of their store in Venice.  Very Art Noveau.

La Serenissima

See Venice and die!

Venice is a short trip from Milan (2.5 hours by slow train). It is a very popular day trip for locals and visitors to make. I wish I could stay longer next time. I would be interested to see what Venice is like after the daytrippers leave.

(Venezia Sta. Lucia Station)

Venice is very accessible from Milan Central Station.  The Venezia Sta. Lucia Station is right on the water.  You can catch a vaporetto (water bus) right outside to take you to St. Mark's Square.  We decided to go to the Square (about 40 minutes from the train station) then slowly work our way back to the station to catch our return.

(Venetian waterfront home)

(A venetian vignette)

(Venetian Bridge)

Covered Bridges dot the grand canal on the way to St. Mark's Square.

(Relaxing at the vaporetto)

(Gondola seating)

(Approaching St.Mark's Square)

(St. Mark's lunette showing how they smuggled St. Mark's body into Venice)

When Venice was becoming a prosperous and powerful city, the dukes wanted to have a patron saint and protector for the city.  They decided on St. Mark.

Well, the problem was, St. Mark died and was buried in Alexandria in Egypt.  The merchants convinced the church in Alexandria to give them the body (they kept the head in Alexandria). Since the Muslim population was growing in Alexandria the Venetians made a good case of having a safe haven for such an important relic away from the infidels.

In order to evade the nosy Muslim customs agents, the Venetian merchants placed the body in a pork barrel since the Muslims would not dare touch it. Et voila! - instant patron saint and shrine!

(St. Mark's Square)

(Café on the square)

(St. Mark's clock tower)

(Souvenir stand)

(Doge palace fountain)

(Golden staircase at the Doge Palace)

The Doge Palace is an amazing structure which housed the Dukes and government of Venice.  They had a huge room for Senators (they had about 50 -  for such a small city).  They also had receiving rooms for dignitaries and map rooms and even a prison!  I did not quite understand how the government of Venice was structured but it seemed very complicated and multi-tiered.  Aside from a Senate, they had a Council and sub-council and another sub-council to do checks and balances - oy!

(Left, Doge palace.  Middle, the Campanile.  Right, St. Mark's Dome)

(View from the Bridge of Sighs, with construction)

One of the highlights of the Doge's Palace is crossing the Bridge of Sighs.  They call it the Bridge of Sighs because the prisoners who crossed it saw their last glimpse of the glory that is Venice and they heave a sigh.  Unfortunately, when I crossed the bridge, the view was obstructed by some construction (neatly covered with murals) so I could only conjure up a half-sigh...

(A typical Gondola pier)

(The winged lion - symbol of St. Mark and Venice)

(At the Fortuny Museum Courtyard)

A great discovery during the trip was the Fortuny museum. This was Mariano Fortuny's workshop, residence and storefront.  It houses several of his artwork (his own and his peown personal collection.  I saw Delphos dresses up close and his unique hand printed velvet capes, the technique and ink formula of which died with him.

(At the Rialto Bridge)

(Rialto Market)

The Rialto is the traditional market of Venice. If you come early enough, you can see stalls of produce and meat dotting the market area.  There are also small eating places around to sample some Venetian cuisine.

(Streets of Venice)

The best thing about Venice is getting lost and discovering small and pretty side streets.  We somehow found our way back to the train station using a crude map which I clipped from Travel + Leisure magazine.

Ahhhh, Venice!