One of Antonio Vivaldi's long-term gigs was to teach violin to orphan girls at the Ospedale della Pietà . That 18th C. building is now the Hotel Metropole. Quite a pleasant hotel, old-fashioned and Venetian-style, of course.
Lots of famous people have stayed there, including Freud. It's a ten-minute walk along the docks to Piazza San Marco.
Immediately next-door is the church where Vivaldi was the music boss - the Chiesa Santa Maria della Pieta. Convenient for Vivaldi. Their string + harpsichord group has baroque concerts every night, always sold out. Of course we went. Four Seasons and other things. Kinda wonderful. Vivaldi was known as a brilliant improviser too. Easy to believe.
That's his Chiesa, and Hotel Metropole immediately on the right:
A bunch of fun Venice and Veneto photos below the fold -
Vivaldi's Chiesa, with audience. Just an ordinary parish church. There's one like this in every square. Venice's population was once 120,000. Now 50,000:
See what I mean about the old hotel being Venetian?
Lively and cheerful at night:
A Carabinieri boat, hanging out.
Hotel's nice breakfast spread - included scrambled eggs and bacon-
Marcella Hazan's old market -
Everywhere looks like this - boat garages are cool
