Traveling To Venice ~ The Lagoon Islands

If you have a few days in Venice 

take the time to explore the northern lagoon islands for a completely different Venetian experience.

Murano via charmingitaly.com

"That a silk robed, clove scented princess named Venice could be sprung from a swamp was a mad fancy..."
~ Marlena di Blasi

Start with a trip to the glass blowing island of Murano.
Don't take a "free" boat trip from the city center - these are paid for by the glass factories and you will be under significant pressure to buy glass. Also this is often a one way free ticket so you may have to find your own way home.
Instead take a vaporetto across, bypass the Colonna and Faro stops, and get off at either Museo or Venier.

Murano has been the home of Venetian glass blowing since1291. when the wooden buildings of central Venice were considered to be at too great of a fire risk so the furnaces were moved across the water. The population of 5000 swells by day with glass factory workers coming over from the mainland. In a centuries old tradition apprentices learn flamework, twisting and blowing from master craftsmen. 

Take in a glass blowing demonstration in Murano
image courtesy of missglamdan.com

Take a factory tour and watch a glass blowing demonstration and find out more about the history of Venetian glass at the Museo dell' Arte Vetraria.

Make sure you allow yourself time to walk around Murano's town center and get a feel for this wonderful place. Explore it's canal system (including it's own Grand Canal), the floating market, and the mosaic floor of the 12th century Basilica dei Santi Maria e Donato. Another must see is the parish church San Pietro Martire with its two beautiful Giovanni Bellini paintings.

Murano is lovely to stroll around. If you are buying glass avoid the cheapie tourist glass - it's unlikely to have been made here. Choose a reputable showroom and get the real thing.

Burano

From Murano take a vaporetto to Burano, the lace island.

Beautiful Burano
image courtesy of www.trekearth.com

For centuries Burano has thrived as a fishing community. While the men would be out at sea fishing their women would stay home making lace. The men would paint their house bright shades of blue or red or gold so that they could spot their home from the sea when they were fishing. Consequently the island is a riot of color with canals full of fishing boats and nets.

Burano
image courtesy of www.gnixus.wordpress.com

Lace making started here in the 15th century. The Burano-point and the Venetian-point evolved and the lace grew in demand all over Europe. A lace school was established in 1870 to keep the lace making skills passing on to younger generations. It still exists, you can go there to see lace being made, and it also houses the lace museum.

Burano is conntected to the smaller neighboring island of Mazzorbo by a bridge. Its lovely to stroll around, and from the  bridge you have a wonderful view of Venice.

A word to the wise: Burano lace is very expensive. You can find it in the more expensive stores on the island. The endless stalls and vendors on the streets selling cheap lace import it all from China, so it's not legit.

Torcello

Torcello, the ancient mother of Venice
image courtesy of www.locandacipriani.com

"Across the marshes (...) and with their reeds bent by the heavy north wind, he saw the squared tower of the church at                                                Torcello and the high campanile of Burano beyond it. "
                                   (Ernest Hemingway "Across the River and into the Trees")

Quiet, sparcely populated Torcello is Venice's oldest continously populated region, was Venice's earliest settlement, settled in the 5th century and at one point in the 1300s housing a population of more than  20 000. 

In the 1200s the lagoon around Torcello slowly became a swamp, attracting malaria carrying mosquitos. As the Rialto area developed Torcello's inhabitants fled to Venice leaving behind an 11th century church, a great basilica, palaces and houses that decayed, and canals that silted up. Today there is only one muddy canal running from the pontile to the piazza.

The Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta was first built in 638 and is famous for it's remarkable mosaics which date back to the 12th and 13th centuries. 

The spectacular mosaic of Mary in the apse of Basilica Santa Maria Assunta, Torcello

The superbly detailed Last Judgement on the back wall is well worth visiting. (Make sure you check out the devils pushing the damned into hell.) 

While you are there go next door to the 11th century Byzantine church Santa Fosca, and also go sit in the (strangely comfortable) "Attila's Throne" concrete chair in the piazza. Legend dates it to the 5th century leader of the Huns, and it is said to be good luck to sit in it.

Attila's Throne, Torcello.

Check out my other travel posts about Venice here
Read aboout the Dorsoduro here
Read about Ca' d' Oro here

If you have enjoyed this blogpost, please share it on your social media! I would love to hear about your Venice travels in the comment section.

Venice ~ Ca' D'Oro

One of my dearest friends is getting ready to go on her first ever trip to Italy. 
I wanted to share with her some of the wealth of information I have on Italy, from years of traveling there and from being completely in love with the country. I started writing down ideas and notes for her so that she wouldn't forget any of it, and then other people started asking for copies. 
In the end I decided to put some of my notes into blogposts so that I can hopefully share the magic of Italy with more people.
This post is part of a larger story on Venice. If you landed here independently of that post, click here to read it - you'll find some great tips for traveling in and experiencing the absolute magnificence of beautiful Venice.

Ca' D'Oro

the exquisite Ca' D'Oro, Venice

Everytime I'm in Venice I end up making my way to the fabulous Ca' D'Oro in Cannaregio.
Literally translated it means house of gold.

The Grand Canal is lined with spectacular buildings, each with an intriguing story, and to me, this is one of the best.
Ca' d' Oro is one of the canal's most flamboyant examples of Venetian Gothic. In 1420, during an era when Venice was the trade capital of the world, perhaps the richest city in the world, merchant Marino Contarini commissioned the renovation of this grand palazzo, with it's pinnacles, marble and gothic tracery, influenced by the Doge's Palace. (as only the Doge could have a "palace" the other palazzi or palaces are referred to as a casa, or house, which is then abbreviated to Ca')
The home's original name is Santa Sophia, and came to him via marriage.
Renovation is thought to have started around 1421 and completed around 1431. In an egoist display of affluence the facade was decorated with the most expensive pigments available - ultramarine, vermillion and gold leaf.
When the sun would hit the facade there would be an explosion of gold radiating across the canal.
If you look at Ca' D'Oro from the opposite bank (near the Rialto) you can only imagine how sensational this must have been!

Contadini died in 1441, after which St Sophia/Ca' D'Oro began slipping into decline.
Stripped of it's golden facade the palazzo changed hands many times, eventually becoming semi derelict.

Ca' D'Oro, via www.trekearth.com

It's worst moment came at the hands of a Russian in 1847. Prince Troubetskoy bought the house for his mistress Maria Taglioni, and then promptly ripped off the marble facade, tore out the open staircase, sold the original wellhead, and otherwise desecrated this incredible property.
Art critic John Ruskin watched in horror, and tried to sketch as much of it as possible before it was too late.
Rescue came in the form of Baron Franchetti, an avid art collector, who bought and restored the property, including the staircase and the well, and then filled it with his treasures.
In 1916 he donated it to the state, full of his collections of paintings, sculptures, rare coins, and now it is an art museum.

View of the facade of Ca'D'Oro from the Vaporetto stop

From the ground floor you can look inside and see how these palazzi functioned. The bottom level was used for warehousing, but also had a lovely courtyard from which the staircase lead to the 2nd and 3rd floors where the living happened.

The well in the courtyard at Ca'D'oro

Mosaic floors and tiled walls in the courtyard of Ca' D'Oro. These floors get flooded every year.

Both of these upper floors have covered loggias from which you can get a wonderful view of the canal.
If you go in the morning you can watch the daily business of the canal's delivery traffic - remember everything gets from point A to point B in Venice by boat.
With 90% of the tourist traffic staying in the vicinity of Piazza san Marco, you can walk freely and unimpeded through Ca D'Oro, at times having a private viewing of the incredible art collection.
The mosaic floors are noteworthy, and art buffs should make a point of visiting the painting of San Sebastian by Andrea Mantegna, which was painted toward the end of the artist's life.

Andrea Mantegna's Saint Sebastian, Ca' D'Oro, Venice

Walk up the alleyway beside Ca' D'Oro you will arrive at Strada Nuova, a charming street full of restaurants and bars, (a great place to stop for a spritz and some cicheti on your way to the train station if you are just spending the day in Venice).

Read about exploring Venice here
Read about the amazing Dorsoduro here
Read about exploring the Lagoon Islands here




If you have enjoyed this post, please give me some feedback in the comments section below, and also share it on your social media.

Traveling To Venice ~ The Dorsoduro

Venice ~ Dorsoduro

When my thoughts wander to Venice, which they do regularly, they go straight to my favorite of the sestieri (neighborhoods), the beautiful Dorsoduro.

view of the Dorsoduro, Venice

To me this is Venice's most gorgeous neighborhood, resplendent with historic buildings, amazing churches, picturesque little squares and canals. Walking around in the Dorsoduro you get the concept of what Venice is really all about. It is just the most wonderful experience, so incredibly beautiful, and compared to the manic tourist explosion surrounding Piazza San Marco just across the grand Canal, it feels relatively tourist free. Or at least tourist tolerable.

There are two major art attractions in the Dorsoduro, the Galleria dell'Accademia and the Collezione Peggy Guggenheim, each well worth visiting. Perhaps my favorite place to visit is the  spectacular Santa Maria Della Salute, the gleaming white baroque church standing watch over the entrance to the grand canal. As many times as I've visited Santa Maria Della Salute, it has never failed to take my breath away.

 

Beautiful Santa Maria della Salute stands guard over the Grand Canal in Venice

While enjoying the Dorsoduro take time to visit Ca' Rezzonico. 

Ca' Rezzonico, Dorsoduro Venice

This house is now a "house museum" , originally built in 1667 for the Bon family. When their money ran out the property was taken over by newly rich banking family, the Rezzonicos somewhere around 1758. At that time the building was two separate homes in complete disrepair. The Rezzonicos bankrolled a glorious restoration that included Tiepolo frescoes and Flemish tapestries - the mind bendingly ostentatious palazzo gives you a peek into the lavish life of upper class 18th century Venice.

Restored again in the 1990's Ca' Rezzonico is known as "the museum of 18th century Venice",  famous for it's interior decor. From the ground floor the graceful staircase sweeps you up to the piano nobile with its huge ballroom, so ornate it literally stops you in your tracks. 

The ballroom at Ca Rezzonico, Dorsoduro Venice 

 The chandeliers! The ceilings! There is a moment when you stand in this incredible ballroom when you finally begin to understand the vastness of the wealth and power that was centered in Venice for centuries. And it is just overwhelming.

The ballroom at Ca Rezzonico, Dorsoduro Venice 

Meandering through the staterooms you have to remind yourself that this wasn't a royal palace, instead a private home.

The opulence doesn't stop there - two more floors hold artworks including Tiepolos and the only Canaletto's in Venice.

Before you leave make sure you visit the lovely courtyard garden.

Another must see in the Dorsoduro is Campo Santa Margherita. 

Campo Santa Margherita, Dorsoduro Venice

Campo Santa Margherita, Dorsoduro Venice

This is the neighborhood's main square, and may be the liveliest in Venice. By day busy with shoppers, locals, families, the daily market, interesting shops, bars and restaurants, it is a lovely place to sit on tree shaded benches and watch local life happen. By night this is the social center of the city. While most of Venice goes quiet, Campo Santa Margherita is where the nightlife happens, populated by students from the nearby university, and all the bright young things from every part of the city. The bars and restaurants are fun, and it is most definitely a great night out.

Make sure you check out my other posts in this series on Venice:
Read about The Lagoon Islands here
Read about Ca' d 'Oro here
Read about Traveling in Venice here

If you have enjoyed this blogpost, please share it on your social media! I would love to hear about your Venice travels in the comment section.

How To Brighten Winter Weary Faces Without Bronzer

 Beauty High.com asked me what I thought about using bronzer to brighten winter skin.
I gave them an emphatic no! Bronzer is to make you look like you've been out and about in the sunshine, to give you a golden summery glow, but on a winter skin it can look orange and streaky.
There are some great alternatives to using bronzer in the article below, and lots of quotes from me.
Check it out:

How To Brighten Winter Weary Faces Without Bronzer


 

We all want to keep that summer glow, but once winter hits, it’s in with the cold and out with the glow! Bronzer is great, but it’s also incredibly over-used. Bronzer’s role is to mimic the look of a mid-summer’s sun-kissed complexion, something that will look kind of ridiculous in the snow against pale winter skin. Luckily, there are plenty of tricks to incorporate into your cold-weather beauty routine that will help brighten your skin without the use of bronzer. There are lots of other awesome options out there—here are a few to try today.

Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize:
Staying hydrated is super important. “Many don’t know this, but moisturizing keeps your tan sealed in much longer than if you don’t!” says Rosa Fasolo, owner and makeup artist at RF BEAUTY ARTISTRY. Once that tan is long gone, keeping up with a simple regimen is key. Exfoliating once a week to keep your skin bright, clear, and to leave dead skin behind is important. Moisturizing is even more important in order to keep that fresh face look. Using a tinted moisturizer is great as well to give you just the right amount of glow, says Fasolo.

Concealer:
Dab concealer all the way from the inner corner of the eye, downward on the trough line under the eyes. Then, blend the concealer with small dabs, all the way down into the cheek area. This technique will give better coverage than just applying concealer only directly under the eyes, says Marian Rothschild, AICI FLC, certified personal image consultant and author of Look Good Now and Always.

Foundation:
Stay away from crushed mineral foundations—they make skin look dead and dry. Instead, opt for a silicone-based foundation like Makeup Forever HD or Face Atelier Ultra Foundation. Both of these will make the skin glow and look alive, says makeup artist Corinna Cooke. Make sure you choose a shade that matches your winter color, not the shade you may use in the summer. A foundation that is too dark will make your skin look muddy.

MORE: How to Tell When Good Beauty Products Go Bad

Highlight:
Using a sheer highlighter will help light catch your skin in the winter months, literally brightening up your face. Adding a golden champagne highlighter from the temples to the tops of your cheekbones will give you a natural-looking glow for fair and medium skin, says Grace Mahoney, owner of Blushing Brides. For darker skin, use a pearlescent bronze shade for the same effect.

Blush:
Swap out those bronze, gold, or orange tones from summer for rosy pink blushes. Apply blush to the apple of your cheeks to get a bit of sun-kissed color, says Fasolo.

Say No to Bronzer:
For those who think “bronzing” is the simple way to brighten, the look is often unnatural against winter skin and will actually detract from your glow if you don’t exfoliate, says Lyn Tackett of Genesis Studio Spa. Bronzing powder will collect on excess skin cells and make your skin look even drier.

Eyes:
Keep eyeshadow sheer and choose a shade opposite your eye color on the color wheel. This will brighten the eye and make your color spark. Pale eyes look great with pink and peachy tones, while every color looks great with a soft berry tone, explains Cooke. Add a little shimmer just on the eyelid itself, not all over the eye. Curl the lashes to wake the eye up and use several coats of a luscious, glossy mascara.

Lips:Use a bold, bright color on your lips, like a punchy fuchsia. Fuchsia is bright and fun and lights the face up. It also makes the teeth look whiter and will make pale eyes totally spark, bright, and alive, says Cooke.

The Italophile's Reading List

I always seem to be reading books about people living my dream, buying homes in Italy, renovating them, and embracing life in my favorite holiday destination.

I get so caught up in their stories that I often find my way to the towns and villages that they talk about, and get to experience a completely different slice of Italy that would have otherwise been missed.

Two years ago I discovered Sutri via a book that I loved, and it has become one of my absolute favorite places of all time. Another of the books on this list guided me to the Aeolian islands off the coast of Sicily, where I found the bluest sea I have ever seen and met some of the loveliest people. I cannot wait to get back.

I love recognizing shops and restaurants talked about in books I've read, I love knowing little things like which highway exit to take or the ideal train stop to get off at because an author led me there. 

If you think you'd like to travel to Italy, but are not quite sure where, diving into a great travel essay is a magnificent place to start!

I actually have a huge library of books set in Italy, but as my office is packed into post-flood boxes right now and I can't access them, I'm going to tell you about 7 of my favorites, all of which have been read over and over, and have become a living part of the road I've traveled.

Under The Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes.

My love of Italy was reawakened back in 1996 when this was first published. If you are heading to Tuscany this series is a must read. Mayes guides you through wonderful little towns, gives you some fabulous history and even tells you where to eat. Consider this book and it's sequels travel bibles.

Don't be swayed by the movie - both take place in Cortona, the home is called Bramasole, there were Polish workers and the protagonist is indeed called Frances, her husband is Ed. There are no other similarities. This book is a must read.

I go to Cortona every year, always lunch at Cafe Degli Artisti, and swing by Bramasole. Frances Mayes changed my life, set me a new course, and to this day feeds my Tuscan obsession.

outside Bramasole in Cortona with Ed Mayes, September 2014

1000 Days In Venice by Marlena Di Blasi

Can you imagine finding out the man of your dreams spotted you walking through a piazza on your last day in Venice a year ago, that he thought about you every day since, and now, by chance, you walk into the cafe where he is sitting with friends? 
Marlena's account of her first three years married to Fernando Di Blasi and their life together in Venice is just intoxicating. A chance meeting can result in your life path taking a 90 degree turn you never imagined making. Reading her books leaves you somewhere between wanting to be her and wanting to be her best friend. 

As with Frances Mayes, I have read all of Marlena di Blasi's books, multiple times. There always seems to be one of them living on my nightstand.

Living in A Foreign Language

Did you watch LA Law? Back in the day it was my favorite show. Actor Michael Tucker (Stuart Markowitz on the show) and his wife Jill Eikenberry also live my Italian dream, theirs in a home they have renovated in Umbria. Tucker is endlessly funny and charming, and his book is delightful.

A House In Sicily by Daphne Phelps

I found this book when I returned home from Sicily and just couldn't get that bewitching island out of my mind.

Phelps inherited a majestic home on the hill in Taormina, with a view that honestly just takes your breath away.

This the captivating story of her life, leaving dreary old England to go live in this magnificent house, Casa Cuseni. It is the story of the artists and writers who took up residence there over the years, (including Tennessee Williams, Henry Faulkner and Roald Dahl) and of the local characters who populated her world.

Last year I visited Casa Cuseni when I was back in Taormina. I was able to see the Picasso, painted there and then left behind after his stay at Daphne's home, treasures left behind by writers and artisti, even Daphne's old passports and papers. It was just fantastic.

at Casa Cuseni in Taormina. Every inch of this house, both inside and out, is just wonderful

Pasquale's Nose by Michael Rips

Michael is an American lawyer who's wife is an artist. They moved to a teeny tiny town named Sutri, famous for being the birthplace of Pontius Pilate, where Michael set up shop with his laptop outside one of the cafe's in the main piazza and observed the locals in all their glory, while his wife worked on her art.

 Rips is absolutely one of the funniest writers ever, and from what the locals told me was great fun to be around.

I went to Sutri a couple of years ago because I was so intrigued with this book and just had to experience this place. We rented a 1000 year old tower renovated by two writers and made into an exquisitely appointed apartment. Writers come live in the tower for 6 to 12 months at a time, penning all manner of important works while taking in the unbelievable views and enjoying the tranquility of a tiny, non touristy town.

prosecco o'clock in the piazza ~ writing in Sutri

Sutri is not on any tourist map, and I think we were the only non Sutrisi there. Pasquale's Nose hasn't been translated into Italian, and I was only the second person the locals had met who had read the book. It was particularly wonderful because thanks to Rips I had a town full of instant friends - word gets around tiny places fast! 

Pasquale's Nose is hilarious and well worth reading.

Halfway To Each Other by Susan Pohlman

This book came to me when the author went to speak and do a signing at my Italian group here in Phoenix. I, of course, was working and missed it, but one of my friends picked me up a copy.

When Pohlman's marriage was collapsing, she and her husband packed up their kids and their life in Orange County and moved to Liguria for a year. As much a testament to how destructive our manic, fast paced life stateside can be, this book is a wonderful example of how a sidestep into the Italian lifestyle can be healing and calming and put everything back into perspective. The year that the Pohlman's spend in Italy resets their compass, brings the family back together and breathes life back into a broken marriage.

I loved how tangible this story was. The Pohlman's now live in Arizona.

An Italian Affair by Laura Fraser

Broken after her husband of one year leaves her for an old high school flame, Fraser travels to Italy to see old friends and get a change of scenery. One of her friends tells her to go to Ischia for a few days, where she meets a Parisian professor an embarks upon an affair that lasts for years and takes place in exotic locales from Ischia to Marrakesh, Lake Maggiore to Catalina Island.

Every female who has ever had so much as a random, fleeting thought about having an affair in Italy will love this book.



If you have read any of these books, please share your thoughts about them in the comments section below! I also want to know any other books set in Italy that you may have read, so please tell me about them in the comments section.
Grazie!

Midweek Wisdom and Airport Celebs # 3

Happy hump day!

It's time for a little midweek wisdom

paired with a vintage photo of a celeb at an airport.

This week is the irrepressible Liz Taylor

arriving in New York in 1968.

I'd love to think that this is something she would have said.

Liz Taylor arrives in New York, 1968

"Once in a while

blow your own damn mind"

xo

Rescue Me.

Ever feel like you need rescuing? These days I do. On an almost daily basis. (Sometimes life is just straight up stressful.)

Blowing you kisses from the makeup room on International Kiss A Ginger Day.
And desperately needing a haircut...

Even though it's not exactly freezing where I live - not compared to most of the country anyway, something happens to my skin and to my hair every January.

Both get a little lifeless, both get a little dull, both get dehydrated.

So I'm always looking for a wonder product to come save me.

A couple of months back I was shooting a huge campaign for Starbucks, and had the absolute pleasure of working with a hairstylist who had arrived in from Milan a couple of days before. She was completely fabulous. And her skin showed no tell tale signs of jetlag.

One of our assistants, Whitney, made this behind the scenes video



She introduced me to a product that she was slathering onto her gorgeous skin, and told me it was the holy grail of skincare. So of course I got on Amazon.com and ordered it immediately.

It's a Swiss product that looks expensive but is infact, super affordable.
Weleda Skin Food is apparently meant to be a body product, but if your skin is dry or irritated, it's fantastic on your face too. It's job is to hydrate, restore and protect skin with nourishing plant oils and extracts.



I love the feel of Weleda Skin Food on my skin. It's like a long, cold drink of water on a hot, hot day. Especially right now when the combination of cold weather and central heating is making my skin feel parched. 

Over the Christmas break I finally found time to really sort through the Corinna B's World makeup closet, organize it, pare it down, get it streamlined.
I found some amazing products that I completely forgot I had, which almost felt like Christmas all over again.
One of the products I found was Sebastian's Potion 9.

I used to use this a lifetime ago. It's been around for 20 years now, and I still remember when it first came out. I was living the Hollywood dream at the time, and every hairstylist and makeup artist was using it.
Anyway, somehow along the way I forgot about this fabulous hair product. (Apparently my hair didn't though!) I am so overdue for a hair cut, my locks have been looking frazzled and dried out - not their usual shiny self. As soon as I started using  Potion 9 again my hair got all kinds of happy! It's back to super shiny and lusterous and feels really soft. It's also got lots of body back.
I'm so excited - it's like finding a whole new product! And it's only half the price of anything else on my shelf which is making me super happy too!

5 Tips To Wake Up Your Winter Makeup

If you are anything like me then you have a major dose of the mid January blahs.
The fun and excitement of the holiday season is now firmly ensconced in the rear view mirror, your waistline is resplendent with holiday carbs, and the face in the mirror is reflecting grey skies with makeup boredom and stressed out mid winter skin.

Need a little makeup pick-me-up?

Here are 5 tips to wakeup your mid-winter makeup

image via Oprah.com

1) Make sure skin is well hydrated before you apply your foundation -  dry/sensitive/irritated winter skin doesn't hold makeup well. If you are wind burned/extra irritated from cold weather + central heating try Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream or Rhonda Allison Grape Seed Oil to help smooth skin and provide a barrier.

2) use a silicone based foundation like Makeup Forever HD Foundation to help skin glow. Apply sparingly with a duo fiber brush to get a sheer smooth cover.

image via www.taaz.com

3) Use a cream blush to make complexion look alive and vibrant.

4) If you're feeling washed out, use warm tones on the eyes. Bronzey/warm golds warm up a lifeless complexion. Silvers, greys and blues can leave you looking ashen and cold.

5) If you are looking pale make a statement with a strong lip color. Red is always exciting, this year I am wearing a punchy fuchsia to liven everything up.