It’s impressive to think what it takes to keep a medieval basilica constantly ready for worship and tourism — all over Europe and all through the ages. Churches everywhere have workshops associated with them, where statues gnawed bald by acidic air are redone, where soot-covered stained-glass windows are cleaned, and where precious mosaics — ground down by centuries of footsteps — are refreshed. Here at St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, where mosaics are a big deal, they have a famous mosaics workshop. We visited to film the artisans at work. You’ll see the complete, high-definition version in a beauty sequence in our new public television series (14 episodes debuting this fall). But this much more informal video (sorry about the jerky camera work) offers a peek at the working side of this thousand-year-old basilica.
If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.
Rick Steves, you just ROCK! Love these behind the scenes.
I have to tell you that I had been watching all your episodes (got the whole DVD set for my OPB donation). I went in for a procedure that requires sedation. I asked them if I said anything funny while I was going under or coming out, and they said I said, “I’m in France with RICKY STEVES!” LOL!
It looks as if you go up and down steps in this video, then emerge from a basement. How does the workshop keep from flooding?
Europe is headed for difficulties to say the least. Those difficulties may? translate into benefits for tourists from the US because of appreciation of the dollar versus the euro. 2013 could be a good year to travel there. On the other hand, the US itself could have some extra problems in 2013 because of all the stimulus that is eliminated, not to mention discontinuation of the junior bush tax cuts. Maybe we should all visit the US national parks in 2013?
Really enjoying all the videos, not able to make it to Europe this year so it really is fun to kind of “be there”!! Keep them coming.
i loved loved venice when i veiitsd there twice. and how th eheck did i pass up their fish market or not know they even had one. did you know that covered bridge by the government building next to the church was the bridge for prisoners to walk across on their way to their hanging? ok sorry to be morbid but it is the only covered bridge in all of venice