Oriskany (CV 34) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 142 text:

EIE 1 1 E - V ,M , 4 gov , ,, 4 a . N THE main street of Venice early last September, an Oriskany sailor stepped off the curb to climb into a local taxi. His foot slipped and he fell into water over his head. Thatas what distinguishes Venice from every other city in the world. Taxpayers never have paid for paving their main street, the Grand Canal. A visitor could get around town in only two ways: by boat and on foot. Rails ended at the station west of the city. Automo- biles parked in a garage near the station. But still it was easy to get around. Local taxis? They were high-powered gondolas. Busses were ferry- boatsg private limousines were speedboats, and trucks open launches. Early in the morning, launches crowded around the railroad yard and truck terminal to load up with fresh vegetables and canned go0dS for grocery stores. Around ten o'clock, housewives rode ferries down- town to do daily shopping. At sunset, gondoliers bent their oars and sang Italian arias for sentimental couples, not usually going ally- where in particular but just wanting to be alone under a canopy be' neath the moon. In addition to the city,s 150 canals, there were innumerable wind- ing lanes passing over 378 little bridges. Some lanes were Wide enough to ride a bicycle without scraping the buildings on either side but walking was better. At almost every bridge, a bike rider would have to dismount and climb the steps. The Rialto, Venice's most famous bridge, rose more than 32 steps above the water. Luxury shops and restaurants lined both sides of the main walkS downtown. Store windows around the Piazza San Marco displayed Hue Venetian glass, Bronzini neckties and belts, silver and gold jewel- ry and rare gems, and handmade laces. After shopping and Sight' Seeinga OfiSkany officers and men drank aperitifs and black coffee at tables in the square. UPPGI'-From their Lido Hotel, named after Shakespoc-nre's 'fill' MOOY, Oriskuny sailors sforl on o sigh!-seeing tour. Lower-Condemned men once walked across the Bridge of sinh' from the Doges' court Oo the old prison ai rlgllf. . -

Page 141 text:

ff f , . . through North Italy to the Alpine border Q TXT-T T- fili' S ' ffff X Then Milan, the biggest city in ltaly. As in the village, the cathedral dominated everything. Every pinnacle, and ll Duomo had hundreds, was a sculptors gallery. To see them all up close. tourists were permitted to climb all over the roof and EJ the towers. Not visible from the street was a Coca-Cola stand for thirsty visitors high above the ground. lnside, the church was different. Instead of white marble and blinding sunlight, there was darkness, candlelight, shots of purple and red and gold splashing the lloor from the stained-glass windows, and huge vaulted ceilings almost disappear- ing overhead. A few kilometers north, the Alps began. In the mountains, lakes filled most of the valleys. The town of Como nestled between peaks at the end of one lake. From the top of a funicular, sailors could look through the mists to Switzerland and other lakes and peaks. With permission from Swiss authorities hundreds of miles away in Berne, the capital, Oriskany sailors were passed across the border at Chiasso. There the men mailed postcards and ate Suisse chocolate and drank Schweiz beer. Strangely enough, not one man remembered to taste the cheese. An hour later, they recrossed the border, contented and world travelers. Il Duomo, the gorgeous cathedral on Milan's city square. Window ghoppers see some of the world's finest watches- Ornafe cathedral of the C0Yfl1USlU ' 00 lf5 neo' Pavin- Eyes across the border. Sailors see Switzerland from o mountaintop near Como ln the cloisfer garden of the cathedral al Puvlfi-

Page 143 text:

Shilded canals and graceful Sohdolas make Venice a city is K s On the three-day tour, every Oriskany sailor saw the Basilica of San Marco, the outside of which seemed oriental and mosque-like. Inside, the mosaic floor was uneven and wavy as if it were laid on water instead of mud. Palaces built by merchant princes of the XVI and XVII centuries stood up from the wateris edge on the Grand Canal. The Palazzo Crassi, visitors were told, had recently undergone renovation. Its marble floors and gilded ceilings awed the Yenetians themselves. They felt civilization had declined in the last few hundred years be- cause new buildings in the city and even in America displayed no such Iavishness. But historians noted that actually it was Venice that had declined in commercial power and private wealth and that tastes in architecture had changed from ostentation to more subtle show of power. Some of the old places, like the Ducal Palace and the Danieli, had become museums and hotels. With the decline of Ve- f-7. 0 1 rm T j Ill of romance.