I went to the left for a change

Most people head straight ahead, or to the right when they get off the vaporetto in Lido.

One sunny day, with time on my hands, I turned left for a change, and I was happy that I had done this.

This looks like a nice little hotel. You’d have a view back to Sant’Elena from those front rooms.

There were no hordes of tourists here.

A colourful, quirky apartment building.

That’s Forte Sant’Andrea in the distance.

A glimpse of the Jewish cemetery. The Venetian Republic granted land for this purpose to the Jewish community in 1386.

That roadway leads to the Nicelli Aiport. You can take helicopter rides of varied lengths from here, to get a bird’s eye view of Venice, the lagoons and the many islands scattered in the lagoons.

Here is the campanile of the Chiesa San Nicolò, which was rebuilt on this spot in the early 1600s. (The original Benedictine church was founded in 1044.)

The Roman numerals translate to 1648.

It has an austere façade and entrance.

 

Near the end of my stroll of exploration, I saw the remains of the Forte Sant’Andrea across a narrow stretch of water. This fort was part of a defensive network for Venice. (Giacomo Casanova was imprisoned here in 1743.)

Sometimes it pays to get out of our comfortable little ruts!