We sailed past the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute (Saint Mary of good health) on our way in on the previous evening; the first image of it is image 015973, where you will find some information about its origins. It sits on a part of the island which juts out to form the southern bank of the Grand Canal.

It's almost Groundhog day for, as I said, we ended up on the same side of the boat on both trips. That said, I wouldn't have remembered the church. Not because it isn't memorable - the octagonal design is quite striking, but less visible from this side of the Giudecca Canal - but rather because there was just so much to take in, and it simply wasn't possible in a mere day and a bit.

The most noticeable difference with this shot is of course the light; when we came in the previous evening there was some wonderful shadowing. However out start on the second day was too late for good (or at least striking) photography. The sun was too high in the sky and the light too colourless. If I return to Venice I'd like to spend a couple of days on the island itself so that on at least one of them I can be up before the sparrows and still hang out with the owls, just to be able to catch the light.

Oh, and the barge with the colourful bags? It belongs to a company called SipsItalia, which is an industrial laundry firm. At a guess those bags are full of clothes for restaurant, hotel and similar staff.