|
Contact: info@bownsbest.com
Home - Austria - Benelux - France & Monaco - Germany - Russia - Spain - Sweden - Switzerland - Turkey - United Kingdom - United States |
||
|
ITALY VENICE HOTEL GRITTI PALACE
There was the Grand Canal itself, the most beautiful and admired waterway in the world. And my two tall windows did not look out at just any part of the Grand Canal. For on the other side of the water was Santa Maria della Salute, one of the visual gems of the city and the masterpiece of Baldassare Longhena. The church was built between 1631 and 1681, in thanksgiving for the deliverance of Venice from the plague, and it still sends the heart soaring heavenwards. It was a real privilege to be able, each morning, to open these windows to let in not only the cool breeze from the Canal, but also the sound of the bell, summoning the faithful to Mass at the Salute.
The dining room at the Gritti is on the ground floor and is called the Club del Doge. Its terrace enjoys the same view as my room, but, with the weather inclement, I ate inside the restaurant (pictured). Believe me, this was no penance. As a mist swirled over the dark water outside, I sat back under the heavy beams. Before me was an off-white tablecloth, on which stood a single candle and good Schott glassware. My feet rested on a floor of marble. Ancient paintings of food hung on yellow walls. The scene was illuminated by the glow of crystal wall lights. Truly, my fellow diners and I shared an atmosphere of seclusion and luxury. And we were confident that we would be looked after well, for in charge was maitre d’ Angelo Napoletano (pictured). Mr Napoletano has been at the Gritti for twenty years and is the model of a good maitre d’ – full of skill and dignified good humour.
I usually have dishes from ‘The Doge’s Cuisine’, which require a day’s notice – like sea bass baked in salt and roasted capon with truffle stuffing – but on this occasion I stuck with the ‘normal’ menu. My opening scallops came with a crab salad and (a reminder of the chef’s time in Istanbul?) pomegranate – a combination which was both interesting and effective. Then I tucked into splendid maccheroni with crunchy pork cheek, ewe’s cheese and truffle – which tasted as good as it looked, which was very good indeed. My main course was a chateaubriand with Béarnaise sauce. This beef fillet came from Abruzzo and was full of flavour. Carved by the table, it was also hugely satisfying. I finished with my usual indulgence – crèpes Suzette. (These four courses were 147 euros.)
I returned to the Club del Doge for breakfast (52 euros). It was pleasing to watch as the sun crept above the domes of the Salute. Occasionally, this celestial movement required the adjustment of the curtains, to save my eyes from the glare – but the waiters were quick to spot and carry out the necessary action. They also brought to me pots of coffee and my hot dishes (sometimes bacon and tomatoes, sometimes mushrooms on toast). I secured from the buffet dishes of melon, pineapple and stewed pears and plates of tarts and cakes. Thus did I breakfast long and well, before each morning’s concluding cappuccino. I left the Gritti Palace as I always leave – sorry to be parting, but glad that this wonderful hotel will be there when I next need her. If you are heading for La Serenissima, remember the wise observation with which I began. There is only one thing better than arriving in Venice: arriving in Venice when you know you are staying at The Gritti.
|
|
ADDRESSES
HOTEL GRITTI PALACE
|
||
© Francis Bown 2003
There is only one thing better than arriving in Venice: arriving in Venice when you know you are staying at The Gritti. As one of the most famous luxury hotels in the world, The Gritti – like a beautiful woman of a certain age – is used to dealing with admiration. She knows she deserves it, but still she responds with a delicate and becoming modesty. Good manners are hers by nature. I must therefore try to keep my admiration for her under control. But it is difficult, for I have loved this particular hostelry for many years. I always feel that the warmth of the welcome at the Gritti is genuine – as genuine as the fine pieces of antique furniture and the gilt-framed Old Masters which decorate its sumptuous salons. And that welcome was there in its plenitude, as the liveried doorman helped me from the water taxi onto the hotel’s private landing stage on the Grand Canal.
Soon I was in my air-conditioned room – number 212 – on the second floor. Here was the sort of apartment about which most visitors to Venice dream. Through the little hallway was a chamber of decent size (my estimate was 16 feet square). From the high ceiling was suspended a 9-branch chandelier of Murano crystal. Four table lamps cast further light upon the pink easy chair and upon the ormolu mounts of the green writing table. Two ancient oil paintings decorated the walls. Their subjects – a galleon in a rough sea and Adam and Eve, being expelled from the Garden of Eden by an angry God – introduced a sense of drama to the gentle scene. But it was what was through the swagged and tailed curtains of heavy pink brocade which stirred the heart.
More than a century before the Salute was begun, the Doge of Venice, Andrea Gritti (whose painting, which I reproduce for you, adorns one of the hotel’s sitting rooms), chose this spot for his palace. Now it offers 85 rooms to its visitors. Not all of those rooms, of course, enjoy the view of room 212. That is why it is designated a ‘Double Deluxe Grand Canal’ (560 – 1,360 euros a night for two, according to season, breakfast extra). Those of you who travel heavily (as I do), will be relieved to learn that my billet had a whole wall of wardrobes in which to hang all your essential outfits, and a private safe, for the storing of those twinkly accessories so necessary for civilized excursions. The bathroom, reached up two steps, was of modest size, but I found that I was able to perform my ablutions quite comfortably within its walls of brown and beige marble.
You will note from the pictures that the public rooms of the Gritti do not subscribe to the minimalist school of interior décor. Nor should they. In a palace on the Grand Canal, just a five minute stroll from St Mark’s Square, it is entirely proper that I should be surrounded by marble, gilt, crystal and the finest silks. And it is right, too, that my every need should be supplied by those who so obviously take pleasure in their ability to provide service which is proper, courteous and friendly. The Hotel’s General Manager, Paolo Lorenzoni (pictured in front of the Salute), has every reason to be proud of his staff, some of whom have been at the hotel for many years. The concierge desk was particularly helpful, telephoning to the various places I wished to visit on this trip. (I would recommend that you always use the expertise of the concierge in Venice: guide books can be very unreliable about opening times.) Thus I was able to go on a guided tour of the monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore and marvel at its cloister by Palladio and its library by Longhena.
I also took myself off to the Accademia Gallery (a walk of only ten minutes, even at my stately pace) to gaze once more at some of the most moving interpretations of Our Lady & Child ever painted, the works of Giovanni Bellini. Staying at the Gritti, it really is so very easy to reach many of the city’s best attractions. Then, the appetite stimulated by Art of the finest kind, you can look forward to a jolly good dinner.
The kitchen here is the domain of Executive Chef Daniele Turco (pictured). Having worked in Malta, Sicily and Istanbul, Mr Turco is full of enthusiasm for his craft. Indeed, he conducts cookery schools at the hotel, to impart his skills to guests. (Ask for details of dates and prices.) His cuisine is marked by clarity and intelligence, with good ingredients honestly handled to reveal their true flavours. I enjoyed my eating here.
Most of the 150 offerings on the wine list are Italian, with prices running from 31 euros for a local white to 490 euros for 1998 Dom Pérignon rosé champagne. Super Tuscans include the 2006 Tignanello (140 euros) and 2004 Sassicaia (250 euros). I was intrigued by the selection of wines by the glass (there are about thirty), so I chose a New Zealand sauvignon blanc (the reliable, grassy Cloudy Bay – 16 euros) and a clean, acidic German riesling (Ruedesheim, Berg Roseneck – 11.50 euros). But my best drinking by far was my bottle of Italian red. I was effusive, I hope, in my thanks to Mr Napoletano for recommending this wine, for it was gorgeous. From the Veneto hills, near Vicenza, this 2004 blend of cabernet and merlot yielded a nose of jam, treacle and stewed blackcurrants and bathed my mouth with luscious layers of ripe fruit, cinnamon and tobacco (Fratta Maculan – 105 euros). 
