06 November 2018

A few days staying in
an old palace by the
Grand Canal in Venice

Gondolas tied up and waiting for the tides to fall at Rialto Bridge, just a five minute walk from the Palazzetto San Lio in Venice (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018; click on image for full-screen view)

Patrick Comerford

I am in Venice for a few days, having arrived in Treviso yesterday [5 November 2018] on a Ryanair flight from Dublin.

I am staying at the Palazzetto San Lio in the heart of Venice, between the Rialto Bridge and Saint Mark’s Square. It is at the end Calle del Frutariol in the sestiere or district of Castello, and just a stone’s throw from Rialto and the Grand Canal.

Palazzetto San Lio is a splendid Venetian palace built in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is owned by an old Venetian family which for generations has been committed to keeping alive the traditional splendour of the palace and its Venetian style.

All the apartments have canal views, and are furnished with Venetian antique furniture, Murano chandeliers and upholstered walls in the grand Venetian style.

The careful restoration of the building’s exterior last year has given new life to the external façades, while maintaining the original architectural features.

The sestiere di Castello is in the eastern part of Venice, known as the ‘tail of the fish’ because of its shape, and overlooks the Grand Canal. It is the largest district in size in Venice, and the second in terms the population. It was one of the first residential areas in Venice, and its name comes from a mediaeval fort that stood in the area of the island of San Pietro.

Gondolas at the Palazzo Ducale, with San Giorgio Maggiore on the other side of the canal (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

This is also one of the greenest areas of Venice. It includes the Gardens and the park of Sant’Elena, and in many parts of it are tranquil, away from the main flow of tourists, making this a favourite area for the residents of Venice.

Wandering around as darkness was about to close in yesterday, I realised that this promises to be a central location, allowing me to reach all the major sites in a short time on foot. This area also has a promising choice of restaurants, small cafés, pastry shops and shops.

We strolled from Rialto to San Marco, marvelling once again at the basilica, the tower, the square and the Palazzo Ducale or Doge’s Palace, watching the gondolas bobbing up and down in the water with San Giorgio Maggiore on the opposite side, as we crossed the Bridge of Sighs, and continued on along Riva degli Schiavoni, past Santa Maria della Pieta, the church where Vivaldi was first recognised as a composer, stopping for coffee before we reached Arsenale.

There are several places of interest and historical-cultural importance of this lively sestiere, including the imposing Arsenale, the venue for the Venice Biennale, with its exhibition venues, gardens and pavilions, churches, cathedrals, the Palazzo Querini Stampalia, and unusual Libreria Acqua Alta.

Although I was in Italy twice last year [2017], visiting Rome and the Vatican in January, and Bologna, Ravenna, Rimini and San Marino in November, it is ten years or more since I was last in Venice.

Last week’s high waters that flooded Saint Mark’s Square seem to have abated, so join me this week as I find explore Venice through the canals, the bridges, and the side streets.

A canal view from the Palazzetto San Lio (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018

Remembering the ‘Voice
of Limerick’ 200 years
after her birth and baptism

Remembering Catherine Dolan in her childhood home opposite the Hunt Museum 200 years after she was born in Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Patrick Comerford

A large banner outside the former William’s Stores in Patrick Street, Limerick, is a reminder to all that this now derelict building was once home to Limerick’s world-famous opera singer Catherine Hayes and this building is part of Limerick’s planned ‘Opera Development.’

Catherine Hayes (1818-1861) was born in this house 200 years ago on 25 October 1818, and was baptised in Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick, two weeks later on 8 October 2018.

Catherine’s father, Arthur William Hayes, was a bandmaster in the local militia. Her mother, Mary Carroll, was a servant in household of the Earl of Limerick on Henry Street. Arthur and Mary were married in Saint Michael’s Church, Limerick, on 18 January 1815. They were the parents of four children: Henrietta, Charles, Catherine and William.

All four children were baptised in Saint Mary’s Cathedral, but the two boys, Charles and William, died in infancy. Arthur William Hayes abandoned his young family around 1823. There is no further record of him in Ireland, and Mary was left to struggle to bring up two small girls.

Catherine’s childhood poverty and her lack of early formal education make her achievements truly remarkable.

She never forgot those years and her family’s plight and her humble origins when she later achieved international fame as an opera singer. She provided for her mother and sister, and insisted in her contracts that their needs, room and board were included.

Catherine Dolan was baptised in Saint Mary’s Cathedral,in her childhood home opposite the Hunt Museum 200 years after she was born in Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Catherine’s talents are thought to have been first discovered by Bishop Edmund Knox (1772-1849), the Church of Ireland Bishop of Limerick (1834-1849), when he heard her singing in the garden of the Earl of Limerick.

Bishop Knox was impressed by Catherine’s raw talent. After meeting her, he gathered together a number of leading Limerick citizens to hear her sing. This was sufficient to set up a fund for Catherine to receive vocal and music training.

Catherine’s progress was excellent, and on the advice of a prominent Dublin-based musical family, the Pigotts, she took singing lessons with Antonio Sopio. She then went on to study in Paris under the Spanish vocal coach Manuel Garcia, and she made her Italian debut in 1845 in La Scala.

She had a remarkable career across the world, singing in the European opera houses from La Scala in Milan to Covent Garden. She performed to universal acclaim, contributing to the culture of Europe, until she died in 1861 at the age of 42.

The name of Catherine Hayes was once synonymous with Limerick, and she was a contemporary of Jenny Lind. However, unlike Jenny Lind, she has not retained that worldwide recognition, and she has all but disappeared from Limerick’s known heritage.

A Gala Concert celebrating the 200-year anniversary of Catherine Hayes takes place in Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick, on Thursday next [8 November 2018] at 8 p.m.

The concert aims to reintroduce the story of Catherine Hayes and to give her deserved recognition in her home city. Her story will surprise, fascinate, educate and stir debate.

The concert features Sarah Dolan (soprano), Patrick Hyland (tenor), Colette David (piano), Sinéad Hayes (conductor), the Voices of Limerick Choir and a 30-piece orchestra.

The concert will include selections from operas by Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi and some favoured Irish art aongs by Thomas Moore, Balfe and GA Osborne, who was the organist in Saint Mary’s Cathedral during her lifetime, as well as her party piece, ‘Kathleen Mavourneen’.

Doors open at 7.30 p.m., and tickets cost €28 each.

In addition, there is a fundraising supper earlier that evening at the Hunt Museum at 6 p.m. Tickets are €75 and include concert tickets, and proceeds from the combined ticket will go towards planned Hunt Museum refurbishment works.

Tickets are available from the Hunt Museum, Dolans and Dolans.ie

The Catherine Dolan evening takes place on Thursday in the Hunt Museum and Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)