Venice was for 1100 years the capital of the Serenissima Republic of Venice. due to its urban peculiarities and its artistic heritage, it is universally considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world, declared, together with its lagoon, a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, and artwork. Venice is a very popular tourist destination, a major cultural centre, and has been ranked many times the most beautiful city in the world. It has been described by the Times Online as one of Europe’s most romantic cities and by The New York Times as “undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man”.

Venice was a major financial and maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and a staging area for the Crusades and the Battle of Lepanto, as well as an important center of commerce—especially silk, grain, and spice, and of art from the 13th century to the end of the 17th. The city-state of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center. This made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history.

Venice was an obligatory stop on the Grand Tour, which starting from the 17th century, was undertaken by young European aristocrats to perfect their knowledge. Some of the greatest European and world writers and thinkers left their travel impressions, thoughts or aphorisms about Venice, such as Goethe, Mann, Nietzsche, Proust, Stendhal, Byron, Pirandello, D’Annunzio,Hemingway, Dostoevsky and many others.

Tourism has been a major part of the Venetian economy since the 18th century, when Venice—with its beautiful cityscape, uniqueness, and rich musical and artistic cultural heritage—was a stop on the Grand Tour.

In the 19th century, Venice became a fashionable centre for the “rich and famous”, who often stayed and dined at luxury establishments such as the Danieli Hotel and the Caffè Florian, and continued to be a fashionable city into the early 20th century.

In the 1980s, the Carnival of Venice was revived; and the city has become a major centre of international conferences and festivals, such as the prestigious Venice Biennale and the Venice Film Festival, which attract visitors from all over the world for their theatrical, cultural, cinematic, artistic, and musical productions.

Today, there are numerous attractions in Venice, such as St Mark’s Basilica, the Doge’s Palace, the Grand Canal, and the Piazza San Marco. The Lido di Venezia is also a popular international luxury destination, attracting thousands of actors, critics, celebrities, and others in the cinematic industry.

Tourism has increasingly assumed a decisive weight for the city’s economy, so much so that over the years the relationship between the historic city with its delicate balance and the masses of tourists visiting, often in a hurry, has become problematic.

The historic city is divided into six sestieri (districts): Cannaregio, Castello, Dorsoduro, San Polo, Santa Croce and San Marco, where the main monuments and sights are.

San Marco district
San Marco is one of the six sestieri of Venice, lying in the heart of the city as the main place of Venice. The little spaces together form the social, religious and political centre of Venice. San Marco now is the tourist heart of Venice, home to iconic sights. Many traditional festivals in Venice have been centered on St. Mark’s Square.

The San Marco district is bordered to the north by the Grand Canal; to the south, where the Piazza overlooks the Venice Lagoon, from the San Marco basin; to the west from the Rio di Palazzo; east from the Rio di San Giuliano. The sestiere borders to the north with the Cannaregio district and to the east with the Castello district while it connects to the San Polo district via the Rialto Bridge and to the Dorsoduro district via the Accademia Bridge. From an administrative point of view, the San Marco district also includes the island of San Giorgio Maggiore.

San Marco is a famous tourist destination, This area gathers the most magnificent wealth accumulated in the thousand-year history of the Republic of Venice, including St Mark’s Square, Saint Mark’s Basilica, the Doge’s Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, and so on. St. Mark’s Basilica is the leading tourist attraction, a Byzantine style architecture, with spectacular gold mosaics and sculptures. Before the five arched portals of the basilica lies the Piazza San Marco. The Campanile, the bell tower slightly rectangular structure sheathed in Venetian red-clay brick, it dominates the townscape and is visible for miles across the lagoon.

The small district includes other many of Venice’s most famous sights, including Harry’s Bar, the Palazzo Dandolo, Palazzo D’Anna Viaro Martinengo Volpi di Misurata, San Moisè, the La Fenice theatre, the Palazzo Grassi and Palazzo Bellavite, and the churches of San Beneto, San Fantin, Santa Maria del Giglio, San Maurizio, San Moisè, Santo Stefano, San Salvador, San Zulian, San Samuele and so on.

Due to the large number of tourists, this area is also the commercial center of Venice, and there are many hotels, banks and expensive shops, and the restaurants on and around St. Mark’s Square offer multilingual menus for the international crowd. The surrounding streets are filled with casual snack bars, upscale fashion boutiques and shops selling glass art and gift items.

Castello district
Castello is one of the six sestieri of Venice. Castello is the largest sestieri, located at the east end of Venice. As the only district not overlooking the Grand Canal, however, what is even more eye-catching is that this is the main venue of the famous Venice Biennale. Castello covers a large vibrant area, with one section bordering St. Mark’s Square and dotted with luxury hotels.

Sestiere Castello has a view on one side on the lagoon with San Pietro and Sant’Elena, and on the other side faces San Marco. In this sestiere there is also Riva degli Schiavoni, on of the largest fondamenta of the city, which extends from San Marco’s pond (near Palace Ducale) to Rio Ca’ di Dio. The Castello district is connected to that of Cannaregiothrough the bridge of Saints John and Paul which, in front of the homonymous basilica, crosses the Mendicanti river a few steps from the monument to Bartolomeo Colleoni del Verrocchio.

Castello is a place where you can enjoy a quieter side of Venice, away from the hustle and bustle of the main tourist hotspots. It is one of the greenest areas of Venice thanks to the Gardens and the island of Sant’Elena, which are characterized by the presence of trees, flowers and playgrounds for children. Inside this areas there are most of the sport’s facilites and a lorto of attractions. Farther from St. Mark’s, the neighborhood gets more laid-back, with casual bars where locals stop in for a glass of wine.

In alternating years, the Giardini della Biennale park hosts the Biennale exhibition of contemporary art. Discover the famous Arsenale and the Biennale di Venezia, and the cultural istitution that organizes the Venice Film Festival. After participating in the Art Biennale or Architecture Biennale, some works of art stay in this area permanently. Walking here, you can discover all kinds of sculptures, installations and decorative arts at any time.

Walking in the street of shopping of this sestiere, Via Garibaldi, where are sold various venetian masks made in the workshops of artisans around the district. Shops and eateries catering to all budgets line buzzing Via Garibaldi. A special treat of this sestiere is the bookshop AcquaAlta (literally High water), a very fascinating place. The books are put on unusual places like boats, gondole, canoes and tank that save the books in case of high tide.

Cannaregio district
Cannaregio is one of the six sestieri (districts) of Venice. Cannaregio is a great place to explore if you want to appreciate the true local life of the city. The neighbourhood is known for its youthful vibe and numerous bacaros, it’s a great place to sample local life.

The Cannaregio district is the largest in the city after Castello and the most populated and occupies almost the entire part of the city north of the Grand Canal, extending from the railway station, north of the Santa Croce district to which it is connected via the Scalzi bridge and the Constitution bridge, up to Castello, with which it borders almost entirely to the east and south, with the exception of the parish of San Canciano which borders Campo San Bartolomeo, in the San Marco district.

Cannaregio has some of the most peaceful and most attractive areas of the city. One of the main attractions is the Jewish Ghetto area with its poignant history and several synagogues. Cannaregio is known for the 16th-century Jewish Ghetto. Visit the Jewish Ghetto, synagogues and the Museo Ebraico di Venezia (Jewish Museum), try the traditional Jewish treats.

There are a number of lovely churches, include the Church of Madonna dell’Orto, a beautiful church dedicated to Saint Christopher. Hidden inside are beautiful pieces by local artists Bellini and Tintoretto. Some of Tintoretto’sworks was inside, marble-clad Santa Maria dei Miracoli with its intricate interiors, and Santa Maria Assunta with its green-and-white marble-clad interior.

The Strada Nova is a popular local shopping thoroughfare, and the backstreets are a destination for crafts and vintage goods. Casual canalside restaurants and bars line nearby Fondamenta della Misericordia and Fondamenta dei Ormesini. The stately Ca’ d’Oro palace displays a Renaissance art collection.

Nowadays sestiere Cannaregio fully represent a place of entertainment in Venice The most important shopping‘s streets are Strada Nova and Lista di Spagna, that are also frequented by young people because of the presence of bar and other meeting points. A not to be missed area is the one of bar and restaurants in Cannaregio that is in the northern part of the district.

San Polo district
San Polo is one of the six sestieri of Venice, the district takes its name from Campo San Polo, the largest in Venice after Piazza San Marco, and from the church of the same name. The western part of the neighbourhood is known for its remarkable churches. While the east side of the district houses striking palazzos. The Basilica dei Frari houses masterpieces by Titian and other Renaissance artists. Some of the best things to do in San Polo include visiting the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, and the famous Rialto Bridge.

San Polo is a vibrant district in Venice, packed with stores, markets and top attractions. It is well-known for its famous fruit and vegetable markets in the mornings and lively bar scene in the evenings.The district centered around the shop-lined Rialto Bridge, and the Rialto Market, where stalls sell fish, fruit and vegetables. Nearby, in the canalside Erbaria area, locals meet for aperitifs and “cicchetti,” or small plates, before heading to dinner at trendy eateries. The district richest in artisan shops and small typical Venetian taverns, the bàcari.

It is one of the oldest parts of the city, having been settled before the ninth century, when it and San Marco formed part of the Realtine Islands. San Polo was founded in the surroundings of the ancient Rialto Bridge. The city’s first inhabitants believed it to be a good location to settle in since the land was higher and never flooded.

The San Polo district borders to the north and west with that of Santa Croce, having as its demarcation line the Rio di San Stae, the Rio Marin, and the second part of the Rio della Frescada, up to the whole parish of San Pantalon. The San Polo district is also bordered to the south by Dorsoduro, while the remaining perimeter is surrounded by the Grand Canal. The most historically important area is Rialto, once one with the current San Marco district to which it is connected via the Rialto Bridge.

Santa Croce district
Santa Croce is one of the six sestieri of Venice, northern Italy. The sestiere owes its name to the church of Santa Croce, an important place of worship demolished after the suppression of Napoleon. As part of San Polo, this district once belonged to the area called Luprio, where numerous salt pans were located.

Santa Croce is a laid-back, slightly off-the-beaten-track area with a local vibe. Tourists can choose to spend their days lounging in beautiful gardens, exploring museums, discovering the cuisine or gliding through the canals all without straying from this exciting neighborhood. Campo San Giacomo dall’Orio square and nearby streets are home to casual eateries serving global cuisine. On the Grand Canal, the imposing Fondaco dei Turchi features exhibits on natural history while the nearby Ca’Pesaro palace showcases contemporary art and Asian decorative arts.

The sestiere of Santa Croce borders to the south and east with the sestiere of San Polo, having as its limits the Rio di San Stae, the Rio Marin and the first part of the Rio della Frescada, up to the parish of San Pantalon. To the south it borders the Dorsoduro district in Corte Gallo and Corte Barbo. To the north it is bordered by the Grand Canal and is connected to Cannaregio by the Scalzi bridge and the Constitution bridge.

Santa Croce occupies the north west part of the main islands, and can be divided into two areas: the eastern area being largely mediaeval, and the western – including the main port and the Tronchetto – mostly lying on land reclaimed in the 20th century. If we exclude the Tronchetto area, of recent origins, the sestiere is the smallest in the city.

The district includes the Piazzale Roma, home to Venice’s bus station and car parks, and around which is the only area of the city in which cars can travel. The tourist attractions lie mostly in the eastern part of the quarter, and include the churches of San Nicolo da Tolentino, San Giacomo dell’Orio, and San Zan Degola; the Fondaco dei Turchi; the Museum of the History of Fabric and Costume at Palazzo Mocenigo; the Patrician Palace; and Ca’ Corner della Regina.

Dorsoduro district
Dorsoduro is one of the six sestieri of Venice, in northern Italy. The Dorsoduro district develops between the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal. It is roughly divided into two areas, whose division is in correspondence with the Gallerie dell’Accademia and the bridge of the same name.

It is bordered to the north by the districts of Santa Croce and San Polo, by the Rio Ca ‘Foscari and the Rio Malcanton; east from the Grand Canal; to the south it includes the Giudecca canal and the island of the same name which is administratively considered part of the district even though it has its own civic numbering. It is connected to the San Marco district via the Accademia bridge.

The west area develops around Campo Santa Margherita, a popular meeting point for Venetians and university students. It is the main university district of the city. The area between Campo Santa Margherita and the Grand Canal is crossed by numerous shaded streets. More open is the southern area.

The eastern area is less crowded: it is characterized by the presence of numerous parallel channels. This area is crossed by two different paths, one parallel to the Grand Canal and the other to that of the Giudecca. These paths converge in the Punta della Dogana.

Giudecca island
Giudecca is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, in northern Italy. It is part of the sestiere of Dorsoduro and is a locality of the comune of Venice. Giudecca lies immediately south of the central islands of Venice, from which it is separated by the Giudecca Canal. San Giorgio Maggiore lies off its eastern tip.

Giudecca is a set of eight islands connected to the south of the historic center of Venice. It faces onto the Giudecca canal, in front of the district of Dorsoduro, of which the island is part of the administrative point of view. Located to the south of the rest of the city, it constitutes a rather quiet residential area without excessive tourist presence. In the Giudecca itself been added in recent times Sacca Fisola, an island at the western end obtained by reclaiming part of the lagoon.

Main Attractions
The most famous place in the city is Piazza San Marco, the Basilica of San Marco is located in the center of the square, colored gold and covered with mosaics that tell the story of Venice, together with the bas-reliefs that depict the months of the year. The Doge’s Palace stands next to the Basilica: to unite them, the Porta della Carta, the work of Bartolomeo Bono, which is the exit of the Palazzo Ducale museum. To see the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, which for centuries was the largest seat of government in the world, the Bridge of Sighs, the prisons and the Leads. In front of the Doge’s Palace stands theSan Marco bell tower: built in 1173 as a lighthouse for sailors.

There are countless noteworthy churches that can be found in the lagoon city, both for their architectural merits and for the artistic treasures contained therein. Among the most important are the octagonal Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute, the Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, the church of San Francesco della Vigna, the church of San Zaccaria, the basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, the church of the Redeemer, the latter built on the Giudecca island on a project by Andrea Palladio, and the basilica of San Pietro di Castellowhich includes two chapels by Veronese. Other important Venetian monuments are the Arsenale, the synagogues of the Ghetto.

Venice is full of noble palaces, canals and small canals, ancient residences of the richest Venetian families of the golden age of the city. Among the most famous Palazzo Fortuny, in gothic style donated to the city of Venice by the widow of the Spanish artist Mariano Fortuny, Palazzo Grassi, the work of Giorgio Massari, Palazzo Mocenigo with a Renaissance-style facade, Palazzo Grimani, owned by the state and seat of the Court appeal and Gothic-style Palazzo Loredan.

In Venice, given its ancient commercial vocation, there are also the warehouses, ancient buildings of medieval origin used as a warehouse and shelter for foreign merchants. Along the Grand Canal you can see the fondaco dei Tedeschi, the fondaco dei Turchi and the fondaco del Megio.

Due to its conformation, Venice has 435 public and private bridges that connect the 118 islets on which it is built, crossing 176 canals. Most of them are built of stone, other common materials are wood and iron. One of the most famous bridges in Venice is the Bridge of Sighs. Made of Istrian stone in the seventeenth century on a project by the architect Antonio Contin, it connects the Palazzo Ducale with the New Prisons. Another symbol of the city is the Rialto bridge: the work of Antonio Da Ponte, it was built in 1591.

Venice is also home to the sought after Peggy Guggenheim museum, where there are great works by artists including Ernst, Modigliani, Picasso, Mirò, Pollock and Kandinsky.

Historical heritage
Venice used to be the capital of the maritime republic of the same name, the historic center of Venice has been enriched over the centuries by grandiose artistic monuments, a manifestation of the opulence that, thanks to maritime trade, had reached the city. The incomparable location in the center of a lagoon and the beauty of its buildings make it a unique city in the world.

Venice is virtually the same as it was hunreds years ago, which adds to the fascinating character. Venice has decayed since its heyday and suffers from overtourism, but the romantic charm remains. It is also known as the birthplace of composers Tomaso Albinoni and Antonio Vivaldi. Venice and its lagoon are a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Venice is a sanctuary on a lagoon, the first historical settlement dates back to 25 March 421, the date of the consecration of the church of San Giacometo, when the populations of the mainland, fleeing the barbarian invasions, sought refuge in the lagoon. It was another invasion, the descent of Pipino (Carlomanno) in 821, to decree the prevalence of the safest area, the high bank (Rialto), among all the surrounding centers and to give it the title of capital of the Duchy of Venice.

The most famous place in the city is Piazza San Marco, the only one in the historic center to be characterized by the toponym “piazza”: the other squares are in fact called “campi” or “campielli”. The Basilica of San Marco is located in the center of the square, colored gold and covered with mosaics that tell the story of Venice, together with the bas-reliefs that depict the months of the year. The Doge’s Palace stands next to the Basilica: to unite them, the Porta della Carta, the work of Bartolomeo Bono, which is the exit of the Palazzo Ducale museum. To see the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, which for centuries was the largest seat of government in the world, the Bridge of Sighs, the prisons and the Leads. In front of the Doge’s Palace stands theSan Marco bell tower: built in 1173 as a lighthouse for sailors.

There are countless noteworthy churches that can be found in the lagoon city, both for their architectural merits and for the artistic treasures contained therein. Among the most important are the octagonal Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute, the Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, the church of San Francesco della Vigna, the church of San Zaccaria, the basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, the church of the Redeemer, the latter built on the Giudecca island on a project by Andrea Palladio, and the basilica of San Pietro di Castellowhich includes two chapels by Veronese. Other important Venetian monuments are the Arsenale, the synagogues of the Ghetto.

Venice is full of noble palaces, overlooking fields, streets, canals and canals, ancient residences of the richest Venetian families of the golden age of the city. Among the most famous Palazzo Fortuny, in gothic style donated to the city of Venice by the widow of the Spanish artist Mariano Fortuny, Palazzo Grassi, the work of Giorgio Massari, Palazzo Mocenigo with a Renaissance-style facade, Palazzo Grimani, owned by the state and seat of the Court appeal and Gothic-style Palazzo Loredan. Two or more families are often mentioned in the name, such as Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti, or Palazzo Gritti-Badoer, or the branch of the family is specified (eg Palazzo Morosini del Pestrin).

Many private residences instead keep the traditional denomination Ca’, which indicated the name of the family and the building: for example Ca’ Foscari, seat of the homonymous city university, Ca ‘Corner, designed in the 16th century by Jacopo Sansovino, Ca’ Rezzonico, in the Dorsoduro district and the work of Longhena, Palazzo Balbi, seat of the President and of the Regional Council of the Veneto Region, Ca ‘Pesaro, Ca’ Tron, Ca ‘Vendramin Calergi and Ca’ Dario,

In Venice, given its ancient commercial vocation, there are also fondachi, ancient buildings of medieval origin used as a warehouse and shelter for foreign merchants. Along the Grand Canal you can see the fondaco dei Tedeschi, the fondaco dei Turchi and the fondaco del Megio.

Due to its conformation, Venice has 435 public and private bridges that connect the 118 islets on which it is built, crossing 176 canals. Most of them are built of stone, other common materials are wood and iron. The longest is the Ponte della Libertà which crosses the Venetian lagoon, connecting the city with the mainland and thus allowing vehicular traffic.

The main canal that cuts through the city, the Grand Canal, is crossed by four bridges: the Rialto bridge is the oldest (built around the sixteenth century); the Accademia bridge; the Scalzi bridge, the latter built under the Habsburg domination and rebuilt in the twentieth century, and finally thebridge of the Constitution, built in 2008 on a project by architect Santiago Calatrava. Another symbol of the city is the Rialto bridge: the work of Antonio Da Ponte, it was built in 1591. One of the most famous bridges in Venice is, moreover, the Bridge of Sighs. Made of Istrian stone in the seventeenth century on a project by the architect Antonio Contin, it connects the Palazzo Ducale with the New Prisons.

Venice is also home to the sought after Peggy Guggenheim museum, where there are great works by artists including Ernst, Modigliani, Picasso, Mirò, Pollock and Kandinsky.

Religious heritage
The historical and architectural beauties of Venice are truly numerous. Between palaces and religious structures, the city really offers many solutions to be explored. Among the most important monuments in the same area there is the basilica of Santa Maria della Salute, the synagogues of the Ghetto, the Arsenale and the basilica of Santa Maria gloriosa dei Frari. Among the most famous religious buildings, there is also the basilica of Saints John and Paul, the church of Santa Maria dei miracoli and more.

There are countless churches worthy of note that can be found in the lagoon city, both for their architectural merits and for the artistic treasures contained therein. Among the most important are the octagonal Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute, with its imposing dome that stands out at the entrance of the Grand Canal and the famous and majestic Basilica of San Marco, the city’s cathedral and seat of the Patriarch and the Patriarchate of Venice, located in the homonymous square, next to the Doge’s Palace.

Among other important religious buildings, There are: the basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, the church of San Francesco della Vigna, the church of San Zaccaria, the basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, the church del Redentore, the latter built on the Giudecca island on a project by Andrea Palladio, and the basilica of San Pietro di Castello which has two chapels by Veronese.

Architectural heritage
The floating city of Venice is renowned for its Gothic art and architecture. The city was largely safe from riot, civil feuds, and invasion much earlier than most European cities. These factors, with the canals and the great wealth of the city, made for unique building styles. Due to its location on the marshy Venetian Lagoon, the entire architecture of the city is designed intelligently, making it unique from any other styles of architecture in Europe.

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Venice has a rich and diverse architectural style, the most prominent of which is the Gothic style. The style originated in 14th-century Venice, with a confluence of Byzantine style from Constantinople, Islamic influences from Spain and Venice’s eastern trading partners, and early Gothic forms from mainland Italy. Originating in the 14th century, Gothic architecture has three different types including Byzantine and Islamic influence, secular Gothic, and religious Gothic.

This architectural style was particularly necessary for Venice because buildings and homes had to be built above the canals. And Venetian Gothic style of architecture allowed the structures to be set on closely spaced wooden piles in order to make a sturdy base in the water. Chief examples of the style are the Doge’s Palace and the Ca’ d’Oro in the city. The city also has several Renaissance and Baroque buildings, including the Ca’ Pesaro and the Ca’ Rezzonico.

Venetian taste was conservative and Renaissance architecture only really became popular in buildings from about the 1470s. More than in the rest of Italy, it kept much of the typical form of the Gothic palazzi, which had evolved to suit Venetian conditions. In turn the transition to Baroque architecture was also fairly gentle. This gives the crowded buildings on the Grand Canal and elsewhere an essential harmony, even where buildings from very different periods sit together. For example, round-topped arches are far more common in Renaissance buildings than elsewhere.

Venice is a dream destination for many. Between the one-of-a-kind canals, incredible historic and cultural offerings, and beautiful architecture style. The many types of architecture that has gone into some of Venice’s most recognisable buildings throughout the centuries. It’s this architecture that partly makes Venice so unique and different compared to other European cities.

Venice has completed more than 1,500 restoration projects in the last 40 years. Today, the city is open to a broader range of styles, striving to maintain a harmonious mix of old and new architecture.

Palaces
Venice is full of noble palaces, overlooking fields, streets, canals and canals, ancient residences of the richest Venetian families of the golden age of the city. Apart from schools and institutional buildings such as the Doge’s Palace, almost all the buildings are identified with the name of the family that founded them or that most left their mark on them.

Among the most famous Palazzo Fortuny, in Gothic style donated to the city of Venice by the widow of the Spanish artist Mariano Fortuny, Palazzo Grassi, the work of Giorgio Massari, Palazzo Mocenigo with a Renaissance-style facade, Palazzo Grimani, owned by the state and seat of the Court of Appeal and Palazzo Loredan in Gothic style. Two or more families are often mentioned in the name such as Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti, or Palazzo Gritti-Badoer, or the branch of the family is specified.

Many private residences instead keep the traditional denomination Ca ‘, which indicated the name of the family and the building: for example Ca’ Foscari, seat of the homonymous city university, Ca ‘Corner, designed in the 16th century by Jacopo Sansovino, Ca’ Rezzonico, in the Dorsoduro district and the work of Longhena, Palazzo Balbi, seat of the President and of the Regional Council of the Veneto Region, Ca ‘Pesaro, Ca’ Tron, Ca ‘Vendramin Calergi and Ca’ Dario.

Bridges
Due to its conformation, Venice has 435 public and private bridges that connect the 118 islets on which it is built, crossing 176 canals. Most of them are built of stone, other common materials are wood and iron. The longest is the Ponte della Libertà which crosses the Venetian lagoon, connecting the city with the mainland and thus allowing vehicular traffic.

The main canal that cuts through the city, the Grand Canal, is crossed by four bridges: the Rialto bridge is the oldest (built around the sixteenth century); the Accademia bridge; the Scalzi bridge, the latter built under the Habsburg domination and rebuilt in the twentieth century, and finally the Constitution bridge, built in 2008 on a project by the architect Santiago Calatrava.

Another symbol of the city is the Rialto bridge: the work of Antonio Da Ponte, it was built in 1591. It was the only way to cross the Grand Canal on foot: in fact, it remained the only bridge until 1854, when the Accademia bridge was built (to which the Scalzi bridge and the Constitution bridge were later added). On the sides of the central body there are luxury shops while, at the end of the bridge, in the San Polo district, there are the fruit and vegetable market, the covered building of the fish market and the church of San Giacomo di Rialto.

Furthermore, one of the most famous bridges in Venice is the Bridge of Sighs. Made of Istrian stone in the seventeenth century on a project by the architect Antonio Contin, it connects the Palazzo Ducale with the New Prisons.

Theaters
Venice at the time of the Serenissima had many theaters, for both musical and dramaturgical or comedy performances, many of which housed in patrician palaces, such as the small theater of Palazzo Grassi renovated in 2013 or in factories of undoubted interest architectural, such as the eighteenth-century La Fenice Theater (1792), the Goldoni Theater (dating back to 1622, although completely renovated in the seventies) and the Malibran Theater (1678).

The Grand Canal
The Grand Canal is a channel in Venice, Italy. It forms one of the major water-traffic corridors in the city. Flanked along its entire length by magnificent buildings, most of the centuries between the twelfth and eighteenth, which manifest the wealth and art created by the Republic of Venice, making it one of the symbols of the city, every year the Venetians relive centuries-old traditions of the Serenissima, such as the Historical Regatta.

The Grand Canal is the main canal that crosses the historic center of Venice. One end of the canal leads into the lagoon near the Santa Lucia railway station and the other end leads into the basin at San Marco; in between, it makes a large reverse-S shape through the central districts (sestieri) of Venice. It is 3.8 km long, and 30 to 90 m wide, with an average depth of 5 metres.

The Grand Canal started from a short stretch in a south-easterly direction of the Constitution Bridge, it turns north-east, to then a large bend, along which the Scalzi Bridge and the confluence of the Cannaregio Canal are found, which ends to the Rialto Bridge. From here it continues south-west and then south and finally east, from Ponte dell’Accademia to Punta della Dogana. In this path it touches five of the six sestieri, collects 45 minor canals and is crossed by seven bridges. The most recent is the Ponte della Costituzione, which connect the square of the Venice Santa Lucia station with Piazzale Roma, the terminus of the car lines and the tram line of the Venice Transport Consortium.

The Grand Canal around which the city was born, the vital center of trade in the Serenissima throughout the Middle Ages, the Grand Canal was the most coveted seat of the representative palaces of the patrician families, the place to enhance one’s wealth, the true Book of ‘gold’ in which to stand out. There are at least 170 residences that still today can tell a thousand years of splendor of the Republic, most of which date from the 13th to the 18th century, and demonstrate the welfare and art created by the Republic of Venice.

The noble Venetian families faced huge expenses to show off their richness in suitable palazzos; this contest reveals the citizens’ pride and the deep bond with the lagoon. In the history of the families who lived there and in the alternation of architecture, always influenced by a particular Venetian taste. It can be said that, with this “competition” for the most beautiful palace, Venice has embodied the pride of its identity and the deep bond with the lagoon in the Grand Canal.

Most of the buildings located along the Grand Canal will spend a lot of money to build exquisite facades. Amongst the many are the Palazzi Barbaro, Ca’ Rezzonico, Ca’ d’Oro, Palazzo Dario, Ca’ Foscari, Palazzo Barbarigo and to Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, housing the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. The churches along the canal include the basilica of Santa Maria della Salute. Most of these luxury residences are now converted into hotels, banks or museums. Between these architectures are some churches, schools and small square. The most famous churches along the canal include the basilica of Santa Maria della Salute.

Because most of the city’s traffic goes along the Canal rather than across it, only one bridge crossed the canal until the 19th century, the Rialto Bridge. There are currently three more bridges, the Ponte degli Scalzi, the Ponte dell’Accademia, and the Ponte della Costituzione. Most of the palaces emerge from water without pavement. Consequently, one can only tour past the fronts of the buildings on the grand canal by boat.

Venetian painting school
Venetian painting was a major force in Italian Renaissance painting and beyond. Considered to give primacy of colour over line, the tradition of the Venetian school contrasted with the Mannerism prevalent in the rest of Italy. The Venetian style exerted great influence upon the subsequent development of Western painting.

The harmonious concord and stability, and tight requirements, Venice was reflected in its paintings. Venice was widely known and revered for retaining the reputation of “unsullied liberty, unwavering religiosity, social harmony and unfailing peaceful intentions.” The Republic of Venice was the leading city to uphold the utilisation of artistic patronage as an “arm of government” in its realisation of the potential of art as a political asset.

Beginning with the work of Giovanni Bellini (1430–1516) and his brother Gentile Bellini (1429–1507) and their workshops, the major artists of the Venetian school included Giorgione (1477–1510), Titian (1489–1576), Tintoretto (1518–1594), Paolo Veronese (1528–1588) and Jacopo Bassano (1510–1592) and his sons.

By chance, the main phases of Venetian painting fit rather neatly into the centuries. The glories of the 16th century were followed by a great fall-off in the 17th, but an unexpected revival in the 18th, when Venetian painters enjoyed great success around Europe, as Baroque painting turned to Rococo. This had ended completely by the extinction of the Republic of Venice in 1797 and since then, though much painted by others, Venice has not had a continuing style or tradition of its own.

Though a long decline in the political and economic power of the Republic began before 1500, Venice at that date remained “the richest, most powerful, and most populous Italian city” and controlled significant territories on the mainland, known as the terraferma, which included several small cities who contributed artists to the Venetian school, in particular Padua, Brescia and Verona. The Republic’s territories also included Istria, Dalmatia and the islands now off the Croatian coast, who also contributed. Indeed, “the major Venetian painters of the sixteenth century were rarely natives of the city” itself, and some mostly worked in the Republic’s other territories, or further afield.

The rest of Italy tended to ignore or underestimate Venetian painting; Giorgio Vasari’s neglect of the school in the first edition of his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects in 1550 was so conspicuous that he realized he needed to visit Venice for extra material in his second edition of 1568. In contrast, foreigners, for whom Venice was often the first major Italian city visited, always had a great appreciation for it and, after Venice itself, the best collections are now in the large European museums rather than other Italian cities. At the top, princely, level, Venetian artists tended to be the most sought-after for commissions abroad, from Titian onwards, and in the 18th century most of the best painters spent significant periods abroad, generally with great success.

The traditional methods of the Byzantine style persisted even in the painting faction until around 1400 before the dominant style began to shift towards International Gothic and Italian Renaissance first brought into Venice by Paduan Guariento di Arpo, Gentile da Fabriano and Pisanello when they were commissioned to ornament the frescoes of the Doge’s Palace.

The symbol of Venice is known to be the Virgin or the goddess Venus, but the Lion of Saint Mark is the oldest and most universal symbol of the Republic. The Lion is the figure which welcomes outsiders into the city, as it stands on the summit of the column on the Piazzetta, along with other public structures such as the city gates and palaces. Depictions of lions in paintings represented the significance of the saint as the patron of the city of Venice.

An example is the tempera on canvas by Vittore Carpaccio, Lion of Saint Mark, 1516. The powerful image of the lion portrayed with the divine marks of the halo and wings, points to an open book with the inscriptions “Peace unto you Mark, my evangelist” explicitly stating its protection and blessing over the city. The delineation of the lion’s front paws above land whilst the rear paws stand above the sea alludes to the dominance of Venice’s reign over both territories as a fulfilment of Saint Mark’s promise.

Murano glass
At the end of the 10th century glass manufacturing began in Venice. Murano glass is associated with Venetian glass. The history of Murano glass began in 1291 when it was decreed that the glassworks of Venice, were transferred to Murano. Already in the mid-14th century, Murano glass blowers began to sell their products abroad. They were known for their highly coveted glass beads and since the fifteenth century for mirrors, which were exported in large quantities. Half a century later they no longer only produced utilitarian objects, but created independent art.

Murano’s glassmakers were soon numbered among the island’s most prominent citizens. By the fourteenth century, glassmakers were allowed to wear swords, enjoyed immunity from prosecution by the Venetian state and marry with noble daughters of Venice’s most affluent families. While benefiting from certain statutory privileges, glassmakers were forbidden to leave the Republic.

Murano’s glassmakers held a monopoly on high-quality glassmaking for centuries, developing or refining many technologies including optically clear glass, enamelled glass (smalto), glass with threads of gold (aventurine), multicolored glass (millefiori), milk glass (lattimo), and imitation gemstones made of glass.

In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, glassblowers mainly studied functionality with different materials. They export dark colored amalgam even if it was out of fashion in Venice. Then they develop crystal production, no real crystal, but a particularly clear and transparent glass. Aventurine-glass was invented and glasses with gold motifs, chalcedony glass that was hard as stones. The ancient technique of millefiori was discovered, worked with colored glass sticks in transparent glass. More and more items were produced: lattimo, an opaque frosted glass, and dairy, a skillful connection made of lattimo and clear glass. At that time the Venetians achieved a prized quality that made it famous.

Today, the artisans of Murano still employ these centuries-old techniques, crafting everything from contemporary art glass and glass jewellery to Murano glass chandeliers and wine stoppers.

Venice kept protecting the secret of the production of glass and of crystal but, notwithstanding it, the Republic partially lost its monopoly at the end of the sixteenth century, because of some glass makers who let the secret be known in many European countries.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, glass blowers focused their attention entirely on forms. Mirrors and chandeliers from Venice were so in demand that Louis XIV tried to set up a competing factory to avoid import costs. Also in Bruges and Bohemia, innovative factories were created. They developed the glass engraving technology, they have since invented the crystal. In 1730, Giuseppe Briati founded a factory in Venice to imitate Bohemian crystal. The results were disappointing because the Venetian crystal amalgam was not suitable for engraving and could not be sliced into facets.

The change in taste and competition from abroad has decided the decline of glass. During the fall of the Venetian Republic it was almost completely sunk. Only in the mid-nineteenth century did it flourish again thanks to the enterprises of some old families of glass masters (Barovier, Toso, Seguso, Salviati) and to the development of the Glass Museum.

Today, Murano is home to the Museo del Vetro or Murano Glass Museum in the Palazzo Giustinian, which holds displays on the history of glassmaking as well as glass samples ranging from Egyptian times through the present day.

Venetian cuisine
The origin of Venetian cuisine is conceived under the long and glorious historical and cultural background of this unique city. Gourmet cuisine often comes from the surrounding environment, which also happens to be the most special place in Venetian cuisine. Geographically, there is a lack of land around the lagoon, and there are no vegetable gardens and gardens in Venice. This should have greatly restricted the space for Venetian cuisine. However, as a maritime power, Venice has frequent trade and freight transportation, bringing more ingredients and condiments to the city, thus enriching the diversity of Venice’s recipes.

Venetian cuisine was a fusion of cultures and customs of distant peoples. But Venice also has an extraordinary territory that offers products of excellence, which over time have found an incredible synergy with the international cuisines that are protagonists of the history of the Serenissima.

True traditional Venetian cuisine today is made up of simple and nutritious dishes, rich in flavor that often combine sweet with salty, sour with spicy. The lagoon cuisine is a riot of typical dishes: a succession of pastas, risottos, fried and roasts that deserve to be tasted. Dishes and recipes, even more elaborate than a sandwich.

The most typical place to eat in Venice are the cicchetterie, where, with the excuse of drinking, you can eat morsels of typical recipes. Venice is also famous for its historic cafes.

Venetian cuisine is characterized by seafood, but also includes garden products from the islands of the lagoon, rice from the mainland, game, and polenta. Venice is not known for a peculiar cuisine of its own: it combines local traditions with influences stemming from age-old contacts with distant countries.

These include sarde in saór (sardines marinated to preserve them for long voyages); bacalà mantecato (a recipe based on Norwegian stockfish and extra-virgin olive oil); bisàto (marinated eel); risi e bisi – rice, peas and (unsmoked) bacon; fegato alla veneziana, Venetian-style veal liver; risòto col néro de sépe (risotto with cuttlefish, blackened by their own ink); cichéti, refined and delicious tidbits (akin to tapas); antipasti (appetizers); and prosecco, an effervescent, mildly sweet wine.

In addition, Venice is known for the golden, oval-shaped cookies called baìcoli, and for other types of sweets, such as: pan del pescaór (bread of the fisherman); cookies with almonds and pistachio nuts; cookies with fried Venetian cream, or the bussolài (butter biscuits and shortbread made in the shape of a ring or an “S”) from the island of Burano; the galàni or cróstoli (angel wings); the frìtole (fried spherical doughnuts); the fregolòtta (a crumbly cake with almonds); a milk pudding called rosàda; and cookies called zaléti, whose ingredients include yellow maize flour.

The dessert tiramisù is generally thought to have been invented in Treviso in the 1970s, and is popular in the Veneto area.

Shopping
Venice has always been a city of merchants. Consequently, most of the Venetians working in Venice still own or work at a shop. There is extreme diversity and quality of goods and services which could be found in Venice.

For label clothing shopping, the best area is that around the Piazza San Marco, there are numerous high fashion shops concentrated in the “haberdashery”, in Calle Vallaresso and in via XXII Marzo, where you can find Versace, MaxMara, Gucci, Armani, Louis Vuitton, Prada (and numerous more) big names.

If you want to shop for clothing or accessories, you can get less famous or local boutiques, but you can find some excellent quality and/or unique items such as clothes, shoes, wallets or handbags.

One of the most characteristic products of Venice are the Murano glass handcrafted on the homonymous island of Venice. This type of craftsmanship boasts a millenary tradition. The lace produced above all on the island of Burano, but also on the island of Pellestrina and in nearby Chioggia are also renowned. Venetian masks, which are not actually a traditional product, are also very popular. In fact, their production only began in the 1980s, following the revival of the Venice Carnival.

Alongside the handicrafts, the souvenir market, more or less kitsch, flourishes. Among these are the plastic gondolas (with lights, ballerina and carillon) and gondolier hats. Alongside the typical offer of all tourist centers, from t-shirts to reproductions of monuments. The latest arrivals, following the carnival, are jester hats, which have achieved some success in sales, but which obviously have nothing “Venetian” about them.

Don’t miss the Rialto market on San Polo, the smallest sestiere. The Rialto market is for shoppers. To the east is an area of small shops and restaurants; to the west is the Rialto farmers’ market. Shopping is slightly less expensive than in the tourist-filled Piazza San Marco.

Water Activities
Due to its characteristic of having always been a city in which the waterways have been used as the main transport route, in Venice there are numerous types of boats for different uses. The most characteristic of the lagoon boats is certainly the gondola. Due to its characteristics of maneuverability and speed, it was, until the advent of motorized vehicles, the most suitable Venetian boat for transporting people. Historically it was built and stored in small yards called squèri, such as the squero di San Trovaso, this boat is used mainly for tourism purposes, but also for ceremonies such as weddings and funerals or for sporting events, such as the famous Historical Regatta.

Water bus
Ride a vaporetto down the Grand Canal right before sunset. The vaporetti are expensive, but the sights are priceless: amazing architecture, soft seaside sunlight, and a fascinating parade of Venetian watercraft.

Gondola
Some guidebooks discourage tourists from asking for gondola price reductions. The oarsmen have an informal habit of cutting the most interesting and little-known parts from the journey path for “discount” customers. Reduced rate riders get much less marvel in exchange for a moderate price drop, which may not be worth it.

Traghetto
The alternative is to cross the Grand Canal by traghetto only cost €2 to use and are largely gondolas that have seen better days, They are stripped down and used as municipal ferries. The length of any crossing is just a few minutes. Many visitors enjoy visiting the open air markets near the Rialto Bridge and there is a traghetto station there, at the Pescheria (fish market) joining the Santa Sophia church along the Strada Nova. However some only operate when people are going to and from work.

Events
Venice hosts a large number of events of international value. In the cultural field, the most important event is the Venice Biennale, Among the folkloristic events the famous Carnival of Venice. The Regatta of the Ancient Maritime Republics is a historical re-enactment.

Among the religious celebrations, the feast of the Madonna della Salute (21 November) which is a local holiday, the feast of the Sensa on the occasion of the Ascension, the feast of the Redeemer (third Sunday in July) and the feast of San Marco which is held every 25 April.

One of the most important trade fairs is the International Boat Show in spring. A popular spring event is also the non-competitive walk Up and down the bridges that winds through the streets and bridges of the historic center.

Venice Biennale: La Biennale di Venezia is one of the most well-known culture institutions. Two events organised by Biennale are the Art and Architecture International Exhibitions happening alternately (Architecture Biennale in even years, Art Biennale in odd, but roll over since 2021), other fields are also covered – contemporary theatre, dance, music, cinema (Venice International Film Festival). Exhibitions take place mostly in two locations: Arsenale and Giardini. They are both worth visiting even when no event is scheduled. Arsenale is the largest pre-industrial production centre in the world, dating back to 13th century, and Giardini is architectural gem filled with national pavilions from different parts of the world, often designed by famous architects, it was a venue for the International Art Exhibition since the 19th century.

Historic fleet event: Regata Storica celebrating a historic event from 1489, the regatta displays almost a hundred varieties of Venetian boats from the city’s rich past. Large oarships, replicating ancient roman and medieval vessels, are rowed along the Canal Grande, followed by many smaller boats. There are several races, including a master championship for solo sculling in streamlined gondolini, painted in unusual white, pink, etc. colours.

Vogalonga: The yearly equivalent of a marathon run on water. Vogalonga competitors must row 32 km under 3.5 hours to receive a certificate of attendance at the finish line, but everybody with a human-powered vessel is welcome to participate. The event is mainly for teams, completing Voga Longa on a single oar is considered a major achievement.

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