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The city is built across over a hundred small islands. The
city's historic center, the size of New York's Central Park,
is divided into six sestieri (quarters): San
Marco, Dorsoduro, San Polo, Santa Croce, Cannaregio, and
Castello. Greater Venice also includes the towns
of the lagoon islands, the Lido, and on the mainland,
Mestre and Marghera - Italy's version of the
New Jersey Flats where many Venetians live today. A three-mile
long rail and road bridge, built by the Austrians in 1846,
links the center of Venice to the mainland.
History of Venice
For most of its history, the former Venetian Republic
- with its immense web of trading connections, political alliances,
and strategically intelligent use of the sword - continued
to grow in economic status. Venice's strength lay not just
in its beautiful glass, its magnificent silks and wool, or
indispensable salt, but also in its ability to acquire and
transport necessary and desirable goods - like spices - from
distant lands. Demand for spices in Medieval Europe was great
and people were prepared to pay extortionate prices for something
to flavor the monotonous dishes of the day and combat infections.
Spices were even used as a means of payment when currency
was in short supply. Nowadays, Venice enjoys a different kind
of merchant trade - mass tourism. Over fifteen million tourists
visit Venice every year and many are worried that in years
to come it will become a living museum. Since 1946, the city's
population has plunged from around 170,000 to 65,000 today.
Many native Venetians can no longer afford to live here and
have shut up shop, moving to the mainland in search of a higher
standard of living.
Venice's natural hazards
Aside from migration, the future of the city is under threat
from natural hazards. The islands of Venice, made of sand
and mud, have been sinking since the city was established.
The islanders made foundations by hammering wooden piles into
the lagoon so all the city is built on a wooden maze.
Even today, Venice is engaged with its own private battle
with the sea. Acqua alta (flooding in the city)
is nothing new - it has been recorded since the thirteenth
century - but it is getting steadily worse. In 1782, Venice
completed the famous murazzi, two-and-a-half
mile long by 20-feet high sea walls, to protect the lagoon.
Since 1900, Venice has sunk by at least ten inches but some
of the worst damage to the lagoon took place in the 1960s
when a large canal was dug in the nearby industrial town of
Marghera to allow oil tankers access, which changed
the currents of the lagoon and caused Venice to sink at a
much faster rate. In November 1966, a deadly combination of
wind, torrential storms, high tides, and giant waves breached
the murazzi, wrecked the Lido, and left
Venice under record acque alte (high waters)
for 20 hours with disastrous results to the city's architecture
and art. The catastrophe galvanised the international community's
efforts to save Venice.
The Venetians have survived for a thousand years by manipulating
the lagoon to suit their own needs. Nowadays an enormous amount
of restoration is taking place in Venice to preserve the city's
treasures, starting with the canals - the very first masterpieces
of Venice. They were triumphs of great engineering and every
year two to three miles of canal is dredged of silt so that
the wood piles and wall foundations can be repaired and the
level of water flowing through can be reduced.
When to go to Venice
It's almost always high season in Venice so if you're looking
for a place to stay, make sure you book well in advance. Summer
is oppressively humid and polluted, with temperatures often
excelling into the 80s Fahrenheit (over 26 Centigrade) and
risks of storms to break the humidity. Spring and autumn are
the most pleasant times to visit, although rainfall can be
high in May and June and many come in February or March for
the famous Venice Carnival.
November and December sees heavy rain and flooding; January
and February are very cold months. September is probably the
busiest but liveliest month of the year with great weather
and heaps of fun festivals to take in.
Getting around Venice
By foot
There was a time when the only way to get around Venice effectively
was by boat, but nowadays the best way to explore Venice is
to don a good pair of walking shoes and pound its antique
pavements. You will undoubtedly end up caught up in the never-ending
flow of visitors tramping the narrow main thoroughfares. You'll
need a map as the city is a warren of over 2000 alleys (calli)
for Venice's pedestrian-only traffic. Venice has some 150
canals and 409 bridges, although only three of these cross
the Grand Canal. A word of warning: when hunting for an address
in Venice make sure you are in the correct sestiere
(quarter) as quite a few streets share names. Also beware
that houses in each sestiere are numbered consecutively in
a system logical only to a postman from Mars - numbers up
to 5000 are not unusual! Even if you do get lost in a deep
dark corner of Venice, don't worry as there are shrines
everywhere to protect you. Centuries ago the Venetians put
them there to supposedly stop people getting mugged. Pedestrians
should remember that this a living breathing city - Venice's
foot traffic can be the epitome of hell, especially for the
Venetians, so try not to stop on bridges or hold up the flow
of people.
By vaporetto
If you want to save your feet, hop on Venice's answer to
the London bus - the vaporetto. The cheapest way to
do it is to buy an orange Venice Card, which is available
in different versions. If you're over 30, a seven-day Venice
Card will set you back around 70 Euro, but this includes all
public transport and gives you access to many of the cities
major museums as well as a series of reductions on attractions,
historic sites, shops, and bars. The No. 1 vaporetto route
provides a ride down Venice's bustling and splendid main
artery. Departing from Piazzale Roma it zigzags up the
Grand Canal to San Marco and then on to the Lido.
If you're not in a rush it's a great introduction to Venice.
The Grand Canal has always been Venice's status address,
if not the greatest high street in the world, and along its
looping banks the Venetians built a hundred marble palaces
with their front doors opening on to the canal, framed by
peppermint-colored stick posts where they moored their water
carriages. Spot sights like the Renaissance Palazzo
where Richard Wagner died in 1838, now the winter home
of the casino.
By gondola
Cruising Venice's canals by gondola has got to be
the most romantic way to travel. In the sixteenth century,
when there were 10,000 gondolas traversing the city's canals,
the Venetian Republic saw decorations on gondolas as a shameless
flaunting of conspicuous wealth and ordered them all to be
painted black. Nowadays there are only 400 gondolas, but at
over 60 Euros for a 50-minute ride it's a lucrative business.
Hard-up travelers can take a short 'traghetto' gondola
ride, acting as a shuttle boat to cross the Grand Canal,
for just 40 cents ($0.50).
Gondoliers are part of the symbolism and mythology
of Venice. They were first recorded in 1094 and have become
a Venetian institution, inspiring writers, artists, and musicians.
Once the nobles of Venice got into the habit of travelling
about the city in their own personal gondola and employing
a private gondolier, he often became something of a confidante
since he accompanied his master to even the most private rendezvous
- and so the romantic connotations of the gondola began. Gondoliers
use a form of rowing called 'voga ad un solo remo'
(one-oared rowing), a technique taught from father to son
in this profession handed down through the generations. Venetians
believe that Gondoliers have webbed feet as they are such
natural seafarers. It can take months to make each boat and
they cost upwards of $35,000. In theory, a gondolier uses
no more energy rowing a half-ton gondola with three passengers
than the average person expends walking, though that doesn't
quite explain how Venice's best looking drivers acquire their
bodybuilder-like biceps.
Where to stay in Venice
Demand exceeds supply for accommodation in Venice, so expect
to pay huge tariffs of up to 100 Euro ($130) per night for
a double room in a one star hotel, or 200 Euro ($250) per
night for a three star in high season. In fact, the only times
that don't constitute high season here are mid-November to
mid-December, and after New Year until the carnival season
in February or March. Scare stories say book three- to six-months
in advance, but you could just do as the Venetians do and
ask around but then you could end up out in the sticks in
a resort like Jesolo or Cavallino. In recent
years the hotel monopoly has been challenged by a small army
of alternative lodgings, from bed and breakfasts to affittacamere
(guest houses) and residenze d'epoca (historic residences)
and rental apartments. Or you can try camping - there
are several reasonably priced camp sites near the airport
and sites located elsewhere which can help take the sting
out of a visit.
The most traditional place to stay is a palazzo, a
traditional Venetian house, which evolved to meet the needs
of a city without roads. Visitors usually arrived by boat,
so the façade facing the canal was always architecturally
lavish, while the land-facing side, accessible from a square
or alley, was rarely ornate. Most houses were built with three-storeys,
with kitchens located on the ground floor for ready access
to water or in the attic to enable cooking smells to escape.
Typically a palazzo served as a warehouse and a business premises
as well as a family home, reflecting the city's merchant character.
Prices are usually around 150 Euros per night for a room.
Where to eat in Venice
Venice is a phenomenally touristy city and there is a dearth
of quality, mid-priced places to eat but heaps of slapdash
and overpriced eateries catering for the churn of tourists'
feet passing through town. Look out for somewhere where local
workmen eat. You will need to pay at least 30 Euro
($40) for a reasonable quality meal per head. If you're on
a real budget, order a pizza - best bet is a pizzeria
rather than the takeaway variety. A delicious and cheap afternoon
snack is of course the great Italian ice-cream served
from a gelataria, or buy your own picnic from a market
stall like those in Rialto. The Venetians never eat
or have a drink at a table because you will be charged double
the price for taking up that seat. You should also always
keep your receipt - by law you have to keep hold of it until
you're 100 meters (300 feet) away from the establishment.
The division between bars and restaurants is slight in Venice.
A bácaro is a cross between a bar and a trattoria
(cheap restaurant). The long established ones are typically
stand-up or bar stool only, the more modern bacaro born out
of a recent revival may have a seating area. In a bácaro
you can sample cicheti - small finger food snacks such
as stuffed olives, vegetable deep fried in batter and an endless
array of seafood items - basically the local version of Spanish
tapas. Sandwiches are often served at lunchtime. Wash
it down with an ombra - a glass of wine. The word ombra,
meaning shade, comes from the days when people would go to
stands set up in the shade in the local square for an afternoon
tipple. Locals often bar hop from osteria to osteria munching
cicheti as they go. It's a great way for visitors to experience
a more down-to-earth side of Venice.
Florians
Two centuries ago, St. Marks Square was overrun by
coffee houses but today only two of the originals survive
and the most famous of the pair is Florians. Its hand-painted
décor, unchanged since it opened its doors in 1720,
was designed by Floriano Francesconi under the pseudonym
Venezia Trionfante (Triumphant Venice). While the finest
coffee from the Orient, Cyprus, and Greece were served, history
unfolded within the café's stained glass windows -
the magnificent rise and fall of the Republic of Venice. People
surreptitiously plotted to end the French and later Austrian
rule within its walls and the wounded from the 1848 uprising
were treated in the coffee house's room. Florians clientele
were both prestigious and notorious - Lord Byron, Goethe
and Charles Dickens used to come here. In the early
eighteenth century, this was the only place in Venice to admit
women. Today the café has retained its open door policy
but be prepared to pay for the privilege with a coffee costing
11Euro ($13). Who said the days of Venetian decadence were
over?
Bellini cocktail
A short ten minute boat ride from St. Marks is the Lido
where Venetians decamp in the summer months to hang out on
the beach. It's a great place to savour Venice's most famous
cocktail - the Bellini - only in Venice could a drink
be named after one of the world's most famous artists! If
you're feeling really decadent, try one at the luxurious Excelsior
Hotel but this level of style doesn't come cheap - the
sun lounger here alone will set you back 9 Euros ($11).
Sights in the city
St. Mark's
St. Mark's Square is the centre of Venetian civic
life, what Napoleon dubbed 'the finest drawing room
in the world'. It's a showpiece for pageants, processions,
political activities, and countless carnival festivities.
Inside and outside the piazza's elegant buildings there is
plenty to entertain with elegant cafes, open air orchestras,
and smart boutiques. The relics of spiritual figurehead of
the former Venetian Republic, St. Mark, were
plundered from Alexandria in Egypt and are housed in
St. Mark's Basilica, one of the greatest treasures
of the Western world yet with an eastern flavour: it was first
constructed in 828 AD and modelled on Constantinople Church
of the Twelve Apostles in present day Istanbul.
Rialto Bridge
The Rialto Bridge is often considered to be the most
famous bridge in the world. In the thirteenth century it was
a wooden bridge, then when it was near to collapse the Venetian
Republic held a competition for the design of a new stone
structure. Antonio da Ponte's design was the most audacious,
proposing a single arch spanning 157 feet. Built in 1592,
it defied all the dire predictions of its day and still stands,
even withstanding the additional weight of two rows of shops.
Jewish Ghetto
Step off the main drag and breathe in the subdued, shabby
charm of the real Venice in Getto Novo, where baroque
backstreet churches are framed by lines of washing flapping
in the breeze. The first Jews arrived in Venice in
the tenth century, however, it was not until 1516 that all
Jews were forced to live in one particular area of the city.
Most Jews who lived in Venice then were moneylenders, medics
or book printers. This area was named the Getto
Novo (where the modern word ghetto comes from) and the
people who lived here were only allowed to visit the rest
of the city if they wore a yellow cap or badge. The buildings
are taller here than anywhere else in Venice because conditions
were cramped and the Jews had to build upwards. Around 500
Jews still live in Venice, but only around 30 of these are
in the ghetto.
Lido
The Lido is by far the most glamorous of the lagoon
islands, one that has lent its name to countless bathing establishments
and clubs all over the world. On its eight miles of beaches,
poets, potentates and plutocrats at the turn of the century,
spent their holidays making the lido the pinnacle of Belle
Epoque fashion. But style doesn't come for free: all of
the beaches are private except for Venice's one free beach,
Spiaggia Comunale, which is on the north part of the
island, a fifteen minute walk from the vaporetto (boat) stop.
Guggenheim Museum
Venice is jam-packed with famous artwork, from the Renaissance
to the twentieth century. Bellini, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese,
Tiepolo and Canaletto are all great Venetian artists whose
works can be found in many of the churches, arts schools and
museums throughout the city. Modern artwork is well-represented
at the Guggenheim Museum in Dorsoduro, with
works by many twentieth century greats like Pablo Picasso,
Henri Matisse and Jackson Pollock.
Doges Palace
Doges Palace is a bona fide ornate palace where the real
aristocrats of Venice lived in splendour and co-ordinated
the conquest of an empire. Built in the fourteenth century,
the palace is a wonderful mix of Gothic and Classical,
East meets West, in a marriage of styles that would come to
define the architecture of Venice. It was the seat of the
Venetian government, the home of the Doge - the
elected head of state - and the equivalent of London's Downing
Street, Parliament, Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London
all rolled into one. Its impressive sights include the Maggior
Consiglio (Grand Chamber Council), a giant room to house
up to 2,622 noblemen politicians where you will see Tintoretto's
Paradise - the largest oil painting in the world.
Ponte di Tette
The name translates quite literally as "Tits Bridge"
because this was the red light district of Venice. In the
early sixteenth century some 11,000 prostitutes were registered
in Venice. Apparently they were encouraged to hang out of
windows bare breasted to encourage business - no wonder Byron
called Venice 'the revel of the world'! The city fathers were
worried about Venetian men adopting eastern habits of sodomising
each other and overt prostitution was their solution.
Fiorella Mancini Shop
The art of Fiorella Mancini has no boundaries - neither
figurative nor material - and no taboos. She generously uses
sexual references, modern fetishes, and she even adopts the
symbol of the city - the lion of Venice. The creations of
Mancini, a costume maker and designer, amaze, shock, and invite
viewers to reflect, from underwear with 'f**k your life' written
on them to printed jackets adorned with gigantic plush rats
parading in the Venice Carnival. In the 1980s she funded a
Turkish bath as a gathering place for intellectuals and movie
directors.
Fiorella Mancini is as well known in the city for her outrageous
personality as the outrageous clothes she sells in her shop.
Doge mannequins display hand printed jackets, dresses and
shirts in a very camp style - a sharp contrast to the mainstream
Italian designer shops a couple of streets away!
Fiorella herself is a non-conformist, large personality.
She is well known for protesting against certain elements
of Venice: in 2005 she held her own anti-Biennale art display
in her shop; under a 'B&B' sign two gay men shared a bed
in the shop for five days as a kind of alternative reality
show. Many of Mancini's 'happenings' are outlawed by the authorities,
but that doesn't stop her unique spirit.
Fiorella Mancini
Telephone: 00 39 041 5209228
Sights outside the city
Cremona
Cremona is Violin City, the most famous centre
for the production of stringed instruments in the world. Cremona
claims to be the birthplace of the violin and it has been
the champion of the violin since 1566 when Andrea Amati
invented the prototype modern violin from the viol - the Medieval
fiddle. They are so mad about violins in Cremona that they've
even set up an International School of Violin Making to
keep the tradition alive. Visit the Palazzo del Comune
- the world's greatest collection of violins including the
1715 Golden Cermonese by Antonio Stradivari,
and visit the great luthier's grave.
Asolo
The old walled hill town of Asolo - often known as
the town of 'one hundred horizons' - was the consolation prize
given in 1489 to Queen Caterina Cornaro by Venice after
demanding her abdication from the throne of Cyprus. It could
have been worse - Asolo is one of the most enchanting spots
in Italy and the jewel of the Veneto region. It was
also a beloved retreat of poet Robert Browning and
explorer Freya Stark lived and was buried here. Visitors
to Asolo could be forgiven for thinking they had suddenly
found themselves transported far inland to Tuscany as the
rustic town, with a tiny population of 8,000, nestles in beautiful
rolling countryside. The third Sunday of September sees the
six differing factions of the town battling against one another
in a bid to have their girl crowned queen. At the Palio
Asolo festival, participants dress in Medieval costumes
and race brightly painted Roman-style chariots.
Palladian Villas
In the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, Venice's wealthiest
families would escape the oppressive heat of the city and
decamp to their summer residences on the mainland. They could
be gone from June until mid-November, so these second residences
were as opulent as their Grand Canal palazzos. Some
100 villas are left standing and follow the line of the Brenta
River. The gardens and open space you can see on a river
cruise are a welcome relief from the crowds in Venice. Many
of the villas now lie derelict, but a few are open to the
public, the most outstanding being the Villa Foscari
and the Villa Pisani.
The Villa Foscari overlooks the River Brenta at
Malcontenta. Designed by Palladio, its façade
of ionic columns gives it an elegant, Classical feel. The
villa also goes by the nickname of the Malcontenta
(unhappy woman) after a female member of the Foscari family
was exiled there for being unfaithful to her husband.
The Villa Pisani in Stra is even more magnificent,
with its extensive gardens designed for Doge Alvise
Pisani. When Napoleon ruled Venice in the nineteenth
century, he used the villa as a temporary residence and the
villa was also the setting for the first meeting between Hitler
and Mussolini.
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