Venice is a city in
northeastern Italy made
up of 118 small islands separated by canals and connected by lots of bridges. According to tradition Venice was founded in
421 AD although no one really knows for sure.
Venice was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance and a staging area for the Crusades and the Battle of Lepanto It was also a very important centre of
commerce, especially for trading silk, grain, and spice.
Venice is like a labyrinth!
I was in Venice for three days and still
had no idea where anything was. The New York Times says it’s “the
most beautiful city built by man".
I think it’s the most confusing city built by man, although it is very
beautiful.
The
biggest Canal in Venice is The Grand Canal.
It runs all the way through Venice.
There are only four bridges that cross it. The oldest bridge that crosses it is called
the Rialto Bridge.
Rialto Bridge
Some
call Venice “the floating city” though they may have to change that nickname to
“the sinking city”. Flooding from high tides always begins in St.
Mark's Square and the cathedral courtyard, the lowest points of the city. Water
bubbles up through the manhole covers, first slowly, then more steadily. Unfortunately, because the water is from the
sea, it smells like fish.
To show you how flooded the square can get, here is a picture of a guy actually canoeing in the square.
St
Mark’s Square is a fun place to be day and night with lots of cafés and
music. At night they even have dueling
café orchestras! One of the orchestras
played a song from one of my favorite movies, Phantom of the Opera! I was very happy with that! During the day people also love feeding the pigeons,
(even though the locals don’t like them) and they try to get them to jump on
their arms and sometimes their heads!
St.
Mark’s Basilica dominates the square. It was built
in the 11th century and is the most famous and most recognizable of all the
churches in the city of Venice. It is an architectural
mixture of Byzantine, Roman, and
Venetian. The whole Basilica looks a big
work of art.
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