Archive for February, 2011

Venice, also called as “City of Bridges”, is the capital of Veneto region. Located in the north-east part of Italy, the city is stretched along the mouths of the Po and the Piave rivers.

Venice is even known as magnetic point for lovers, sweethearts, poets and artists. Venice is a city of magic, which stretches across small islands. It is also referred to as city of ‘gondole’, which means transportation is used to cross the numerous canals passing through the city.

The transportation in Venice is represented by boats. In the 19th Century, the causeway built and allowed trains to reach the city of Venice from the Mainland.

In Venice one can find another type of boats, “Vaporetti”, which is also called waterbuses or taxis that represents a symbol of Venice.

St. Mark’s Basilica

It is a big onion domes and multicolored marble pillars with beautiful outside, and interior is covered with mosaics floor to ceiling. There is no fee to visit the main part of the besilica, and even booking an entry time online is free. There are three museums within the besilica, which you will have to pay an entry fee to see. The present besilica has a very ornate faced with the golden winged lion which represents St. Mark, the symbol of Venice.

St. Mark’S Square

In Venice, St., Mark’s Square is the main square, and it has long been a central meeting place for Venetians. Now, St. Mark’s Square is a great place for tourists. It has a dominating clock tower, the Basilica, political and religious buildings, restaurants, bars, and shops, and is known as one of the most beautiful squares in the world. On the Square, from the 1700s, Café Florian, is a popular place, as is Café Quadri. Usually it seems tough to see the fine features and architecture of the place as millions of pigeons are there, unless visiting at off-peak times. The best times are early morning and late evening to catch St. Mark’s Square at her most vulnerable.

Doge’s Palace

A series of 120 Doges ruled on Venice, and their incredible 3-storied palace dates back to before Renaissance times. The Doge’s Palace is the second most important “attraction” in Venice after the basilica. It is located on St. Mark’s Square and with the facade features beautiful arches, pink and white marble. The inside of the palace contains priceless artwork by Tintoretto, Titian, Bellini, Veronese and more, that looks amazing. The Great Council Hall displays, Tintoretto’s “Paradise”, the largest oil painting in the world, and the Golden Staircase is just amazing. The Doge’s Palace is one of the most opulent residences ever.

Murano Island

Murano is located north of venice and it is famous for its beautiful, hand-blown glass. There are many glass museum and glass making shops. You can go into factories to see how to make glass blowers and shape the lovely pieces. A long time ago, the glass blowers were moved to Murano to lesson the chance of fires in Venice. The glass factories send free boats over to St. Mark’s Square to lure over customers; take the free boat over and the vaporetto back.

Burano Island

After your visit to Murano, you can take a vaporetto further into the lagoon for a trip of Burano Island. Burano is usually less crowded than Murano and It is almost cartoon like brightly colored buildings. It makes the perfect backdrop for a stroll. The Colors are so brilliant and cheerful that you to walk around Burano for even half an hour and not have a smile on your face is next to impossible.

Torcello Island

You can get back on the boat and take the trip of favorite place of the lagoon’s island- Torcello. It is a short trip from Burano, but if you go straight to Torcell from Venice, it can take up to an hour. If you are interested for more nature and less for structure, it is an ideal spot. Most of Torcello is a nature reserve. You can enjoy the tranquil view. There are only 20 people who still live on the island, and there is only one hotel, although there are a few places to eat. The main “sight” on the island is a 7th century church and with more exceptional mosaics.

LIDO Island

Lido Island is located between Venice and the Sea. Lido has a beach with little cabanas. There are public and private beaches, and that private beaches are connected to hotels. Lido has shopping, restaurants and hotels, and unlike in Venice, cars can be driven there. If you are in Venice and feel like getting a little sun, take a vaporetto over to the Lido.

Bridges

In Venice, There are two most famous bridges Rialto Bridge and the Bridge of Sighs. The Rialto, was the first bridge to span the Grand Canal, from the 1500s, and it has shops lining both sides. It is best viewed from the side, and thus from the water, to get a good photograph of the bridge. The Bridge of Sighs was the last bridge on which prisoners walked over before being thrown into the dungeon, so the sighs came from realizing that the view through the bridge’s cutwork was their last view of Venice. There is also Accademia Bridge, built in the 1800s, and also crosses the Grand Canal. There are smaller bridges all over Venice that cross the canals.

Acqua Alta

In Venice, high tide is known as Acqua Alta, and if you are unprepared for it, your feet and pants can get wet. The local Venetians know when it is coming so as to get prepared by carrying around their rubber boots. Sometimes the water is very high and floods most of the city and other times only the lowest areas are flooded. It can be a problem for the boats trying to get under the bridges also. The Venetians work hard to solve the flooding problem, and it’s interesting to see it up close.

Carnevale

In Venice, the grand Carnevale is held each year before Lent for 12 days, and people from all over come to celebrate. You can see extremely elaborate costumes at Carnevale, and the festival dates back to 1162. It used to begin the day after Christmas. You can find funny, scary and emotional masks in windows around the city any time in year. There are so many shops selling the elaborate masks used by participants of Carnevale. Many tourists would not consider leaving Venice without a Carnevale mask as a souvenir.