VENICE VIEW-PALACES AND PALAZZO

Since the end of eighteenth century, tourism has been at the heart of Venetian economy .Well known for its romantic climate Venice has also been gifted with the heritage of its forefather in form of the wonderful palaces with opulent décor and artwork.
The streets and canals of the city are lined with the houses from poorest blocks to great palaces [palazzo]. Generally the houses are three to four stories, grouped around a communal courtyard and well along with external staircases .They are unornamented with red bricks and ochre painted stucco walls. But it is the palaces that front directly onto the larger canals, particularly the Grand Canal, with gaudily painted mooring posts marking their water entrance are not the ordinary dwelling.
In spite of change in architectural styles, these merchants’ buildings are structurally constant .The water story served as the merchant’ offices and storerooms, while the patrician family occupied the floor above. The principal room or salon, overlooking the canal is lit by a central window group of five to six lights and two single lateral windows. Walls are often of brick faced with dressed stone, generally white marble, which is easy to be carved but resistant to weathering.
The facades of the palaces in Venice evolved stylistically from their original Byzantine form i.e. 13th to early 14th century by tall, narrow arches, pointed and Moorish looking such as ca’d’oro,one of the older and most beautiful palazzos on Grand canal in Venice. It was built between 1428 and 1430 for the Contain family, in the Bon’s Venetian floral gothic style. It is well known as golden house due to gilt and polychrome external decoration, which once adorned in walls.
The Doges’ Palace -The core of political life in Venice, was not only the residence of the elected doge but also the meeting place of the republic’s governing councils and ministries. Venetian painters and craftsmen richly decorated its chambers and staircases.
Palazzo Dondolo, built in 1400 by one of Dondolo family and passed to Gritty family in 1536 by a deed of sales. After passing through many hands now it has become a well-known hotel Royal Daniela. Palazzo Grassy -a monumental marble mansion situated on Grand Canal of Venice, once belonged to the Grassy family. Now days it is world-renowned art and history museum with a 600 seat out floor theatre. Another palace on Grand Canal is Palazzo Barbarigo , is one of the more opulent Palazzo , distinguished by its mosaics of Murano glass applied in 1886 . Today it is a showroom and shop of Murano glass
Ca’rezzonico is design with marble façade facing the canal , by Giorgio Massari . It contains numerous remarkable paintings along with collection of antique furniture Other feature is its frescoed ceiling that depicts ‘ the Allegory of Merit ‘ and the ornate gilt picture frame with putti, shields and other allegories illustrious glories of family of Barbarigo . Today it is one of the finest museums in Venice because of its unique character .
Peggy Guggenheim Collection -A museum in Italy for European & American art of the first half of the 20th century , containing the personal art collection of Peggy Guggenheim , a former white of artist Max Ernst.
Palazzo Labia built at beginning of 18th century is one of the last great Palazzo of Venice . Today it is a regional headquarter of Rai ( the Italian national television)used for high rank international conferences & summits . It is also open for public viewing by prearranged appointments.
Other palaces for viewing are namely- Palazzo Corner also called Ca’Grande, Palazzo Grimani, Mannerist and Baroque palaces, Palazzo Pesaro. The variety of styles of these palaces provides much of the visual excitement of the Venetian landscape.

TRANSPORTATION IN VENICE

Venice is well known by the nickname ‘city of canals’ is surrounded by water that provides a pleasant climate to the town. As the city is connected by system of canals so the transportation is mainly through water. Although canals are filled with a number of motor power boats, water taxis and water buses but the best-known mean of transportation to enjoy the cool and calm climate is the ‘Gondola’. These are the unique, keel less boat and have long been outnumbered by other vessels. These are the attractive feature of Venice with their elegant, sleek shape and gleaming black paintwork. One would love to be rowed at twilight through the canals, enjoying the singing of ‘Gondoliers’ along with running commentary of the site passing through. One could willingly pay the outrageous price for this. Previously these gondoliers used to recite the verses from such Italian poets as Ariosto or Tasso. Even many writers have described the beauty of these moments in their work. Now a day, the cost of their maintenance is drifting them towards gradual disappearance. It is better to check out the price, length and route of the trip before riding to avoid any confusion.

As Venice is a walking city, cars are not allowed on the island except some great parking at Rome square and the Lido. Thus most people get around on foot to get across the dry land, along the banks of the canals, on the paved streets, through the neighborhood squares and over the canal bridges.

If one want to move from one area to another then the facility of a variety of motor powered boats is there. They range from the vaporetti; public waterbuses to the private launch water motor taxis. But these make a bit of racket in the silence atmosphere of the place with no cars. Water taxis are quite expensive but the waterbuses are not, as they run by the municipal transport system.

Water buses provides several lines and routes along the canals and out in the lagoon with stoppage at various stops giving time to enjoy the various sites whether it is at Murano, the Lido, St.Mark’s square and so on. The need is to just buy a ticket to wander these places.

This water scene becomes colorful with other specialized craft such as the barges carrying fruits and vegetables, the garbage barges, ambulance and police launches, and the boats filled with tourists’ baggage.

The trip to up and down the Grand Canal becomes wonderful when the sight of all the palaces lining the canal is there and at the same time the view of many of the traditional arched marble bridges is amazing. Many of them are still present but in the 19th century a large number of old bridges were replaced by wrought iron structure.

Three bridges span the Grand Canal; among them the Rialto Bridge is the famous one that was designed by aptly named Antonio da Ponte. The other two are the Accademia Bridge, which is a high arched wooden structure with a temporary look and the bridge at one of the railway station made of marble in 1932.

Along with this buses and trains also runs on the mainland. Mostly the buses are from Piazzale Roma and trains are from Santa Lucia. Thus Venice provides all the facilities required for the transportation for a memorable trip.

TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS & EVENTS OF VENICE

Venice celebrates various traditional festivals and a lot of events throughout the year. These celebrations represent some historical moments of Venice.

The biggest event in the Venetian calendar is the festival of Carnival that last for about 2 weeks. The Carnival in Venice is celebrated as the victory of the Repubblica Della Serenissima (the name of ancient Venetian state), the war against Ulrico, Patriarch of Aquileia. In this occasion various performances of music, theatre, and acrobats are given. For these the location like Saint Mark’s square, the theatres and the famous Venetian ‘campi’, the island of lido are famous. Previously, on the opening of the Carnival the FLIGHT OF THE ANGEL was famous in which a tightrope walker reached the seat of the Doge from Saint Mark’s Bell Tower. But now this ceremony has been cancelled for the safety reason. The Children Carnival also take place in which clowns and street artists perform their shows such as glove puppet show and magic tricks in a circus tent also held. The photography, photo and many more exhibitions are also organized in this festival.

The Festa Della Sensa famous as ‘Wedding with the Sea’ held in the month of May. It is the great occasion for the Venetians as it does not have only a religious significance but also memorize them of a great victory of fleet of Serenissima laid by Doge Pietro Orseola II over the eternal enemy ‘Slavs’, in the favor of Dalmatian city. After this victory the region of Dalmatian came under ‘Venetian maritime jurisdiction’. Every year this day is celebrated as ‘Ascension day’, when the Doge himself return to the Lido, accompanied by the Bishop of Olivolo (present day Castle), to bless the sea water and to prey to pour their kindness on the sailors. On this day the Doge reach the stone lighthouse and then turn toward the open sea. Here he brushes the holy ring with olive branches and sprinkle the holy water on it and through the ring into the sea by uttering some holy words. This celebration means 2 weeks of festivities. Large ships are kept to celebrate the ceremony.

In the month of July Festa Del Redentore is celebrated. It is one of the most popular and lovable festivals of the Venetian. This is a religious festival that explores the tradition of Venice of having dinner on boats in St.Mark’s basin, watching at the fireworks on the lagoon. It is the festival of sound and light that displays a great firework. A large number of boats are decorated with balloons in the Giudecca Canal and in St.Mark’s Basin, on Saturday evening. The boats spread out along the city’s canal and then playing & singing, gather at dawn at Lido to wait the Sunrise. To have a look of this festival a large crowd gathers at the bank and palace balconies that are brightly lit and to watch the firework on the lagoon. Thus enjoy the festival whole-heartedly.
The Regatta Storica takes place on first Sunday of September. It is a typical Venetian celebration in which rowing race along the Canal Grande takes place. These are the most popular rowing races in Venice for which expert oarsmen are required. In these races historical boats having the crews in historical and tradition costumes participate. For the races various categories have been installed for women and very young rowers. Among these mix regatta is the famous one in which one woman and one-man race on the same boat. These races have different routes according to their categories. Most attractive sight is the passion of their fans. In the month of November art exhibition –La Biennale Di Venezia held. Venice International Film Festival takes place in the month of August or September on the Lido of Venice Island.

Festa Della Madonna Della Salute is a religious celebration held on 21st November every year; it dates back to the plague, which raged in Venice as a result of the war against Austria in 1630. When the plague was over, the work of construction of temple began in November 1631 to fulfill the vow. This temple is dedicated to the Lady of Good Health, Madonna Della Salute. On this day Venetians go to seek pardon in front of the Madonna, along with candles to show their gratitude.
Thus Venice celebrate and enjoy a lost of festivals which make their life colorful and also attracts other people to the town.

LAGOON AND TIDES IN VENICE

LAGOON AND TIDES IN VENICE


The picturesque city Venice, on the Venetian lagoon is world famous for its unique location and has reputed as one of the most romantic destination in the world. Venice city stretches across numerous small islands in the marshy Venetian lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The saltwater lagoon stretches along shoreline between the mouths of the PO (south and north rivers).
Lagoons are the relatively shallow area, which are separated from sea by coral reefs, sand bars or Barrier Island. The interaction of Adriatic tidal currents and waters of several Alpine rivers such as Piave, Sile, Bacchiglione and Brenta originally formed these lagoons in Venice. Usually the water in these lagoons is quite with access to the sea but sometime it may also be prove crucial to the survival of Venice. During winter month, when global warming is there it causes the normal level of sea to rise that could cause flood in most of the city. Venetians have named it as “Aqua Alta “meaning high water. When high tides combine with storm winds from the south and east, the water in the lagoon rise and cause flood the city.

Settlement in lagoon reminds the Roman times. In the early 7th century, the migrants from mainland swelled on the higher mud flats and sandbanks. Later Venice was built as a port and became the trading centre of western world. The mud banks, shallows & channels were considered to be the good source of income from marine & bird life and from saltpans. Fisherman inhabited this mudflat region as far back as the 1st century but recognition could be gained till 452A.D. Venice’s secluded location within a lagoon is bordered by the islands of Lido and Pellestrina and the sand beaches of Cavallino and Sotto marina. These islands keep the lagoon secluded and Venice protected from the elements of nature.

Venice constitutes various lagoons in its lap in various locations such as Tamiahua Lagoon, a long coastal lagoon in Vera Cruz Estado in Eastern Mexico. Vistula lagoon is a shallow, marsh-fringed lagoon on the Baltic Coast. It is about 56 miles long, 6 to 15 miles wide and 17 feet deep. Mirim lagoon, a shallow Atlantic tidewater lagoon, is at the border of Brazil and Uruguay. It covers an area of about 1,542 square miles. Szczecinski lagoon on the Baltic Sea coast between Mecklenburg-West Pomerania Land and cover an area of about 350 square miles.

These lagoons require to be protected due to threatening the very existence of Venice. The deepening of channels in the 20th century, the geologic sinking of the Po River basin and over extraction of fresh water from the main land aquifers, all had the combined effect to lower down the level of land that has added to the problem of Venice ‘s flood. In the 15th & 16th centuries also the Venetian ministry had took the steps towards the problem and diverted rivers from the lagoon and passed laws to safeguard the urban environment. Still today the lagoon requires a careful husbandry for the safe existence of Venice.

CLIMATE OF VENICE

Italy experiences regional variation in climate, although it has largely temperate climate. In summer the climate in southern parts of Italy falls under dry heat whereas the northern parts constitute warm climate along with occasional rainfall. At the same time the central region is stifled by humidity.
In winter Venice, Milan and Turin are dominated by cold, damp and fog while in Tuscany it’s approaching freezing. In south of the country, temperature averages about 50°-60°F (10°-20°C). Spring and autumn experiences good weather. Weather between June and September is attracting when the sea is also warm enough for swimming. These months also provide the best time to walk in the Alps. The skiing could be enjoyed between Decembers to April.
Venice as a part of Italy also faces the variation in its climate. During wintertime Venice is chilled by mist, giving the city a mysterious appearance when the temperature reaches to about 36 °F (2.2°C). In summer the weather is hot when the temperature reach to 96° F but the average daytime temperature is about 75 ° - 80° F. The high humidity causes the obscuring the Alps view across the lagoon. During July the average temperature is around 81°F.
The city enjoys its best time in spring (April-May) & autumn (Sept.-Oct.) when the weather is pleasant with clear, bright light, and the heat of southerly sirocco is exhausting, also giving a relief from mosquitoes.
Special concentration should be given on flooding that occurs in Venice during the fall & winter months, especially during month of November. In other months also flooding occurs but it become normal as the water soon settles down. Annual rainfall here averages about 33.6 inches (854 mm). In May and June average rainfall is about 6.5 inches (168 ml) while in October and November average rainfall is about 7 inches (185 mm).
High tide may exceed ground level causing the typical phenomenon called “Aqua Alta “. In this phenomenon salty water pours in streets and squares of Venice in sometimes of the year. It may occur from in October to January. It doesn’t last all the days but peaks may be in early morning or in the evening. Usually it is just a few cms. It doesn’t cause damages unless reaches extraordinary level (that happened in 1966 and also in 2002), otherwise one can enjoy walking on wooden temporary “walkways”. It is always a unique experience.
Whatever is the weather but a feeling of coldness is always there in temperature of Venice as the city is surrounded with water, which led to humidity in the hot weather. Thus, Venice climate gives a great relief not only to the body but mind also. One could feel fresh and comfortable to restore energy due to its pleasant climate.

Art & Craft in Venice

God has gifted Venice with beauty of nature and the art & craftwork of this town has added stars to beauty. The art & craft of Venice is considered to be the most valuable property of the town giving uniqueness to the city.

While moving in streets and roads of the town, one can find various shop windows of antique dealers containing wonderful items as fabrics of unexpected colors, furniture showing superb craftsmanship and many unknown objects.

The churches, palaces and museums of the town are full of mind-blowing paintings and architect that grips the human emotions. Along with this simply walking through the magic of the “Calli” one can have a sight of hop window of an antique dealer. These shop window could also be seen simply walking-over the Academia bridge, Dorsoduo district and then into S.Polo. Thus Venice proved to be a master in every field of art & craft.

One could easily be attracted towards glass craftsmanship of Venice that has a unique place all over the world. The island of Murano is well known for this. This art is very much important in Venice although its origin was a matter of chance. Glass here is the result of rivers and plant ashes melted together. It is said that to protect the fire on the sand that some Phoenician seamen (who landed there) had lit, some blocks of soda were kept but due to the high temperature a small part of it melted and changed to glass. The main production of glass used to be there on a Venetian island Murano. After this Government has also shown interest in the same and special attention had been given on the raw material used in glass production especially for transparent glass i.e. crystal. Murano became the center of the establishment for its furnace. The master of glass converted the incandescent and shapeless vitreous mass to a desired beautiful shape. As a precaution against fire installation of furnace in town were prohibited. In present days Murano became a focus to glass production. Attractive display of glass beads, color object and artistic creations in form of vases, trays and lamps along with tiny animals, rings, murrine, trinkets, brooches and glass beads with mosaic patterns can be found here.

In the early century of serenissima the devotional books used to be covered with gold, which gave, rise to the gold art .The finishing touch to these masterpieces could consume years. From that time this art became an inseparable part of Venice and today also a lot of goldsmith having mastery over the work is engaged in both classical and modern motifs. Pala d’Oro alter screen in San Marco Basilica is the attractive feature of the same. At Rialto, under Le Procuratie in Piazza Sen Marco and other places goldsmith shops could be seen. Wooden work in Venice also captures its own place. This art is considered to be the traditional in Venice that is gifted forward generation after generation. Previously the Serenissima imported timber from the forest of Cadore & Dalmatia, which was used to make typical ‘braise’ lagoon boats, and the most important the ‘gondolas’ that shows the traditional art of Venice. Still amongst the narrow lane and small squares the workshop of carpenters who are enshrining their art as mending of antique furniture, carving forcole (rowlocks), wooden animals models of lagoon boats, jigsaw puzzles could be found.

Textile of Venice is maintained at Burano and has kept the manual art alive. In this mechanical world also Venice is the place where work done by hand is enjoyed in textile whether it is in the field of damasks, Shimmering silks or embroidery. Carpets, shawls & laces also explore the beauty of textile work. Along with this paper world of Venice has a different position which could be seen everywhere in the city. The paper of bygone, which are still made by hand is the main attraction. Other than this the leather bounded books, the sealing wax marbled and decorated wrapping papers gives a different look as they are reflecting the color of Byzantine mosaic & the shapes of tiles in the Gothaic palazzi gives a traditional feeling to the art. The admiring feature of Venice is ‘Venice of Carnival’ in which various kinds of artistic masks could be viewed. Among these masks the commedia dell’arte or the bizarre figures of Arcinboldo are the attractive one.

Thus a variety of art and craftsmanship could be seen in Venice containing a different pattern and uniqueness in each and every field, which gives a new glimpse of artistic feature to the world.

AQUA ALTA’ (Venice) –a danger for the city

Venice has placed itself as a heart in the world of tourism due to its pleasant and relief giving climate. But the city had to face a problem timely that is the occurrence of ‘Aqua-Alta’. This is a typical phenomenon that occurs in the town, in which high tides of salty water may exceed the ground level in some time of the year (generally from October - January). Although it doesn’t affect the life but sometimes may be destructive when takes a wild form. It is a persistent phenomenon throughout the Venice lagoon. The resident here are trying to cope up with the problem over the centuries either by erecting new buildings having impermeable stone foundation in place of the old ones or by raising the entrance level of the buildings. But when the city is flooded by storm driven wind sometimes Venetians simply waited for the water level to be lower down. As the time passed more efforts were made to preserve the historic heritage instead of demolition and making a way for a new structure.
As the 20th century arrived, industrialization in this mercantile republic was encouraged. Thus the climate of the town also shifted. The instances of aqua Alta became more frequent due to the burning of the fossil fuel that raised the global sea level and thus the global warming. In addition to this natural settling of lagoon sediments and the indiscriminate pumping of fresh water from a deep aquifer beneath the city are also the responsible factors for the sinking of Venice over the centuries. These high tides are sometime damaging also, the level of these tides in Venice is continuously rising. If we see towards the foundation of Venice, around sixteen hundred years ago, the level of Adriatic’s standard sea was almost six feet below what it is today. But the level rose as the time fled like in 1900 the extreme high tides of water covered St.Mark's square seven times a year. By 1989 these raised to about 40 times a year, which increased as high as the average tourist’s knee, lapped 99 times at piles in 1996. As peak tides flow over city’s side walk visitors must walk on elevated wooden walk ways as the boats cannot navigate the canals during the highest tides because they cannot pass under bridges. The splashing saltwater from Adriatic Sea soaks into the bricks and creeps into the wall that destroys frescos & other irreplaceable relics.
It was felt that it is essential to bring out some solution to this messy problem of the water of Adriatic that born on twice daily tides. It was thought to line bottom of Venice lagoon’s entrance with hollow steel gate to hold back the sea at time of Aqua Alta. When the weather would become calm, these gates would fill with water. Some of the Italian and International environmentalists, who were following the path of the MOSE solution disapprovingly, criticized this project. According to them this MOSE solution will be obsolete within a few years, looking at the restlessly rising seas. They think that the gates would need to be raise so often which would affect the aquatic life within lagoon. Along with this the sewage that flushed from lagoon will remain behind which will affect living of city for a long period. The critics think that more studies are to be needed on gate’s potential environmental impact, and efforts are required to protect Venice not only for few decades but also for the next century.
The launching of this project faces many of the hurdles in its path such as financing the project. As billions of euros would be needed to launch this project and there has usually been budget crises in the city. It is well known that the Government here is not stable and an administration could come to power that might not support the project. At present engineers are activating an improved system and the Venice’s water treatment has also been improved to encourage the plan. Venetians are installing septic tanks in various areas to dump the sewage that was dumped directly into canals till now. Canals side are rebuilding as waterproof. It is believed that within next two decades, the water treatment facilities would be improved for the safe existence of Venice. It is essential to bring out some fruitful solution to the existing problem for better livelihood

Antique dealers of Venice


Venice is world famous for its trade of arts & superb handicraft. Not only this but it is also popular for its artistic trade of paintings, sculptures, precious reliquaries, valued marbles, books, fabrics and many more.

If we move to ancient time we could see that Venice was the first to begin the art collections and development of ancient statues, medals, paintings, engravings and many more. Till now Venice has kept this heritage alive.

In 17th century, Venice has the only government who was governing the “Magistrate for the arts “. The 18th century provided Venice some famous arts merchants as Joseph Smith, Patron and client of the painters Canaletto who dealt in books and paintings during his Venetian visit. After his death Murray, his brother-in-law took his place as consul of England in Venice and became a merchant. His palace in S. Giobbe was full of paintings. After that a lot of Italian intermediaries, speculators, agents and antiques arose but with the collapse of the Serenissima in 1797 there was a loss of artistic value and richness. Gradually the decay of big family also started which bought the precious artistic products and handicraft in the market in 18th century also gave rise to Tullio Silva, one of the experts of Venetian furnishing.

The beginning of 19th century gave birth to antique dealers who created a history in the world of artistic trade in Venice, As Palazzo Antonio Zen who worked as “fine arts pieces and antique dealer” at Palazzo Tron on grand canal, then there was a French antique dealer who worked in a Palace of S.Beneto. Antique Sanquirico was the gift given by school of S.Teodoro, became the most capable businessman of his time. One of the most beautiful arts of painting could be seen at 'the house of Luigi Ronan ' at Madonna dell ‘Orto.

Many popular fine arts and antique dealer arose at the end of this century as Favenza, Guggenheim and many more who have appraised Venice through their talents. A fine collection of antiques could be seemed at Consiglio Ricchetti and Palazzo Manin on the grand canal which was owned by Barbini . To encourage the art of the town Via XXII Marzo was also opened in 1874 and linked Campo S.Moise with Campo S. Maria del Giglio.

In 20th Century the whole town was fulfilled with antique dealers and the shops containing a huge collection of artistic and antique products giving a view of their rich heritage especially in the district of S Marco, S.Moise. Calle dei Fabbri, the Frezzeria. In this century the antique dealers of Venetian origin also explored their talent not only in their own place but outside also as in Milan and U.S.A. Even Dino Levi worked in Angelo near the Grand Canal.

Not only in ancient time but in present time also a network of these an antique shops and dealers could be found spreaded every where, in every street of the town, distributing the lovely heritage and enriching the world with its valuable talent and superb craftsmanship.

Venice - An introduction (Map Italy)

Venice, a wonderful city floating on water has a special allure for travelers. The marvelous beauty of the city will entice you and beckon you to fall in love with it and to capture it in your cameras for the wonderful memories.

The city of Venice is located in the Southwest Florida on the Gulf of MEXICO , midway between Tampa and Ft. Myer’s . The old city is built on the piles on low lying islands in a salt water lagoon, sheltered from Adriatic sea by the Lido and other small strips of land. There are about 150 canals crossed by some 400 bridges.

The weather in Venice is cool in winters. In January the temperature is around 30 degree F and during summer it is 96 degree F. During the fall and winter month, flooding occurs regularly while in other part of the year flooding occurs but water resides quickly.

It is known for its beaches, prehistoric shark’s teeth, scenic parks, and northern Italian Renaissance architectural style. At Basilica does San Marco ‘Pala d’ ore e Tesoro’ fantastic architecture can be seen. Ca d’ ore palace is another beautiful palace that can be seen from one of the Grand Canal waterbuses or from a Gondola .

Murano is an island in lagoon where one can have sight of Murano glass industry and to buy some glass souvenirs. At Piazza San Marco, one can enjoy wandering around or drinking Coffee, as this square is surrounding by many cafes. Rialto market and Rialto Bridge are another attraction of Venice. Venice has always been a busy retail centre with an emphasis `on luxury goods and a flair for the eccentric.

There are plenty of Theatres in Venice, which shows great performance of opera, and classical Music. ‘Gran Teatro Fenice’ is located in great old building. Mailbran and Teatro Toniolo also show good concerts. Acropolis is known for its dance shows. After full day of sightseeing, to make the nights memorable facility of restaurants of all kinds, pubs and clubs are available to keep you in good spirits. Harry’s bar and Casino de Venice are the famous one. Thus the nighttime could make as great as the daytime.

The Venice is connected by a system of canals; therefore transportation is mainly through water. Water taxis, waterbus are available which are motorized. Gondola, a special boat is a great attraction here. In Gondola trip some of the Gondoliers also provide you with a running commentary of the sights you pass. Buses and Trains are available on mainland. To have the full enjoyment of the view of the Canal, hotel near Piazza san Marco or Rialto is undeniable.

It would be a fantastic experience to visit the wonderful city of Venice. It is a remarkable and extraordinary city. The beauty and uniqueness of the city is like otherworldly - fairy tale quality that keeps attracting the visitors.