- Venice the town of beauty
- (city of canals)
Maybe you expect Venice to be one dazzling, romantic, fairytale−like labyrinth of canals, alleys, picturesque
houses and impressive squares and buildings. Well, you are right then (although it is also dirty, run down and
rather smelly in the summer heat). The best thing to do is wander around and get lost for at least a day. Roam
the winding streets and the various piazzas and see the melting pot of architectural styles. When you are
interested in Venetian painting, you can bathe in the collections of paintings from artists such as Titian and
members of the school of Murano. The Galleria di Palazzo Cini, for instance, houses the private art collection
of Vittorio Cini, the wealthiest Venetian art collector of this century. His collection includes paintings from
the Tuscan Renaissance and the school of Ferrara. Find your own musical inspiration in this city, whether by
seeing a Venetian Opera composed by Montiverdi (the Titian of Music), visiting Campo Bandiera e Moro (the
birthplace of Vivaldi) or listen to baroque music played (on a 18th century organ) in the Santa Maria Della
Favaon at the Sunday mass.
Be like Marco Polo, who was born here (or in Corcula), but instead of defying seas, defy the canals (177) and
bridges (400) by gondola. This will introduce you to the dubious character of the water. On the one hand, it
contributes to the charm of Venice. Houses had to be built on piles and had to be small and close to one
another in order to use the ground as effectively as possible. On the other hand, it was and still is its worst
enemy: the fundaments of a lot of buildings are slowly eaten away by the destructive impact of the lasting
exposure to water. Motorboats and the disposal of chemical waste in the water increase the decline of this
former metropolis which already went down several centimetres. Pessimists believe that, during the next 50
years, Venice will slowly turn into a new Atlantis when radical improvements are not forth−coming.
Central Venice, which consists in total of 118 islands, is divided into six districts or sestiere. This division
might make it easier for you to get a grip on the city's structure. Best known to everyone is the sestiere of San
Marco. This district is the busiest and the most expensive one. A lot of tourists do not even come outside the
boundaries of this district, which houses the main sights. Piazza San Marco will exercise your imagination,
the same way it made Napoleon sigh that it was the most beautiful salon of Europe, which deserves to have
the sky as its ceiling. Most festivities and celebrations took place here. When entering the piazza from the
western side, you will see on your right the Procuratie Nuove (the palace of Procurators) and the Campanile. It
took 240 years to build this clock−tower, and former lighthouse, which received its spire not until the late
Gothic from the state's architect, Bartomeo Bon. On your left, you will find the old palace of procurators, the
Procuratie Vecchie, and the Torro dell'Orologio, also a clock−tower but not as high as the Campanile. Straight
on, you will see the Basilica di San Marco. On the right side, you see the palace of the doges, Palazzo Ducale,
which leads on to the Piazzetta, the square leading to the Piazza. Ponte dei Sospori, the Bridge of Sighs, links
the religious and governmental face to the dark criminal one.
The northern part of Venice is called Cannaregio and is a mixture of hustle and bustle on the one hand and
urban relaxation on the other hand. It is said that the world's first Ghetto came into being here. The Jewish
population from the city was forced to move here, because it was easier for the Christians to seal off this area
in order to prevent Jews from roaming the streets at night. You can find the museum of Jewish history in this
district.
On the east, San Marco is bordered by the sestiere of Castello. If the Piazza San Marco would not exist, the
Campo San Zanipolo would be the most impressive square in Venice. South of San Marco, across the
question−mark formed Canal Grande, lies Dorsoduro. It is a shame that a lot of people do not cross the canal,
or rather, do not get out of their gondola, because this area offers great sights of architecture and fine
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