"Venice is like eating an entire box of liqueur chocolates at once." Truman Capote.
Venice is the city of love, perhaps the most beautiful city in the world, to the monuments, beautiful places on the Grand Canal an the historical tradition in the streets.It is one of the few places in the world where every time you go, even after many years, it seems to be suspended between reality and imagination, and where the first ever exceeds the second. Although it seems to be plunged into another world, it is all wonderfully true.
The city is a work of art in itself, a large open-air museum, placed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1987.
World Heritage: Venice | Euromaxx ( source youtube)The city is home to artistic and architectural elements unique in the world, after centuries of such splendor that still attract millions of visitors each year. Many cities are known as the Venice of the North or the South for the simple fact of having channels, or be formed by a set of islands. Some of these are beautiful, like Amsterdam, Bruges or Stockholm, but none is comparable, even remotely original. Every day, thousands of tourists have come from every part of the globe, not only to see the most popular attractions but also known to attend events such as the Carnival, the Biennale Film Festival and many others.
Venice is a city of endless charm, one of the few places to visit at least once in their lifetime. Lord Byron described it as a place of immortal beauty, praised and loved by many before (and after) him. A city that according to historians was born around the fifth century, built on the wetlands and surrounded by the sea, topped by a series of complex channels, later became popular for the colorful Venetian gondolas.
The "City of Bridges", as it is commonly called, is situated along the mouth of the Po and the Piave and developed historically in one of the most powerful cities in the Mediterranean. The real streets in Venice, however, are the channels, as demonstrated by the fact that the main gate at the palace was, and is, one that always held out to the waters.
If you want a romantic gondola ride through the canals of course it becomes an unforgettable experience, but be prepared to spend quite a lot 'of money. Venice is divided into districts and the houses are numbered according to the districts and to the Streets.
Monuments and tourist attractions have fascinated travelers for centuries, and continue to do so today. Decaying buildings have never seemed so romantic as in Venice, where the muted tones of secular buildings are reflected in the canals with an elegance never seen anywhere else. The slow passing of gondolas, a visit to the Piazza San Marco or simply sip coffee near the Bridge of Sighs, become unforgettable experiences for anyone who has been lucky enough to experience them. Along the Grand Canal with its narrow tributaries gaze soars up to the domes of the Churches eai Renaissance palaces, to recline on the delicate arched bridges and hidden alleyways. The crowd of visitors is captured by the beauty of the mosaics of the ceiling of the great Basilica of San Marco, one of the most important architectural monuments of the world and that was a cultural bridge between Europe and the east gate, Byzantium.
I can not end this brief overview of the city not to mention the famous 'Acqua Alta' (High water), which often becomes a source of joy and cheerfulness, a centuries-old tradition and one of those moments to capture in a photograph. Technically speaking, the phenomenon occurs a couple of times a year in the presence of a very high tide: a low atmospheric pressure and high winds force water from the Adriatic Sea to head in the lagoon.
Here is an video where you can, video taken from youtube.com
Some of the main attractions and monuments of Venice.
1. Basilica di San Marco - Great Basilica of San Marco
The Basilica of San Marco, located in the Square, is a unique architectural masterpiece, a mixture of East and West, history and distant legends. We are facing here the most esoteric of the churches of Catholic worship, perfect union between cultures. Everything tells of the powerful Venetian Republic and the history of the two merchants in 828 stole the relics of St. Mark from Alexandria to bring them to Venice.
Constantinople and his exploits revived also in this large Gothic-Romanesque-Byzantine, long almost 76.5 meters wide and almost 63 and with 5 domes, one of which the central 43 meters high. The interior is rich with golden Byzantine mosaics. They admire in particular the altarpiece known as Pala d'Oro, the collection of the sacking of Constantinople and the icon of Our Lady of Nicopeia. Remember that you must be dressed appropriately to be allowed in the church and that it is forbidden to make videos and photos. Admission is free but you can find files of a few hours (some sections are extra).
Basilica di San MARCO - Venezia (Video source: youtube.com).
2. Piazza San Marco
Piazza San Marco is one of the most famous places in Venice, the only square called the city (all the other squares are in fact called 'fields'). The first major area that we see coming with the water from the lagoon, the entrance door and a reference point for anyone looking for the maze of canals, narrow streets and alleys of the city. For several centuries the square was the center of religious, administrative and cultural center of Venice, becoming today the most popular tourist spot. Its length is about 170 meters and consists of three parts in turn, the square, the square and the square of Leoncini. The actual area was created after the construction of the Basilica and originates from the XI century or so, the year of reconstruction of the church. The current appearance were reached during the Napoleonic period, in 1807. The monuments included in its range are, among others, the Basilica of San Marco, the bell tower of St. Mark, the columns, the Library of St. Mark, also called Marciana Library, the Palazzo Ducale, the Procuratie, the Clock Tower, one of the greatest monuments of Venice.
VENICE: St Mark's Square / Piazza San Marco
3. Piazzetta di San Marco
The Piazzetta di San Marco can be defined as the elegant lobby of the majestic Piazza San Marco. The monuments that arise are undoubtedly exceptional importance: on the left the Library of San Marco and the Doge's Palace right. Formerly in this place you place a market of various foodstuffs and only in 1536 a decree Doge established that the space of the square should be clear. On the side of the pier you can see the two famous columns that form the backdrop to many of the images of Venice in the world, San Todaro and the Lion of St. Mark. These two red granite columns were brought to Venice from the East neo r 1125. Originally there was a third, but sank into the muddy bottom of the basin in front of the pier during transport and was never recovered.
4. Campanile di San Marco - Tower of St. Mark
Originally built in the ninth century, the bell tower was rebuilt in the following centuries, when the loggia of marble at its base was added by Jacopo Sansovino. He fell unexpectedly in 1902, miraculously without hurting anyone, and was rebuilt exactly as before. With the elevator you climb up to the top which is 97 meters higher, for a breathtaking view of the domes of the Basilica San Marco, the lagoon, its neighboring islands, the red roofs and not a single channel.
5. Canal Grand
Venice is famous for its canals, so that every city in the world with just a small canal system is called 'Little Venice' or 'Venice of the North', etc. Everyone knows that the city was built on water, in the great Venetian Lagoon: 600 years ago the Venetians They carried in water protection a series of deviations of all the major rivers with outlet in the lagoon, thus preventing the sedimentation of the area around to the city. This process created a special urban planning where the streets are replaced by streams of water, even if not all of Venice is on the water, there is in fact a part of the mainland. The best known area is formed by more than 150 channels, (the largest car-free city in the world), and the Grand Canal is the most famous of these. A trip with the boat on the channel is highly recommendable, it has in fact to see some of the most spectacular. An overnight trip is a particularly memorable experience, with the architecture of the city reflected in the water .
Grand Canal Venice Italy (video source: youtube.com).
6. Chiesa di San Giovanni e Paolo
Huge and elegant Dominican church which houses the tombs in the ancient doges of Venice. It shares its piazza with the fine Renaissance facade of the Scuola di San Marco and an equestrian statue of the mercenary (condottiere) captain Colleone. The church was built by the order of the Dominicans from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century and, together with the Frari Church in San Polo, it is second in size only to the Basilica of San Marco. The Chapel of the Rosary has three paintings on the ceiling of Paolo Veronese, including Assumption of Our Lady. In addition, recently restored is the Altarpiece of St. Vincent Ferrer (about 1465) attributed to a young Giovanni Bellini.
7. Ca' Pesaro
An ancient palace late Renaissance positioned on the Grand Canal and within two of the great museums of Venice. The Modern Art Museum houses several works by artists such as Chagall, Kandinsky, Klimt, Miró, Henry Moore, Umberto Boccioni, Morandi, De Pisis and Philip. The Oriental Art Museum houses a collection of artifacts from the East and South East Asia.
8. Collezione Peggy Guggenheim
We are here in front of what is considered the modern art collection of the world's most popular and one of the most visited attractions in Venice. Collection of painting and sculpture assembled eclectic Peggy Guggenheim. Magritte, Picasso, Kandinsky, Pollock, Ernst, Giacometti, Brancusi, Braque, Dali, Leger, Mondrian, Chagall and Miró, are just some of the artists.
9. Torre dell'Orologio - The Clock Tower
One of the first things you notice in Piazza San Marco is the Clock Tower, Renaissance. Built in 1497, still it maintains perfect the mechanism of his watch. The two bronze figures known as Moors, 'affect' time. The tower was always a popular meeting place for Venetians and has also been the gateway to the ancient Mercerie, the old shopping street in Venice. The Clock Tower was built by Mauro Colucci three in 1496 and 1499, while the side wings were added between 1500 and 1506 seems to plans by Peter Lombard, even though they were raised in about 1755 by Giorgio Massari.
10. Palazzo dei Dogi
Splendid ancient palace originally from the tenth century that was the seat of the city during the period of the Doges and also the ancient seat of the Venetian officials. It was also a prisoner of Casanova. The use of arches seems to defy the law of gravity, and you realize that the entire building is a jewel of civil architecture. The contrasts of color visible you can hardly capture with the camera. Today the building houses the most visited museum in Venice, the Museum of Palazzo Ducale, with over a half million people a year.
11. Ponte di Rialto
The bridge has become one of the most recognizable icons of Venice and has a history that spans more than 800 years. It was completed in 1591 and was used to replace a wooden bridge collapsed in 1524. It was the only way to cross the Grand Canal on foot until the construction of the Accademia Bridge in 1854. The bridge is 7.5 meters height and is designed to allow passage to the galleys, and the massive structure was built on approximately 12,000 wooden poles that support it even more than 400 years later. The architect, Antonio da Ponte, in his time he found himself in competition with eminent designers as Michelangelo and Palladio for the construction.
12. Mercato di Rialto
The most popular market in Venice we find it in the Rialto area and in turn is made up of a fruit and vegetable market (Herbaria) and one of a picturesque fish market (Pescaria).
13. Carnevale di Venezia – The Carnival of Venice
The Carnival of Venice is the main event of the city and without doubt the most famous in the world.
The Carnival of Venice is one of the most beautiful in Italy, which attracts large numbers of tourists Laguna. During the period of Carnival, Venice is full of costumed characters, Parties, Mystery, too. Carnival is definitely the best time to see Venice: his true soul is between those masks.
14. Venice Carnival - The masked balls
One of the best things to do to get into the spirit of the Carnival of Venice is attending a masked ball. They are organized in many cities. Usually, however, they are organized by high-end hotels. Then attend a masked ball in Venice can be quite expensive.
In the end, I would like to show you guys a video in which you will be able to see whole city of Venice. Watch and enjoy, I will see you guys later with an other interesting blog post for you. Thanks for reading. Merry Christmas to all of you, stay happy enjoy and spread the love. Take care guys and Goodbye.
Note:- All picture are taken from Google.es and videos are taken from Youtube.com.
