This extraordinary city with a perfect blend of beauty and decay offers thousands of breathtaking palaces and churches on 177 islands linked by a network of 170 canals and 400 bridges. This city really looks as good as it does on postcards, and there are no cars to spoil the aesthetic pleasure.
However, the ground on which the city was built is sinking and the water level is constantly rising, causing more flood problems every year. Many believe the twenty-first century will bring the death of Venice.
History
A fishing village in the Roman era, it became a political and social entity in the early Middle Ages under Byzantine influence while the mainland cities were dominated by the Longobards. The ties with the Empire of the East brought Venice centuries-long prosperity and a cultural mixture of eastern and western influences. Since the nineteenth century the city was an aristocratic republic governed by a duke (Doge, in Venetian dialect), elected and aided by the local nobility.
The great wealth brought by the Venetian traders, like Marco Polo (perhaps one of the first Westerners to visit China in the thirteenth Century, although many historians now believe he never really went) led to a building boom of palaces and churches. These are often a combination of delicate Gothic tracery and Byzantine colourism. In the fifteenth and sixteenth century Venice expanded her territories on the mainland, defeated the Turks in battle and reached her peak in political, economic and cultural power. The Venetian painters
Tintoretto, Giorgione and Titian revolutionized Italian art. But in the seventeenth and eighteenth century political and economic decline set in. In 1797 Venice was annexed by Napoleon, the next year occupied by the Austrians. In 1804 Napoleon returned, and 1815-66 the Austrians again. In 1866 she became part of the Kingdom of Italy.
Today the city is mainly a tourist destination and a host to important cultural events like the Biennale d’Arte (the international contemporary art exhibitions, held every odd-numbered year since 1895, June-September) and the Venice Film Festival. The most famous annual event is the Carnevale: masked balls for the jet set, dancing on the piazza for the less fortunate. It lasts for the ten days up to Shrove Tuesday.
CANAL GRANDE
Known as the ‘Finest street in the world’, the S-shaped Grand Canal is the largest and most important water route in Venice. Thirty to seventy metres wide, four kilometres long and bordered by palaces that used to house the Venetian patricians.
STAZIONE SANTA LUCIA
Nineteenth century building, rebuilt in the fifties. The railway over the four kilometres long Ponte della Liberta connects Venice with the mainland.
SAN SIMEONE PICCOLO
Built in 1738, inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. Used for concerts.
CHIESA DEGLI SCALZI
The Scalzi were the barefooted Carmelites who founded this seventeenth century Baroque church.
SAN GEREMIA
Houses the relics of St. Lucia who suffered martyrdom in 604. His body, which never decomposed, has been worshipped in Venice since the twelfth century.
FONDACO DEI TURCHI
Built in the thirteenth century. In 1621 Turkish merchants converted it into a warehouse (fondaco). In 1924 it became the Natural History Museum.
PALAZZO VENDRAMIN CALERGI
Built in 1509 by Mauro Coducci, with an early Renaissance façade. Wagner died here in 1883. In winter it is the municipal casino.
PALAZZO VENDRAMIN CALERGI
Built in 1509 by Mauro Coducci, with an early Renaissance façade. Wagner died here in 1883. In winter it is the municipal casino.
FONDACO DEI TURCHI
Built in the thirteenth century. In 1621 Turkish merchants converted it into a warehouse (fondaco). In 1924 it became the Natural History Museum.
SAN STAE
Baroque façade sculptured by Domenico Rossi and paid for with a legacy from Doge Alvise Mocerigo, 1709.
SAN MARCUOLA
Built 1728-1736 by Giorgio Massari to honour St.Ermagora and St.Fortunatis. The façade was never finished.
CA' PESARO
Built 1676-1710 by Longhena in Baroque style. Since 1897 it has housed the Galleria d’Arte Moderna with paintings by Matisse, Miro, Klee and Bonnard.
CA' d'ORO
Called the ‘Golden House’, because the marble façade used to be gilded. Baroque/early Renaissance palace with oriental influences, 1420-1440. Contains the Giorgio Franchetti Collection.
PALAZZO SAGREDO
Façade in Gothic and Venetian-Byzantine style, late eighteenth century.
PALAZZO SAGREDO
Façade in Gothic and Venetian-Byzantine style, late eighteenth century.
PECHERIA
The fish market has been here since the fourteenth century. The pseudo-Gothic building since 1907. Next to it is the vegetable market Erberia.
FONDACO DEI TEDESCHI
Used to be a warehouse and inn for ‘German’ merchants (which included Hungarians, Austrians etc.). Now it is the General Post Office.
FONDACO DEI TEDESCHI
Used to be a warehouse and inn for ‘German’ merchants (which included Hungarians, Austrians etc.). Now it is the General Post Office.
PONT E DI RIALTO
Rialto Bridge, from Rivo Alto, high river bank. Rialto used to be the name of the city, now it is the area around this bridge. Built 1588-1592 by Antonio da Ponte after many wooden bridges on this place had collapsed. The 7.5 metre high and 48 metre wide water gate was designed to allow an armed galley to pass under it. Until the Accademia bridge was opened in 1854 this was the only way to cross the Grand Canal on foot.
SAN MARCUOLA
Built 1728-1736 by Giorgio Massari to honour St.Ermagora and St.Fortunatis. The façade was never finished.
SAN MARCUOLA
Built 1728-1736 by Giorgio Massari to honour St.Ermagora and St.Fortunatis. The façade was never finished.
PALAZZO LOREDAN DEGLI AMBASCIATORI
Built in 1752 as the Austrian ambassador’s residence. The Austrians were never very popular in Venice and had to pay rent and maintenance costs 29 years in advance.
CA ' DEL DUCA
A fifteenth century palace that was never finished. It houses a not particularly interesting porcelain collection.
PALAZZO GRASSI
Built 1730 by Giorgio Massari. In the nineteenth century it was used the Degli Antoni public baths. Fiat bought it in 1984 for international exhibitions.
CA' REZZONICO
Baroque palace built in 1660, enlarged in the eighteenth century. Now the Museo del Settecento Veneziano with art and furniture from eighteenth century Venice. The poet Robert Browning and his son Pen lived here in 1888.
GALLERIA DELL'ACCAIA
Open: Tues-Sat 9-19.00; Sun & Mon 9-14.00; L12000. The Academy of Fine Arts contains a extensive collection of the Venetian school of Painting from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century. Including Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Proportions of the Human Body’, ‘the Storm’ by Giorgione, Tintoretto’s ‘Creation of the Animals’ and ‘Procession on the Piazza San Marco’ by Bellini. The Academy was founded by the painter Giovanni Battista Piazzetta and relocated to this building by Napoleon in 1807.
PONTE ACCADEMIA
Built in 1932 as a temporary replacement of a nineteenth century iron bridge. Kept by popular demand. Connects the San Marco quarter with the Dorsoduro area.
PALAZZO CAVALLI FRANCHETTI
Fifteenth century Gothic palace with a park-like garden. Now a bank.
PALAZZO VENIER DEI LEONE
Open 11-18.00, closed on Tuesday, L10000.
Building started in the eighteenth century. A four storey palace was intended but never completed. Bought in 1951 by Peggy Guggenheim to house her collection of modern art by Picasso, de Chirico, Magritte, Kandinsky, Mondriaan, Jackson Pollock, Brancusi and Max Ernst, who was married to the collector.
PALAZZO DARIO
Built in 1487, by Pietro Lombardo as one of the first Renaissance Palaces in Venice. Scene of murder, bankruptcy and suicide through the centuries.
CA' GRANDE
Neoclassical Palace, built in 1545 by Jacopo Sansavino for Giacomo Corner. Today it is the official residence of the Venetian prefect.
SANTE MARIA DELLA SALUTE
Massive Baroque church that is supported by more than a million wooden piles. Architect Baldassare Longhena built it for the Holy Virgin to thank her for ending the 1630 plague that killed more than a third of the population of Venice. The self-indulgent and extravagant architecture can be seen as a form of compensation for the decrease of Venetian power in the seventeenth century.
DOGANA DI MARE
Customs station for incoming ships, built in the seventeenth century to replace a fifteenth century station. There are plans to house parts of the Peggy Guggenheim collection here.
PALAZZO LOREDAN DEGLI AMBASCIATORI
Built in 1752 as the Austrian ambassador’s residence. The Austrians were never very popular in Venice and had to pay rent and maintenance costs 29 years in advance.
BASILICA SAN MARCO
Open: daily 10-17.00.
Built 1063-1094 as a repository for St-Mark’s tomb it is Europe’s most exotic cathedral, a blend of Byzantine and Western influences. Over the succeeding centuries it has been embellished with trophies brought back from abroad to demonstrate Venetian power and thus the spiritual might of St. Mark. The bronze doors of the central gate came from Byzantium in the eleventh century, the bronze horses above (click photo button) in the thirteenth century. The phrase ‘To capture the horses of St-Mark’ means ‘to conquer Venice’. Napoleon took this
literally and had them carried to Paris. The golden mosaics on the floors (click photo button), ceilings and walls cover 4000 square meters.
PALAZZO GRITTI-PISANI
Luxurious five star hotel where John Ruskin stayed in 1851 and later Ernest Hemingway. See HOTELS.
PALAZZO TIEPOLO
Built for the Tiepolo family. But when they became part of conspiracy against the Republic in 1310, their houses were destroyed as revenge. Now it is the luxurious Hotel dell’Europa e Regina. See HOTELS.
CAMPANILE
Open: daily, 9.30-15.30/19.00; L5000.
The 99 metres (325ft) high bell tower is the oldest building on the Piazza San Marco. Work on it started in the ninth century. The belfry with the pointed roof, and the Loggeta -the small marble hall at the foot of the tower- were built in the sixteenth century.
The whole building collapsed on July 14,1902. The caretaker’s cat was the only victim. In 1912 a completely rebuilt Campanile was opened. A lift can take you to a excellent view over the city.
Built in the ninth century as a fortress and rebuilt in its present shape in the fourteenth and fifteenth century as a residence of the doge, seat of governement, law court and prison. The geometric façade is made of white and pink marble. Like many buildings in Venice the architecture is a mixture of European and Oriental influences.
PORTA DELLA CARTA
The Door of Papers, so called because laws were proclamed and petitions were presented here. One of the most ornate Gothic works in the city.
SCALA DEI GIGANTI
The Giants’ (Mars and Neptune) Staircase was made by Antonio Rizzo in the fifteenth century.
SCALA DEI GIGANTI
The Giants’ (Mars and Neptune) Staircase was made by Antonio Rizzo in the fifteenth century.
Built from the fifteenth until 1640 as the Procuratie Nuova, the extension of the administration buildings. Now it houses the Correr Museum with a picture gallery and exhibitions on the history of Venice.
TORRE DELL' OROLOGIO
Renaissance Clock Tower, built 1496-1506. The bronze Moors at the top strike the Hour. The gate under the clock gives access to the Mercerie-shopping streets
MERCERIE-SHOPPING STREETS
Shopping alleys between the Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge: souvenirs, precious old books, objets d’art, carnival masks, haute couture, t-shirts, antique, marbled paper, glass-works and lace.
MUSEO ARCHEOLOGICO
Open: 9-14.00
Greek and Roman sculpture that influenced the Venetian Renaissance artists. Part of the National Library building.
LIBRERIA SANSOVINIANA
Neoclassical National Library of St-Mark, built by Jacopo Sansovino, 1537-1545. Palladio called it ‘the most beautiful building since Antiquity’.
COLONNE DI SAN MARCO E SAN TEODORE
Three enormous columns were captured from Constantinople and erected here in 1172. One fell in the water and has not been seen since. Until the eighteenth century criminals were executed here and therefore even today some Venetians dare not walk between the columns. St.Theodore (here on a crocodile-like dragon} was the patron saint of the city before St-Mark’s relics came to Venice in 828. Marcus the winged lion is today the city’s symbol. It is possibly a fifth century B.C. Assyrian sculpture
COLONNE DI SAN MARCO E SAN TEODORE
Three enormous columns were captured from Constantinople and erected here in 1172. One fell in the water and has not been seen since. Until the eighteenth century criminals were executed here and therefore even today some Venetians dare not walk between the columns. St.Theodore (here on a crocodile-like dragon} was the patron saint of the city before St-Mark’s relics came to Venice in 828. Marcus the winged lion is today the city’s symbol. It is possibly a fifth century B.C. Assyrian sculpture
PONTE DEI SOSPIRI
The Bridge of Sighs connects the Doge’s Palace with the prison from which Casanova escaped. Built in the seventeenth century and named after the last sound that the prisoners made on their way to the execution.
SCUOLA GRANDE DI SAN MARCO
Asymmetrical façade with ‘trompe l’oeil’ entrance made by Pietro Lombardo and sons, 1485-1495. Now the largest hospital in Venice.
BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI STATUE
This leader of mercenaries left ten percent of his enormous estate to the city on the condition that they would grant him a statue. Made by Alessandro Leopardi, 1481-1488.
SANTI GIOVANNI E PAOLO
Also known as San Zanipolo. Built around 1400 by the Dominican order in Venetian Gothic style. Inside are the domes of 25 Doges.
SANTA MARIA DEI MIRACOLI
Built and sculpted 1481-1489 by Pietro Lombardo and sons, to house a miracle-performing painting of the Madonna. This early Renaissance church is the city’s favourite for wedding ceremonies.
SANTA MARIA FORMOSA
Built in the sixteenth century by Mauro Coducci on antique foundations. The tower with the grotesque sculpted face was made in 1688.
CAMPO SANTO STEFANO
On this large square, that is also known as Campo Morosini, was used as a bullring until 1802 when many spectators were killed in the collapse of a stand.
SANTO STEFANO
Romanesque-Gothic church rebuilt in the fifteenth century with an entrance by Bartolomeo Bon. The bell tower is leaning almost as much as the one in Pisa. In 1445 attempts were made to straighten it, but when the scaffolding was removed, the Campanile came crashing down and damaged a nearby convent. The rebuilt tower is the highest in Venice.
NICOLO TOMMASEO STATUE
The Dalmatian scholar who fought against Austrian domination in 1848.
PALAZZO LOREDAN
This is considered to be one of the best-preserved palaces from the Veneto-Byzantine era. Now it houses part of the city administration.
PALAZZO PISANI
Eighteenth century façade by Girolama Frigimelica. Since 1897 a school of music.
SAN VITALE
Early eighteenth century church with a façade after Palladio.
LA FENICE
The opera house was heavily damaged by fire in 1996 and is now being rebuilt. Therefore we can only show you the back-entrance (for boats). The ‘Phoenix’ is one of the most beautiful and most famous opera houses in the world, was built in a Neoclassical style in 1792. In 1836 it
burned to the ground. Rebuilt a year later, it was named after the mythological Phoenix, a bird reborn from its own ashes. Verdi’s ‘La Traviata’ was performed here for the first time. During the Austrian occupation the patriotic composer became a national hero. His name was shouted by the public in this theatre: V.E.R.D.I., Vittorio Emanuele Re D’Italia, a reference to the first king of united Italy. When it reopens: opera, ballet and concerts from May to July. Tickets were and will be very hard to get. Try: 5210161
SAN MAURIZIO
Neoclassical decorated façade by G.A. Selva in 1806. The church dates possibly from the ninth century when the façade faced the opposite direction.
SAN MOISÈ
Baroque façade covered with ornaments. Described by John Ruskin as the ‘clumsiest church in Venice’.
SANTA MARCIA ZOBENIGO
Named after the Jubanico family that founded the church in the ninth century. Rebuilt in the seventeenth century by Antonio Barbaro. The façade by Guiseppe Sardi is a beautiful example of Venetian Baroque, decorated with reliefs by Josse Le Court that represent sea battles fought by the Barbaro Family, including the one in which Antonio Barbaro was discharged because of his incompetence. Contains a small museum.
SANTA MARIA GLORIOSA DEI FRARI
The Gothic St-Mary church, often known as I Frari, was built in 1340-1443 by the Franciscans in a, by Venetian standards, simple style, because poverty was the first principle of the ‘Grey Friars’ order. After San Marco it is the largest church in Venice. It houses religious
works of art by Titian: ‘The Assumption of the Holy Virgin’ (click button) as well as the artist’s enormous grave monument. The church is dominated by the fifteenth century 7 metre/23 foot high choir screen that divided the area for laymen from that of the clergy. Decorated with reliefs by Pietro Lombardo and Bartolomeo Bon. Opposite Titian’s grave is the pyramidal tomb of (and by) Canova that only contains the sculptor’s heart. The other mortal remains were taken to his birthplace, Passagno.
SAN ROCCO
The church was built 1515-1549 by Bartolomeo Bon, in honour of St-Roche. It was financed by Venetians who believed that the Saint brought them deliverance from the plague.
SCUOLA GRANDE DI SAN ROCCO
The Scuola (school) was never used as a temple of education, but housed one of the forty Venetian Brotherhoods: craft guilds for charity work and patronage of the arts, under the protection of a chosen saint.
On the right side of the entrance you’ll find Tintoretto’s ‘Christ before Pilate’ (click button).
GONDOLAS
For over a thousand years they have taken passengers food and other wares through the canals. Traditionally made from eight sorts of wood: larch, lime, oak, elm, pine, cherry, walnut and tannen. The bow is decorated with the iron ‘Ferro’, symbolizing the Doge and the six
districts of Venice. They used to be colourful and decorated, but since 1562 the law has required them to be black. Steering a gondola demands great skill. A ten year apprenticeship with a padrone is required before a gondolier gets a licence. Only native born Venetians can apply and the number of issued licences is limited, to keep the price at a healthty 120000-150000 Lire per hour (Your hotel might get you a better deal).
On seven locations the Canal Grande can be crossed in a traghetti, a special gondola, for about 500 Lire.
Ponte di Rialto
Rialto Bridge, from Rivo Alto, high river bank. Rialto used to be the name of the city, now it is the area around this bridge. Built 1588-1592 by Antonio da Ponte after many wooden bridges on this place had collapsed. The 7.5 metre high and 48 metre wide water gate was designed to allow an armed galley to pass under it. Until the Accademia bridge was opened in 1854 this was the only way to cross the Grand Canal on foot.
VITTORIO EMANUELE II STATUE
The first king of the united Italy. Made by Ettore Ferrari, 1887.
PALAZZO DEI CAMERLENGHI
Built in 1528 as the office of the city’s treasurers (Camerlenghi). The ground floor was used as a prison.
FABBRICHE NUOVE
Built by Antonio Scarpagnino in 1555 as trade office and market. Today it is a court of justice, surrounded by markets.
PIGEONS
When in 1997 the pigeon-population reached the 100.000, the city decided to mix pigeon food with contraceptive drugs. It’s now illegal for tourists to feed them anywhere but in St. Mark's Square.
SAN GIORGIO
The San Giorgio island is best known for the San Giorgio Maggiore church. Built by Palladio it is one of the most influential Renaissance designs.
SALA DELLO SCUDO
The walls of this room in the Doge’s Palace are covered with maps. Two large eighteenth century globes stand in the middle to confirm the city’s cosmopolitan image.
GUIDECIA
On this long island the wealthiest aristocrats of the Renaissance built their villas. Some of the splendour is still visible, other parts have declined.
SANTI GIOVANNI E PAOLO
Also known as San Zanipolo. Built around 1400 by the Dominican order in Venetian Gothic style. Inside are the domes of 25 Doges.
HOTELS
Gritti Palace
Famous luxurious Hotel in a fifteenth century Palazzo on the Grand Canal. Ernest Hemingway once stayed in one of the 93 rooms. Private beach. Santa Maria del Giglio, San Marco 2467, phone 794611, fax 5200942.
Hotel Danieli
One of the best and most stylish hotels in the world. 233 rooms in a building with a history and a private beach. Built in the fourteenth century but named after Joseph da Niel who made it into accommodation and a meeting place for nineteenth century writers and artists like Dickens, Wagner, Proust, Debussy, George Sand, Cocteau and Ruskin. In 1630 the first Venetian opera, by Monteverdi, was performed here. Riva degli Schiavoni 4196.
Phone 5226480, fax: 5200208.
Hotel dell’Europa e Regina / Palazzo Tiepolo
Luxurious but good value for money. Wonderful courtyard and terrace, 192 huge rooms often facing the canal. Calle Larga XXII Marzo, San Marco 2159, phone 5200477, fax 5231533.
Hôtel des Bains
Luchino Visconti filmed his ‘Death in Venice’ here. 191 large rooms and a private beach. Lungo Marconi 17, Lido, phone 5265921, fax 5260113 Hotel Bauer Grünwald & Grand HotelV Comfortable and conveniently located near the San Marco. 200 rooms, many
of them overlooking the water. 1459 S. Marco, phone: 5207022, fax
5207557.
moderately priced:
La Fenice et des Artistes
An old building next to the Opera. Nice roof garden, 65 rooms with antique furniture. Campiello Fenice, phone 5232333, fax 5203721.
Santo Stefano
Small rooms but with a few over the square. 11 rooms. Campo Santo Stefano, San Marco 2957, phone 5200166, fax 5224460.
inexpensive:
Pensione Accademia - Villa Maravegie
Nice hotel near the Art Academy with a wonderful garden. 26 rooms. Dorsoduro, 1058, phone 5237846.
RESTAURANTS:
Antico Martini
Excellent restaurant with regional and international dishes and extensive wine list, elegant eighteenth century interior, Campo San Fantin near the Opera, San Marco 1983, phone 5224121.
Trattoria alla Madonna
Very popular fish restaurant, just behind the Riva del Vin, near the Rialto Bridge. Calle della Madonna, phone: 5223824.
Harry’s Bar
Opened in 1931 by Giuseppe Cipriani with money borrowed from a Harry from Boston, who thought that Venice was short on bars. Meeting place for royalty and movie stars once, Ernest Hemingway was a regular. Now full of American tourists who drink Cipriani’s creation: the Bellini-cocktail.
Expensive but good food, Calle Vallarsso, San Marco 1323, phone 5285777.
Antica Trattoria Poste Vecchie
Old and beautiful restaurant, superb fish,Pescheria, San Polo, phone 721822.
Al Cugnai
Near the Accademia and very popular, Piscina del Forner, Dorsoduro.
Cip Ciap
Very good takeaway pizza’s, close to the Santa Maria Formosa. Calle Mondo Nuovo, Castello.
