his 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. 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 21st century will bring the death of Venice. Since the Middle-Ages the wealth brought by the Venetian traders led to a building boom of palaces and churches. These are often a combination of delicate Gothic tracery and Byzantine colourism. 
This mixture of Eastern and Western architecture can be seen in the DogeÕs Palace, from where the aristocratic republic of Venice was governed by a duke who was elected and aided by the local nobility.  In the 16C when the cities wealth and influence reached a peak the Venetian painters Tintoretto, Giorgione and Titian revolutionized Italian art. Their work is exhibited in the Galleria dellÕAccademia. 
In 1797 Venice was annexed by Napoleon, and later occupied by the Austrians.  Not much of the Venetian might was left by then and in 1866 the city became part of the Kingdom of Italy. Today Venice is mainly a tourist destination and host to important cultural events like the Biennale dÕArte and the Film Festival. The most famous event is the Carnevale masked balls for the jet set, dancing on the piazza for the less fortunate. It lasts ten days up to Shrove Tuesday