Venice Carnaval Masks © Lorraine H.
Venice has 118 islands, more than 150 canals and 400 bridges, about 50, 000 tourists per day visit the historic centre enjoying the beauties of the city. There are a lot of key points in the city of love, let me list the ones that you can’t miss.
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) – Shooting locations in Venice: Grand Canal, Santa Maria della Salute (in the background when Tom talks with the American private detective), Piazza San Marco with St Mark’s Basilica, Doge’s Palace and St Mark’s Campanile, Venetian Lagoon (in the background).
Top tourist attractions in Venice: The Doge’s Palace (Italian: Palazzo Ducale), Galleria dell’Accademia, The Rialto Bridge (Italian: Ponte di Rialto), The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark (Italian: Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco and commonly known as Saint Mark’s Basilica), Piazza San Marco, The Grand Canal (Italian: Canal Grande, Venetian: Canałasso).
Most famous Venetians: Marco Polo, the opera composer Antonio Vivaldi, the great lover Casanova. St Mark is buried here.
The best films set in Venice, Italy: The Tourist(2010), Casino Royale (2006), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade(1989), The Merchant of Venice, 007 From Russia with Love, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Once Upon a Time in America (1984), The English Patient (1996).
Interesting facts about Venice
- Only 3 to 4 Gondolier licenses are issued annually. To qualify, applicants must be able to finish an extensive training after passing a rigorous exam. There are only 400 licensed Gondolas operating in Venice today. 2. The narrowest street in Venice is called Calletta or Ramo Varisco and it is located on a side street near Campo San Canciano: it is one of the narrowest streets in the world, because it measures only 53cm/20. 8inches. wide at chest level. 3. The word CIAO has Venetian origins. In ancient times people used it in Venice to greet each other in this way: «s-ciavo vostro», which means «your servant, at your orders, your slave.» So as time went by the greeting became at first «s-ciao» and then «ciao». 4. Why isn’t the water in the lagoon of Venice always crystal clear? For the presence of many rivers that flow in from the northern Adriatic. The sandy bottom, moreover, accentuates the look of opaque water which looks dirty. 5. Until the 19th century, there was only one bridge that crossed the Grand Canal. 6. Over 15 million tourists visit Venice each year. 7. Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia was the first woman in the world to be graduated, on June 25 1678. Elena was born in Venice in 1646. A memorial stone lies on one side of Loredan Palace (now the town hall of Venice, with Ca ‘Farsetti). 8. The Grand Canal divides the city of Venice in to two parts. 9. The first public casino was born here in 1638, as an attempt to limit gambling and moralize the customs of the Venetian lords. 10. Masks were not just a Carnival thing. Venetians loved to wear the masks for any possible occassion, and many laws had to be made to specify when, where and who was allowed to walk around masked, especially for security reasons.
Rialto Bridge, Venice, Italy. Photo by © Cosmin R Roman
Things you can do in Venice
A must do visit to – The Doge’s Palace (Italian: Palazzo Ducale – The Doge’s Palace is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks Venice. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the Republic of Venice.
Walk on – The Rialto Bridge, one of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It is the oldest bridge across the canal, and was the dividing line for the districts of San Marco and San Polo.
Take a walk from the Rialto Bridge to the Doge’s Palace via Piazza San Marco – the principal public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as «the Piazza». All other urban spaces in the city are called «campi».
Visit The Gallerie dell’Accademia, a museum gallery of pre-19th-century art in Venice, northern Italy, Established 1750.
Take a walk around the Grand Canal.
