Venice is a beautiful and amazing city on the water, located on 118 islands and only a small part - on the mainland. Its architectural appearance was formed in the XIV-XVI centuries during the rule of the Venetian Republic. In order to see all the sights of Venice, it will take more than one day or even a month, because each building here has its own ancient history.
Province of Venice: history and administrative divisions
The famous port city in the Adriatic Sea dates back to antiquity, when it was in the region of Venetia. Over the centuries, it has undergone many ups and downs. Initially, the settlement existed under the control of the Byzantine Empire. The first Doges here began to be elected back in the 7th-8th centuries. In total, there were 122 people in the history of the city. The last ruler surrendered power voluntarily in 1797.
One of the first democratic names for the region was the Venetian commune (Communis Venetiarium), which was later replaced by Signoria. In the Middle Ages, the Republic of Venice, which had many colonies in the Mediterranean Sea, experienced its heyday due to the convenient location and active trade between the eastern countries and Europe. The Senate of the Republic had unlimited power over the inhabitants and artisans who inhabited the islands.
Then in the XV century. she had to face the Turkish invasion: the Venetian-Ottoman war undermined the economic well-being of the city. In the XVIII century. the territory was captured by Napoleon Bonaparte and came under the influence of France, then Austria, and since 1866 it became part of Italy.
Now Venice is not only a tourist, but also the administrative center of the region with the same name, located in the north-eastern part of Italy. The province forms a commune, which is divided into 6 self-governing areas. Its population totals about 270 thousand inhabitants.
The sights of Venice (the commune) will interest many travelers, especially in its three areas: Lido with beautiful beaches, the mainland of Mestre and the oldest - Venice and the islands of Burano Murano, which have become famous all over the world for their beautiful products made of Murano glass and woven lace.
Name and symbols of the city
The origin of the name of the city takes its roots from the tribe of Venets who lived in these territories during the rule of the Roman Empire. Its symbols are the numerous channels through which gondolas float, a vibrant festival of cinema art. For centuries, the city has been a place of pilgrimage for Christians, because the relics of St. Mark, the apostle and evangelist are stored here. In his honor, and is depicted on the flag of the city of Leo.
The construction of the city was carried out using oak and larch piles hammered to a depth of 10 m, on top of which the foundations of buildings made of stone were laid. For several centuries, the soil gradually compacted, but over the past 10 years, due to the acceleration of this process, Venice began to plunge into the sea several centimeters annually, which poses a threat of flooding of this unique settlement.
Venice is a museum city in which all the central canals are built up with the palaces of aristocrats, from which various architectural styles can be studied. There are many ancient religious buildings and temples, historical monuments.
The main attractions of Venice
In this ancient city located on the islands, every traveler will find a lot of interesting things for themselves: sailing through the canals on gondolas, he will be able to admire the unique beauty of ancient temples and palaces, visit museums and art galleries, sit with a cup of coffee in an outdoor cafe in order to feel the atmosphere of the city . Everything breathes with ancient history, because all the buildings and even light stones on the pavement were laid several centuries ago.
It’s very difficult to get around the sights of Venice on your own in one day, because there are a lot of them. The most popular among tourists include:
- St. Mark's Square and all the buildings located on it.
- Rialto Bridge and Grand Canal.
- Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute.
- The Palazzo Ca'd'Oro and Ca'Rezzonico.
- Art galleries.
Below is a map of the attractions of Venice in Russian, which will allow you to see the location of islands, canals and interesting places for travelers to visit.
All tourists, arriving in the city on the water, immediately fall on the main Venetian square, named after St. Mark. It is the only one that the locals call piazza (Piazza San Marco), because the rest are called Italian campo or campiello (field or small field).
St. Mark's Square
The trapezoidal piazza is 175 m long, in the northern part there is the building of the Old Prosecutor's Office, which is crowned by a tower with antique clocks and bells, in the southern - New. The western end of the piazza is connected by arcades and resembles an Italian courtyard, in the southeast - a bell tower is located, rising to which you can see the whole city.
In the XV-XVI centuries. the territory of the square underwent some changes: instead of the demolished old buildings, the Marchian Library, the Prosecution, the Clock Tower and the Mint were built. One of the world famous sights of the city of Venice and St. Mark's Square is a large number of pigeons, which all tourists feed from their hands.
On the square is the Doge's Palace or the Palazzo Ducale, which is a prominent representative of Gothic architecture. Its construction was begun in the IX century. and lasted several centuries, until 1424. After the fire of 1577, the building was partially restored. For many years, the palace was the residence of the heads of the Venetian state. Its architecture is based on deceptive lightness, because the first floor of the building supports 36 massive columns, and on the second their number reaches 72, as can be seen in the above photo of the sights of Venice.
Now there is a large museum, which presents not only ceremonial halls, but also the premises of a local prison. One of the most beautiful apartments inside is the large light room, which is unique and is the largest room in which the ceiling does not rest on supports. Its walls are painted by many famous artists of the time: Veronese, Fr. Bassano, Tintoretto, J. Palma and others, there is also a collection of ancient weapons.
St. Mark's Cathedral
The oldest temple in Venice, which was built over 400 years by several architects, is St. Mark's Cathedral, located on the square of the same name. The main architectural style of the basilica is considered to be Byzantine, although over the past centuries many others have been used.
Its facade is represented by a harmonious combination of antique columns, bas-reliefs, towers and arrows of the Gothic style, frescoes and marble cladding, which can be clearly seen in the photo of the sights of Venice. The cathedral is a treasury of Christian shrines, where pilgrims and tourists gather annually.
The area of the building reaches 4 thousand square meters, it was founded in 829 by two Venetian merchants who were able to secretly transport the relics of St. Mark the Evangelist here from Alexandria, trying to save them from destruction by Muslims. However, the first temple was destroyed by fire in 832, and in 1063 a new one was built. By the decision of the Doges of the Venetian Republic, all foreign merchants who sailed into the city were to bring gifts to this temple, so that it turned into the Christian center of one of the powerful states of Europe, which was the Venetian Republic in those years.
St. Mark's Basilica has 5 domes by analogy with the church of the 12 apostles of Constantinople. For the decoration of the facade, marble was brought in from this ancient city in 1204.
The facade and interior of one of Venice’s most ancient sights are decorated with frescoes, Romanesque carvings, mosaics of the 12th-13th centuries made by the famous Italian artists Titian and Tintoretto. The main decoration of the basilica is the Golden Altar, made of precious metal and stones.
Canals and bridges
The canals, which are, in fact, the transport arteries of the city, belong to the unique sights of Venice (Italy), especially since no one can even calculate their total number. Officially, it is believed that the city has 160 large and many small channels.
The most important, popular and profitable profession in the city is the gondoliers, who issue special licenses for the right to transport tourists and everyone. Their number has been strictly regulated for many years: 425. The special asymmetric shape of the gondola allows only one person to control it with an oar.
The largest waterway is the Grand Canal, which stretches for 3.8 km in length, passing through the entire city. Its depth is 5 m, width is 30-70 m, which allows free passage of boats and other water transport of Venice: “tragetto” and “vaporetto” river trams. It is on the Grand Canal that the facades of all the most beautiful palaces of the city overlook, which traditionally have 2 entrances: the first from the pier on the water, the second on land.
The most popular bridge for tourists, located in the narrow part of the Grand Canal, is Rialto. He is also known for mentioning “The Merchant of Venice” in one of W. Shakespeare’s plays and for many years has been considered a visiting card and one of the main attractions of Venice.
The oldest wooden bridge here was built in 1181 and was called Ponte della Moneta because of the construction near the mint. However, it repeatedly burned down and was rebuilt. Modern Rialto was erected in the XVI century. by driving 12 thousand piles into the bottom of the canal, on which they laid the foundation and erected a stone structure with numerous arches. The Rialto rises to a height of 7.5 m and reaches a length of 48 m. Inside it are souvenir shops where travelers can choose any interesting gizmos to commemorate a visit to Venice.
Another famous bridge of Sighs, built of white limestone, the name of which was given by the poet Byron. It is a closed building with windows decorated with stone bars, was built in 1602 to connect the Doge's Palace with the prison building. A particularly sad aura is given to him by the fact that prisoners were escorted through it, of which few were able to return alive. According to an old omen, lovers who want to see the sights of Venice in one day should visit this bridge at dusk and, swimming under it, they will be able to confess their love to each other.
Another original bridge over the Grand Canal is located in its southern part and named after the Academy (48 m long) in honor of the nearby art gallery, which presents the famous collection of Venetian paintings of the 13th-17th centuries, including works by Titian, Veronese and It was built of metal in 1854 under the direction of the architect A. Neville, then it was destroyed, and in its place in 1933 a wooden bridge was erected, which existed until 1985. Next, it was decided to make a new structure, which came to the present day.
Cathedral of Santa Maria della Salute
One of the most beautiful sights of Venice is the magnificent cathedral, built on the banks of the Grand Canal in 1630-1681. architect B. Longen. Its history is connected with the name of Doge N. Contarini, who fulfilled the promise to build a temple in honor of the end of the plague epidemic that raged in the city in 1630.
The building has the shape of an 8-sided, and the roof is made in the form of a hemisphere, the central entrance is made like a triumphal arch. There are 2 bell towers in the cathedral, which is unique for such buildings. Its construction was fraught with difficulties, which engineers took more than 20 years to solve. The foundation and walls are installed over 100 thousand wooden piles driven into the bottom of the channel, the floor is made of marble slabs in the form of concentric circles.
Inside is an altar, which seems to be a symbol of the miraculous deliverance of Venice from a terrible disease that claimed several hundred thousand people. The center is the icon of the Madonna della Salute, brought from Crete. Every year on November 21 in this place the festival "Festa della Salute" is held, dedicated to the liberation of the city from the plague.
Palaces of venice
Over the course of several centuries, the people of Venice, who had grown rich in trade, tried to give their city a magnificent and rich look. They built more than 20 palaces, which facades overlooked the canals, erecting them in a mixture of several eastern and western architectural styles: Moorish and Byzantine, Baroque and Gothic.
Description of the sights of Venice, its palaces and galleries will help to know the history and architecture of the city, which has its own unique look, which gives it a resemblance to a large stone ship sailing along the waves.
The Palace of Santa Sofia, or Ka'd'Oro, is an example of Gothic architecture, located on the Grand Canal and has another name - the “Golden House” - due to the decoration of the facade with gold leaf, which has not been preserved to this day. It was built at the beginning of the XV century. architects Giovanni Bon and Bartolomeo Bon, who built the Palazzo on the order of the powerful family of M. Contarini.
The architecture of the palace entwined elements of a medieval temple and mosque. The facade is decorated with a balcony, which is equipped with columns and arches with original capitals in the form of four-leafed leaves. The last reconstruction was carried out in 1894 according to the surviving drawings and paintings. The building now houses the Franchetti Gallery, which is visited annually by thousands of tourists.
The Ca'Rezzonico Palace, whose construction lasted more than 100 years under the direction of architects B. Langene and J. Massari, is also unusually beautiful. This Renaissance masterpiece is named after the family of the Rezzonico family living here. The interiors of the Palazzo are richly decorated with frescoes and sculptures, inside there is a courtyard with a fountain and a chapel. Its main attraction is the Wedding Hall and the work of the artist P. Visconti, who depicted Apollo on a racing chariot on the ceiling.
The building, which was bought by the city council more than 100 years ago, constantly hosts exhibitions of sculpture, ceramics and glass, which everyone can visit, visiting the sights of Venice alone or in groups.
The Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo (1499) is located near the Cathedral of St. Mark on a small street. Its architecture surprises with the combination of various styles and pomp. Unique is the spiral staircase, thanks to which the Venetians nicknamed the residence of Contarini "Snake Palace". It is enclosed in a tall tower decorated with vertical Gothic arches.
A staircase leads to the main building, which is also decorated with arcades and balustrades. In the small courtyard there are original wells with awnings, which depict the coat of arms of the family. The facade of the Palazzo previously had frescoes, but over time they became almost invisible.
The islands
The interesting sights of Venice (communes) can be seen by visiting the islands of artisans Murano and Burano, which for several centuries have been creating masterpieces of their art, famous around the world.
Murano is located 2 km from the city, it can be reached by boat. Here is the Glass Museum, which has assembled glass blowers for several centuries. This is Venetian glass, decor and jewelry, which was created by craftsmen and artisans living and working on the island. This technique is unique and inimitable, based on manual labor and the art of blowing glass, which came here from the countries of the East. The secrets of Murano products are kept secret and transmitted only by inheritance.
Burano Island attracts tourists with its colorfulness: all the houses here are painted with colorful paints. For interested travelers there is an opportunity to get acquainted with local traditions and admire products from Venetian lace, the art of weaving of which was founded in the XVI century.
Museum city on the water
Venice is an open-air museum city that is best viewed from the water. The atmosphere of passion and romance, old tales and legends accompanies every tourist who walks along the narrow stone streets of the city or views the sights of Venice, sailing past them on a gondola.