Venice: Pride of Italy

By: Ingrid Ingra

Venice, Italy is a city unlike any other in the world! Built directly on canals, Venice is truly a port city. Serving as a critical element in the shipping world and home to explorers such as the famous Marco Polo, visitors of all ages will fall in love with the beauty and history of this famous Italian city.

The fantastic Northern Italian city of Venice presents a unique section of Italy, which has a distinct style in art, architecture, food, and people. Unlike other Italian cities, Venice has a unique Turkish flair with Byzantine designs in architecture and gold coatings on every available surface.

The most popular tourist spot in Venice is St. Mark's Basilica or San Marco as popularly known. This is a must see for you. San Marco was restored in the Jubilee year of 2000 and is now a sight to behold, with all the gold, mosaics and carvings. Do not miss the four horses that stand guard over the basilica. These horses have a piece of history attached to it. Napoleon took these four equines after one of his victories, and these were returned to the basilica in 1815.

The piazza were the basilica is situated is just as famous as the building itself. Known for its tremendous pigeon population, this square is lined with arcades on either side that provide protection for the bird-shy tourists. Don’t miss out on the beautiful Doge’s Palace and all the shops that also call the square home.

A city built on canals and lagoons would no doubt have an abundance of bridges. But the "Bridge of Sighs" takes the cake. You can easily see this bridge from the Grand Canal, as it is located straight near the Piazza San Marco. The bridge is so called because prisoners used to pass through this beautiful 17th century bridge to reach their cells.

The other famous bridge in Venice is the Rialto Bridge, which straddles the Grand Canal. Shops line both sides of this famous bridge, allowing visitors to purchase a wide variety of Venetian goods. Legend states that couples who kiss while riding under the bridge on the city’s classic gondolas will remain in love forever.

Gondolas are the historic long black boats navigated by striped shirted gondoliers in the narrow canals using only a pole and a master's knowledge of the canal system. Most of these gondoliers will sing a song for you but they do expect to be tipped generously.

By far the most famous item made in Venice is the lovely Murano Glass. Made in a tiny island just minutes from the Piazza San Marco, Murano is home to some of the most famous glass companies in the world. Be sure to visit the factories and see how these masters of glass blow and shape molten glass into exquisite creations.

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Ingrid Ingra is the chief editor for F italy, the #1 source on the internet for information about italy, For questions or comments about this article visit: www.finitaly.com/articles
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