Venezia (also known as City of Water, City of Masks, City of Bridges, The Floating City or City of Canals), situated in North-Eastern Italy, is the world’s only pedestrian city, sited on a group of 117 small islands, separated by 177 water canals and linked by 409 beautiful bridges, which divide Venice into 6 districts, called Sestieri.
The absence of traffic, makes the city a pleasant experience, while you go back in time, through the narrow streets, between gorgeous last-century buildings.
Since the 1980’s, when the Carnival of Venice was revived, the city has become a major centre of conferences and festivals, attracting visitors from all over the world. The artistic and cultural side, combined with the numerous attractions such as St Mark’s Basilica, the Grand Canal, and the Piazza San Marco, turned the City of Masks into a top tourist destination, in the past decade.
Back in Time – Origins
Former capital city of the Republic of Venice, the name of ‘Venezia’ is derived from the ancient ‘Veneti’, the people who inhabited the region in the 10th century BC.
It it known that the original population of the City of Water consisted mainly of refugees from Roman cities near Venice, and lagoon fishermen, who were fleeing the Germanic and Hun invasions taking place in the region.
With the construction of ports, the city soon started dominating the Mediterranean Sea and became the most prosperous city in all of Europe, in the 13th century, trading extensively with the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim world. For short periods of time, it was conquered by Napoleon and also became part of the Austria-Hungary.
The Buildings
The buildings of The Floating City are constructed on alder trees wooden piles (known for their water resistance), the foundations rest on plates of limestone placed on top of the piles, while the buildings are made out of brick or stone. The piles sit on a layer sand and mud while the bottom part penetrate a much harder layer of compressed clay, which prevents the wood from degrading, as fast as it does on the top part.
Transportation
If you expect to drive around the city, you’re going to have a hard time, as besides the main entrance road and railway located in the northern part of the city, transportation within Venice is done in the old fashioned way, by water or on foot.
The very famous luxurious gondola, decorated with velvet seats and Persian rugs, is mostly used nowadays by tourists or ceremonies. At the front of each gondola we find a large piece of metal called ‘ferro,’ (iron), which consists of six bars pointing forward representing the Sestieri of the city, and one that points backward representing the Giudecca (an island in the Venetian Lagoon, in northern Italy).
You can also use the vaporetti (water buses) and water taxis to get around the city.
My first choice was walking, in order to see as much as possible of the gorgeous city, and I must say, it was a very interesting experience. I got lost while moving down the narrow streets, following the arrows pointing to a certain location, when the arrows suddenly stopped appearing. As the city is not that big, and you can reach the other end, in a few hours, I managed to find my way around, eventually reaching Piata Di San Marco.
The funniest part was to end up a dead end street, and by this I don’t mean the traditional dead end street, we’re all used to, when you are surrounded by walls, but you reach a street which ends in a water canal, or in the sea. Quite a fascinating experience!
Also, I might have a reputation of having food taken away from me by different birds, on different occasions, but I never had this happen to me, to such an extent, ever before. You can’t really buy street food (especially if that food is called pizza), and eat peacefully on the street, unless you want to get attacked by pigeons. Yes, it really happens, and I couldn’t even tell them off, as they were so adorable 🙂 Sharing is caring, I suppose?!
The downside of Venice, in the warmer season, is the number of tourists, which increases every year, while the city becomes overcrowded, turning into a walking museum, as the narrow streets are jammed and impossible to walk on, without bumping into someone, or waiting in line to move forward.
All in all, Venezia offers a unique experience, and it’s a city definitely worth visiting.
If you enjoyed this post, you should Follow Me On Twitter 
and Like My Page on Facebook 
for more updates.
All Right Choices 
I’m sure it’s a city worth visiting My mum has an awful memory of it, she went there during summer and it smelled like bird poop everywhere. She hated it !
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahaha, I can see where that is coming. There are pigeons everywhere, as you can see from my picture 🙂 However, when I went there last year, it was quite ok, smell-wise. I didn’t like the large number of tourists though. I was very hard to walk down the street. Still, the atmosphere is different than any other city I’ve been to.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful photos! We visited twice some years ago. I don’t know it’s the same, since the big cruises bring thousands of tourists…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much, Amy! I must say it was a bit uncomfortable as I couldn’t even see the buildings properly or walk on the street without feeling like I’m waiting in line. However, the city is definitely unique and beautiful. The buildings were amazingly gorgeous. I only made it to Piata Di San Marco though… I hope your experience was pleasant. Have a lovely day!
LikeLike
This is such a lovely overview of one of the most intriguing and unique cities in the world. Great post Lucy! 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for reading, Jet! I’m happy you enjoyed it. It’s definitely something different. Have you ever been to Venice before? Have a lovely day! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Lucy, Yes, I was in Venice for a few days some years ago, enjoyed it so much. I took water taxis and walked a lot. You have a lovely day too! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh we adored our time in Venice. Thank you for transporting me back. I had not realized the little signs on the gondolas. thank you for pointing that out.
On another note, and feel free to delete this comment, I think this article from WordPress may be of interest to you. It’s about the fact that if you use more than a combination of 15 tags and categories your post won’t show up in WordPress Reader. https://en.support.wordpress.com/topics/#missing-posts
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are very welcome, Sue! I’m happy to know you enjoyed it. Venice is definitely a gorgeous city. I also had no idea about the gondola’s fero. The more I write, the more I learn 🙂
Thank you so much for the tip about the tags! I had no idea. I’ll keep that in mind for my next posts. Of course, I won’t delete your comment 🙂 I appreciate every feedback, positive or negative. Thanks again! x
LikeLiked by 1 person
I always wanted to visit Venice. Thank you so much for the insights and lovely photos – truly inspiring!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure, Indah! I’m happy to know you enjoyed it. I hope you’ll get to Venice soon. It’s a gorgeous city, and definitely different. The pigeons were the funniest haha 🙂 Have a lovely day! x
LikeLike
I feel I’m walking down memory lane with your experience with traveling to Venice. I was there in 1959, and things were a lot different, it was very smelly but they have definitely improved on that since than. I remember riding in a gondola and seeing a woman throw out her garbage in the canal. The city with their ancient buildings and the open square was fascinating. At one time, they had a problem with the buildings due to the water. We stayed in one that the floor had slanted. I am glad that Venice has improved. It is one of the oldest cities and tourists flock to it every year. It’s known for the City of Romance and it sure gave you that feeling. I am glad you enjoyed your visit. Inspite of the smell, I, too enjoyed my visit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey Frances! Thank you so much for reading and for sharing your experience with me. Wow, Venice in 1959 doesn’t sound like such a nice place. Right now the smell was ok and I definitely didn’t see anyone throw any garbage out the window haha 🙂 About the buildings, same thing as Amsterdam, they are built on wooden poles so for sure they will continue to sink further on. I didn’t feel like it was romantic in the least, as it was really busy, and in spite of being so gorgeous, it made you rush towards a location less crowded. Still, it was definitely worth seeing. Hugs ❤
LikeLike
I can’t believe I haven’t made it to Venice yet. It is definitely on my to do list, just have to make sure I get there before the city sinks! You have some lovely pictures of the city. 409 bridges, that’s a lot:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
In that case, I’m happy I could provide a virtual tour 🙂 Indeed, that’s a lot of bridges! Absolutely gorgeous city, but just like Amsterdam, being built on wooden poles, might cause some structural issues in the future. You must go see it. I’m sure you will enjoy it, a lot!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Stunning feature… I love it, dear Lucy … Thanks for sharing this post with us..
My best wishes to you. Aquileana 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, dear Aquileana! I’m so happy to know you enjoyed it 🙂 Quite a gorgeous location! Have you been to Venice before?
Have a lovely day! x
LikeLike
My favourite city in the world! And it’s so quiet at night with no traffic noise – I had the best night’s sleep ever there!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m very happy to hear you enjoyed Venice. It’s definitely something different. My time there was a little bit less enjoyable, because of the large number of tourists. It was very difficult to walk on the streets, but I loved the architecture and the feel of the city. I’d love to see it again one day 🙂 Thank you for reading! Have a lovely day!
LikeLike