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 ancient times, when it was located in the Venetia region. It has gone through many ups and downs over the centuries. Initially, the settlement existed under the control of the Byzantine Empire. The first doges began to be elected here as early as the 7th-8th centuries, in total there were 122 of them in the history of the city. The last ruler abdicated voluntarily in 1797
One of the first democratic names of the area was the Venetian Commune (Communis Venetiarium), which was later replaced by Signoria (Signoria). In the Middle Ages, the Venetian Republic, which had many colonies in the Mediterranean, experienced itsflourishing, thanks to its favorable location and active trade between 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 fell under the influence of France, then Austria, and from 1866 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 subdivided into 6 self-governing districts. Its population is about 270 thousand inhabitants.
The sights of Venice (commune) will interest many travelers, especially in its three districts: Lido with beautiful beaches, the mainland of Mestre and the oldest - Venice and the islands of Burano-Murano, which have become famous throughout the world for their beautiful Murano glass products and braided lace.
Name and symbols of the city
The origin of the name of the city takes its roots from the Veneti tribe, who lived in these territories during the period of the Roman Empire. Its symbols are numerous canals along which gondolas float, a bright film festival. For more than one century, the city has been a place of pilgrimage for Christians, because the relics of St. Mark, the apostle and evangelist, are kept here. In his honor and depicted on the flag of the city of Lev.
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 stone buildings were laid. For several centuries, the soil was gradually compacted, but over the past 10 years, due to the acceleration of this process, Venice began to sink several centimeters into the sea every year, which threatens to flood this unique settlement.
Venice is a city-museum in which all the central canals are built up with palaces of aristocrats, through which you can study various architectural styles. There are many ancient religious buildings and temples, monuments of historical heritage.
Main attractions in Venice
In this ancient city, located on the islands, every traveler will find a lot of interesting things for himself: sailing along 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 to feel the atmosphere of the city. Everything here breathes with ancient history, because all the buildings and even the bright stones on the pavement were laid several centuries ago.
It is very difficult to get around the sights of Venice on your own in one day, because there are a great many of them. The most popular with tourists are:
- St. Mark's Square and all the buildings located on it.
- Ri alto Bridge and Grand Canal.
- Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute.
- Palazzo Ca'd'Oro and Ca'Rezzonico.
- Art galleries.
Below is a map of attractionsVenice in Russian, which will allow you to see the location of the islands, canals and interesting places for travelers to visit.
All tourists, arriving in the city on the water, immediately get to 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 in Italian campo or campiello (field or small field).
St. Mark's Square
The length of the trapezoidal piazza is 175 m, in the northern part there is the building of the Old Prosecutor's Office, which is crowned with a tower with old clocks and bells, in the southern part - the New. The western end of the piazza is connected by arcades and resembles an Italian courtyard, in the southeast there is a bell tower, climbing which you can see the whole city.
In the XV-XVI centuries. the territory of the square has undergone some changes: instead of the demolished old buildings, the Marchian Library, the Procuration, the Chasok Tower and the Mint were built. One of the world-famous sights of the city of Venice and Piazza San Marco is a large number of pigeons, which all tourists hand-feed.
On the square is the Doge's Palace or Palazzo Ducale, which is a prominent representative of Gothic architecture. Its construction began in the 9th century. and lasted for several centuries, until 1424. After a fire in 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 ondeceptive 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 the ceremonial halls, but also the premises of the local prison. One of the most beautiful apartments inside is the big light hall, which is unique and is the largest room in which the ceiling is not supported by supports. Its walls were painted by many famous artists of that time: Veronese, Fr. Bassano, Tintoretto, J. Palma and others, a collection of ancient weapons is also on display here.
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 Byzantine, although many others have been used over the centuries.
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 is perfectly visible in the photo of the sights of Venice. The cathedral is a treasury of Christian shrines, where pilgrims and tourists come every year.
The area of the building reaches 4 thousand m22, founded in 829 by two Venetian merchants who were able to secretly transport the relics of the Evangelist St. Mark here from Alexandria, trying to save them from destruction by Muslims. However, the first temple was destroyed by fire already in 832, andin 1063 a new one was built. By the decision of the doges of the Venetian Republic, all foreign merchants sailing to the city had to bring gifts to this temple, thanks to which it turned into a Christian center of one of the most powerful states in Europe, which was the Venetian Republic in those years.
St. Mark's Basilica has 5 domes, similar to the Church of the 12 Apostles of Constantinople. To decorate the facade, marble was brought from this ancient city in 1204
The façade and interiors 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
Canals, which are, in fact, the transport arteries of the city, are among the unique sights of Venice (Italy), especially since even no one can count their total number. Officially, there are 160 large and many small canals in the city.
The most important, popular and profitable profession in the city is the gondoliers, who issue special licenses for the right to transport tourists and all comers. 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 water artery is the Grand Canal, which stretches for 3.8 km, passing through the entirecity. Its depth is 5 m, width 30-70 m, which allows free passage of boats and other water transport in Venice: "traghetto" and river trams "vaporetto". It is on the Grand Canal that the facades of all the most beautiful palaces of the city face, which traditionally have 2 entrances: the first - from the pier on the water, the second - on land.
The most popular bridge among tourists, located in the narrow part of the Grand Canal, is Ri alto. It is also known for being mentioned in one of Shakespeare's plays "The Merchant of Venice" and for many years it 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 was repeatedly burned down and rebuilt. The modern Ri alto was built in the 16th century. by driving 12 thousand piles into the bottom of the canal, on which the foundation was laid and a stone structure with numerous arches was erected. Ri alto 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 little things to remember their visit to Venice.
Another famous Bridge of Sighs, built from white limestone, named after the poet Byron. It is a closed structure with windows decorated with stone bars, built in 1602 to connect the Doge's Palace with the prison building. A particularly sad aura is given to it by the fact that prisoners were escorted along it, of which few were able to return alive. According to the oldFor lovers who want to see the sights of Venice in one day, it is worth visiting this bridge at dusk and, passing 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 is named after the "Academy" (length 48 m) in honor of the art gallery located nearby, which houses the famous collection of Venetian paintings of the XIII-XVII centuries, including works by Titian, Veronese and others. It was built of metal in 1854 under the guidance of architect A. Neville, then destroyed, and in its place in 1933 a wooden bridge was erected, which lasted until 1985. Then it was decided to make a newer building that has survived to this day.
Cathedral of Santa Maria della Salute
One of the most beautiful attractions in 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 his promise to build a temple in honor of the end of the plague that raged in the city in the 1630s.
The building has the shape of an octahedron, and the roof is made in the form of a hemisphere, the central entrance is made like a triumphal arch. The cathedral has 2 bell towers, which is unique for such buildings. Its construction was fraught with complexities that took engineers more than 20 years to solve. The foundation and walls are installed on top of 100 thousand wooden piles driven into the bottom of the canal, the floor is made of marble slabs in the form of concentric circles.
Insidethe altar is located, 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, the festival "Festa della Salute" is held in this place, dedicated to the liberation of the city from the plague.
The palaces of Venice
For several centuries, the inhabitants of Venice, who grew rich in trade, tried to give their city a magnificent and rich look. They built more than 20 palaces that overlooked the canals, erecting them in a mixture of several Eastern and Western architectural styles at once: Moorish and Byzantine, Baroque and Gothic.
Description of the sights of Venice, its palaces and galleries will help to learn the history and architecture of the city, which has its own unique appearance, which makes it look like a large stone ship sailing on the waves.
The Santa Sofia Palace, or Ca'd'Oro, is an example of Gothic architecture, located on the Grand Canal and has another name - "Golden House" - due to the decoration of the facade with gold leaf, which has not survived to this day. It was built at the beginning of the 15th century. architects Giovanni Bon and Bartolomeo Bon, who built the Palazzo to the order of the powerful M. Contarini family.
The architecture of the palace intertwined elements of a medieval temple and a mosque. The decoration of the facade is a balcony, which is equipped with columns and arches with original capitals in the form of quatrefoils. Last reconstructionwas carried out in 1894 according to the surviving drawings and paintings. The building now houses the Franchetti Gallery, which is visited by thousands of tourists every year.
Also extraordinarily beautiful is the Ca'Rezzonico Palace, the construction of which lasted more than 100 years under the guidance of architects B. Langene and J. Massari. This Renaissance masterpiece is named after 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 purchased by the city council over 100 years ago, hosts permanent exhibitions of sculpture, ceramics and glass, which are open to all who wish to see the sights of Venice on their own or in groups.
Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo (1499) is located near St. Mark's Cathedral in a small street. Its architecture surprises with a combination of various styles and pomposity. The spiral staircase is unique, thanks to which the Venetians nicknamed the Contarini residence "The Serpent's Palace". It is enclosed in a tall tower adorned with vertical gothic arches.
The stairs lead to the main building, which is also decorated with arcades and balustrades. In a small courtyard there are original wells with canopies, which depict the coat of arms of the family. The facade of the Palazzo used to have frescoes, but over time they have become almost invisible.
Islands
Interesting sights of Venice (commune) can be seen by visiting the islands of artisans Murano and Burano, who for several centuries have been creating masterpieces of their art, famous throughout the world.
Murano is located 2 km from the city and can be reached by boat. Here is the Museum of Glass, which has collected products of glassblowers over several centuries. This is Venetian glass, decor and jewelry, which are 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 glass blowing, which came here from the countries of the East. The secrets of Murano products are kept secret and are passed down only by inheritance.
The island of Burano attracts tourists with its colorfulness: all the houses here are painted with multi-colored paints. For interested travelers, there is an opportunity to get acquainted with local traditions and admire Venetian lace products, the art of weaving of which was founded in the 16th century.
Museum city on the water
Venice is an open-air museum city best viewed from the water. The atmosphere of passion and romance, old fairy tales and legends accompanies every tourist who walks along the narrow stone streets of the city or surveys the sights of Venice, passing by them on a gondola.
