Holiday in Venice
Visitors on a holiday in Venice can explore an enchanted maze of canals, impressive Venetian palaces and a labyrinth of ancient streets are the setting for a Venice holiday. Tourists naturally flock to Venice to experience its inimitable charm. The downside of this can be felt in the narrow streets and cramped piazzas of its sought-after areas. A good way to get to know a more personal side of Venice is to saunter through its romantic back streets and residential quarters.
The city of Venice is mounted upon one hundred and seventeen islands, which are located in the Venetian lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. This strategic position conferred on Venice economic and defensive advantages over its trading rivals. As the wealth of the city increased and its population grew, the composition of the city grew ever more dense and today only a handful of the islets that constitute the historic centre are not entirely developed.
Venice is home to six sestieri (quarters), which are the quarters of Dorsoduro, Santa Croce, San Marco, Castello, San Polo and Cannaregio. The city's main thoroughfare is the Grand Canal that intersects each district as it meanders through the length of Venice from the railway station to San Marco. An alternative to walking the bewildering streets of Venice is to cruise the waterways onboard the motorboat buses known as vaporetti. These are the less romantic but also less expensive substitutes for the famous gondolas.Extending beyond the six sestieri islands of Burano, Murano and Torcello, the city of Venice covers a wide area. The islands are known for glass and lace-making respectively and Torcello is noted for the magnificent Byzantine Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta that rests on its soil. Trips by boat to the islands provide a pleasant diversion from the busier historic quarters.
The Grand Canal (Canalazzo)
The Grand Canal in Venice splits the ancient city in half, with equal sestieri to the east and west of it. It is the hub around which much activity in Venice is concentrated and is encircled with elegant facades of the palazzi, which testify to the city's past opulence. The best way to explore the architectural splendour of these Renaissance buildings is on board a vaporetta. Pedestrian access across the canal is only provided along three bridges situated at the station, Rialto and Academia. Gondolas cross the canal at regular intervals and provide a romantic interlude to the sightseeing itinerary. The Grand Canal palaces and buildings to look out for include the Ca da Mosto, with its rounded arches in low relief. The 'House of Gold' (Ca d'Ora) is a beautiful Gothic building constructed between 1424 and 1430. Palazzo Corner-Spinelli and Palazzo Vendramin Calergi combine classical and Byzantine elements designed by Mauro Codussi. Architect Jacopo Sansovino was inspired by Codussi's style and infused this in his creation of the Palazzo Corner (Ca Granda). Another notable Palazzo is the Grimani di San Luca, designed by Michele Sanmicheli.
St Mark's Square
Home to the first citadel and church in Venice (the Palazzo Ducale and the Basilica di San Marco) St Mark's Square (or the Piazza San Marco) is the heart of Venice. The Basilica di San Marco is a unique juxtaposition of Byzantine, western European and Islamic architectural styles. The Basilica's most precious relic is the Pala d'Or, a Venetian-Byzantine gold relief adorned with precious gems. Travellers and pigeons flock to the Piazza with equal zeal. It is the tourists however who pay dearly to eat or drink at the elegant cafes that spill onto the pavements. Designer shops line the streets that radiate from the square. There are worthwhile places of interest to explore beyond the square that include the Museo Correr, the Archaeological Museum and the Museo del Risorgimento, which are housed within the Procuratie Nuova. Attached to the Procuratie Vecchie is the triumphal Torre dell'Orologio. The adjoining archway guides one through to the Mercerie, Venice's main commercial street that stretches to the Rialto.
Rialto
Venice holidays are not complete without a visit to the commercial centre of Venice; The Rialto, which is famed to be the location of the first bridge over the Grand Canal. The original wooden bridge collapsed under the strain of the crowds gathered here to admire a wedding procession. It was replaced by the sturdier single stone arch design of Antonio da Ponte, built in 1588. Today the area still resembles the bustling fruit and vegetable market of former times but is additionally swamped with tourists and the accoutrements geared towards them.
Basilica dei Frari
The Gothic Franciscan church of Basilica dei Frari dates back to the fourteenth century and is the final resting place of the sculptor Antonio Canova and Titian. Titian's tomb in the south aisle watches over large marble pyramid created for Canova. The interior of the church is adorned with the works of famous artists. These include Donatello's St John the Baptist, Giovanni Bellini's triptych of the Madonna and Saints, Titian's famous Assumption of the Virgin and his Madonna of Case Pesaro.School of St Roch (Scuola di San Rocco) Schools in Venice were paid for by the guilds or religious fraternities, with members helping to support the cities education. The School of St Roch is known for the canvasses of Jacopo Tintoretto that adorn its interior. Tintoretto was commissioned to decorate the School in 1564 and dedicated 23 years to this task. The paintings are arranged in chronological order that can be followed by beginning on the second floor in the Sala dell'Albergo. Notable amongst his works are the scenes from the Life of the Virgin and the Crucifixion.
Address: Campo San Rocco, San Polo 3054; Telephone: (041) 523 4864; Opening time: Daily 10am to 4pm; Admission: €5
Academia
The Academia gallery is home to some of the finest European art collections and displays Venetian works from the fourteenth to eighteenth centuries. Notable works in the gallery include Paolo Veneziano's Coronation of Mary, Carpaccio's Crucifixion and Apotheosis, Giovanni Bellini's Madonna with Child between Saints Catherine and Mary Magdalen, Giorgione's Tempest, Lorenzo Lotto's Portrait of a Young Gentleman in His Studio, Paolo Veronese's Feast in the House of Levi, and Tintoretto's Theft of St Mark's Body and Crucifixion.
Address: Dorsoduro 1055; Telephone: (041) 522 2247; Opening time: Tuesday to Sunday 8.15am to 7.15pm, Monday 8.15am to 2pm; Admission: €6.50
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
One of the most illustrious Modern Art collections in Italy is the Guggenheim collection, which is housed in a Palazzo once owned by a rich American Heiress. It spans the artistic movements of Cubism, European Abstraction and Surrealism with notable works by Brancusi, Marino Marini, Kandinsky, Picasso, Magritte, Rothko, Max Ernst, Dali and Jackson Pollock. Peggy Guggenheim built up her collection between 1938 and 1947 and bought the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni in 1948 where she lived until her death in 1979.
