| Venice is a city like no other. It has had its fair share of | | | | revived, yet the palace remains. The palace was |
| supporters - Marco Polo once said, "Every time I | | | | completed in 1424 after being under construction for |
| describe a city I am saying something about Venice". It | | | | over a century. It boasts a spectacular stone-colored |
| has also had some critics - Oscar Wilde described a | | | | marble façade, which is a true construction feat. |
| gondola ride through the city's canals as a coffin | | | | The slender arches and pillars are fascinating. The |
| floating in a sewer. Naturally, no city is perfect. Venice | | | | palace was designed in an urban waterfront context. |
| presents many advantages - important landmarks and | | | | The third floor is dominated by the Sala del Collegio, a |
| monuments and striking architecture. However, floods | | | | place where foreign ambassadors were received. This |
| are common, and sometimes the smell can be hard to | | | | hall features the portraits of several Doges and the |
| bear. | | | | Lepanto by Paolo Veronese. The last is a painting of |
| There is plenty to see and do in Venice. The city's | | | | the naval battle of Lepanto of 1571. |
| elegant palaces and buildings overlook the ancient | | | | The Rialto Bridge is the most famous bridge in Venice. |
| labyrinth of narrow lanes and the maze of canals. If | | | | It is the oldest bridge across the biggest watercourse |
| you want to take a stroll you should stick to the | | | | of the city, the Grand Canal. |
| romantic back streets and residential areas. The | | | | The Gallerie dell'Academia is home to one of the finest |
| piazzas and main itineraries are often cramped. | | | | art collections in Europe, chronicling the development of |
| Venice is part of an archipelago in the Venetian lagoon. | | | | Venetian art from the 1300s to the 1700s. Works of |
| Its historical district is divided into six quarters - San | | | | note in the gallery include Carpaccio's Crucifixion and |
| Marco, San Polo, Castello, Dorsoduro, Santa Croce | | | | Apotheosis, Paolo Veneziano's Coronation of Mary, |
| and Cannaregio. Its main itinerary is the Grand Canal, | | | | Giovanni Bellini's Madonna with Child between Saints |
| which extends from the train station to San Marco. If | | | | Catherine and Mary Magdalene, Lorenzo Lotto's |
| you find the streets too busy you can cruise the | | | | Portrait of a Young Gentleman in His Studio, |
| waterways onboard a vaporetti or waterbus. This is | | | | Giorgione's Tempest and Paolo Veronese's Feast in |
| less romantic but also less expensive than a gondola | | | | the House of Levi. |
| ride. | | | | The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is located in the |
| The city's best attractions include St. Mark's Basilica, | | | | former Palace of the rich heiress. It is among the most |
| the School of St Roch, the Doge's Palace, the Gallerie | | | | memorable modern art collections in Italy, spanning a |
| dell'Academia, Rialto Bridge and the Guggenheim | | | | wide variety of artistic movements like abstractionism, |
| museum collection. St Mark's Basilica is the best known | | | | cubism and surrealism. The last includes important |
| of all churches in Venice and an excellent example of | | | | works by Marino Marini, Picasso, Rothko, Dali and |
| Byzantine architecture. The basilica is located at St. | | | | Jackson Pollock. |
| Mark's Square. The interior plan consists of three | | | | As for Venice's downsides, these include floods, the |
| transverse and three longitudinal naves. The Golden | | | | rising rate of decay, the outrageous charges of |
| Pall forms the altarpiece. There is a baldacchino on | | | | water-taxi drivers and gondoliers, the smelly |
| columns, covered with 11th century reliefs above the | | | | mold-colored waters of the back canals, the broken |
| high altar. The choir features exquisite bronze statues | | | | marble walls smeared with graffiti, the tourist riffraff in |
| of the Evangelists. St. Mark's Basilica was consecrated | | | | the summer, encompassing not only Venice but also its |
| in 1094. | | | | islands, the peeling paint of the back-street walls, street |
| The School of St Roch is famous for the canvasses | | | | vendors, screaming children, the smells of burning meat |
| of Tintoretto, which grace the interior. The artist was | | | | and red sauce and more. |
| commissioned to decorate the building and spent 23 | | | | But some of these aspects can have upsides. Locals |
| years doing this. Notable works include scenes from | | | | may hate it, but the sight of St. Mark's Square flooded |
| the Crucifixion. | | | | by a still lake of water is unforgettable for a tourist. |
| The Doge's Palace, which played a major role in the | | | | Famous photographers have immortalized this sight |
| history of the basilica, is adjacent to St. Mark's Basilica. | | | | several times over the years. Getting lost in the back |
| It has been the seat of the archbishop of Venice and | | | | streets is not as bad as it sounds - you may discover |
| the Patriarch of Venice since 1807. This magnificent | | | | mazes of shadowy alleys, dark misty churches and |
| Gothic residence was once inhabited by the Doge or | | | | other interesting buildings - and after that you may |
| chief magistrate of Venice. The last Doge of Venice | | | | suddenly find yourself back on a major itinerary like |
| abdicated in 1797 and the dogal tradition was never | | | | Calle Fabbri or Merceria. |