HISTORY OF VENICE:
For Venice, history began somewhere in the dawn of our era, in the sound of swords and incandescent lights, when the great barbaric invasions touched the territory of the Western Roman Empire. Read More [...]
Starting with the 9th century, Venice developed into a city-state, later known as the Republic of Venice, or traditionally as La Serenissima, which has imposed its power in the region until the end of the 17th century.
During the 18th century, Venice became one of the most elegant cities in Europe, but lost its independence when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered the northern Italy on May 12, 1797. After Napoleon signed the Treaty of Campo Formio, Venice became Austrian territory. In 1866, after the War of Independence, Venice became part of the newly created Kingdom of Italy.
GEOGRAPHY OF VENICE:
Venice is, today, the capital of the Veneto region, with 50,000 people living in the historical center of the city, from a total of about 265,000 people in the metropolitan area, including here the mainland towns of Mestre and Marghera and the islands of Murano, Burano, Giudecca and Lido. Read More [...]
The historical center of Venice is composed of 118 small islands, and is divided into six areas called sestieri: Cannaregio, San Polo, Dorsoduro (including the island of Giudecca), Santa Croce, San Marco (including the San Giorgio Maggiore island), and Castello (including the islands of San Pietro di Castello and Sant'Elena).
Venice is located about 42 kilometers away from Padua, 68 kilometers away from Vicenza, 120 kilometers away from Verona, 150 kilometers away from Bologna, 256 kilometers from Florence, 275 kilometers from Milan, 476 kilometers from Rome, and 665 kilometers from Naples.
TRANSPORT TO/IN VENICE:
You can get to Venice by plane, arriving at the Marco Polo Airport, in Mestre, or at the Antonio Canova Airport, near Treviso. Read More [...]
From the Mestre Airport, you can take the ATVO Bus Line 35, for a 20 minutes trip to Venice. The ticket costs 10.00€. From the Treviso Airport, you can take the ATVO Bus Line 351. The trip takes about one hour and 10 minutes and the ticket costs 12.00€.
If you get to Venice by train, then the last stop will be the Venezia Santa Lucia railway station, on the main island. By car, you will only get to Piazzale Roma, a large parking lot at the entrance to the city.
The transport in Venice is mainly on foot or on water, with one of the many vaporetti (waterbuses) which crosses the Venetian Lagoon, managed by the public transport company Actv. In Mestre, Chioggia, and on the islands of Lido and Pellestrina, you can also travel by bus.
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN VENICE:
There are so many attractions in Venice... Only in the St. Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco), we can find the Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale), the St. Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco), the St. Mark's Bell Tower (Campanile di San Marco), the Correr Museum, and the Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri). Read More [...]
The most important churches in Venice are Il Redentore, the Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute, the Church of San Pietro di Castello - the former Cathedral of Venice, the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, the Church of San Zaccaria, and the Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli.
The most important palaces are Ca' d'Oro, Palazzo Vendramin Calergi, Palazzo Grassi, Ca' Pesaro, and Ca' Rezzonico. Other important attractions are the Rialto Bridge (Ponte Rialto), the Jewish Ghetto of Venice, Scuola Grande di San Rocco, the Accademia Gallery (Gallerie dell'Accademia), and last but not least, the Grand Canal (Canal Grande).
EVENTS IN VENICE:
The most important event in Venice is, of course, the Carnival of Venice, which takes places every year in January or February, and gathers hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world. Read More [...]
Other interesting events in Venice are Festa della Sensa, on the Ascension Day, Festa di San Marco, on April 25, Vogalonga, in the second half of May, Festa del Redentore, in the third weekend of July, Regata Storica, on the first Sunday of September, Festa della Salute, on November 21, and the Venice Biennale.