Venice is unique, lovely and a city for romance. We could have stayed!
Venice is one of the most beautiful and unique cities in the world. As we departed the train terminal in the morning, we were greeted by the boat traffic on the Grand Canal directly in front of us. After storing our luggage, we headed off for several hours of walking and Vaparatto touring to acquaint ourselves with this fantastic offering of unique Italian culture.
One of the best things about technology is that with Google Maps, we rarely fear getting lost. We know that with a few clicks on the phone, we can gps ourselves to a desired location. In Venice it was no different. When we looked at the map of all the Voperetto transit lines, we decided to take our chances and hop on the first one that came by. Our luck was good because the Voperetto we hopped on took us on a fantastic ride around the city. We sat back and watched as Venice floated past us with all of the beautiful old buildings, churches and bridges. Venice is a series of islands that are connected by bridges. The main canal heads down the center and several smaller canals weave in and out creating a cluster of islands. The little islands of Venice are connected by 400 bridges. At one time there were over 700 bridges. A little further out from Venice are as series of islands such as Murano, Burauno and Torchello that are a 30-minute boat ride away.
On a walking tour we took later in the week, we learned that there is a large number of churches in Venice because the small cluster islands were not always connected by bridges. Therefore, many of the islands had their own church. Now that the islands are connected and even a few of the canals filled in, the island seems to have a large number of places of worship – approximately 40. We also learned that originally 7000 cisterns collected rain water and flowed through sand and a mixture of clay and rock in order to provide clean drinking water to the residents. Through decay, theft and closure most are lost. 3000 thousand cisterns remain today. Another piece of information we found educational was the decay of the walls, statues and major works of art. Water and its accompanying salt migrate up many walls and when the salt dries, the following 5-time expansion breaks apart surrounding material. Solid marble has helped stop the upward migration but the salt marks on the city are obvious, especially with the rising sea from global warming.
We spent 7 wonderful days wandering around Venice and the accompany islands. We saw many stores filled with beautiful glass that is made on the nearby island of Murano. We saw hundreds of unique masks that are made locally and sold to tourists or used in the Carnival season. We walked the area of many colored houses of Burano and saw the beautiful lace shops that it is known for. We spent our days eating wonderful Italian food while sipping wine along the many beautiful canals. When you hear that Venice is the city of romance, it lived up to its reputation. We could have stayed there and lived happily ever after. Beth and Bud
