veneto

There’s a lot travel information, holiday ideas and travel advice about Venice on the web so after visiting Venice I decided to post some interesting Venice facts. To be honest I had no idea about most of the following and I only found out after going there and reading about the Venetian town. Venice was the major Mediterranean maritime power during the 14th to 16th centuries. Venice is one of the most important tourist destinations in the world Venice consists of 118 small islands separated by 177 canals and linked by 416 bridges. The canals and bridges are the main routes of commutation. The main entrance of the houses and buildings are always on the side of a canal. The Venice lagoon is 15 meters deep at its deepest point. The buildings of Venice are constructed on millions wooden platforms places in the sea. The city is often threatened by flood tides pushing in from the Adriatic between autumn and early spring. Acqua alta is a natural phenomenon that forces water from the Adriatic into the Venetian lagoon causing the level of tide (the rise and fall of sea level) up to 80 cm. Venice is sinking at the rate of 1-2 millimeters a year.   There are about 350 gondolas and 400 gondolieri. Only 3-4 gondolier licenses are issued every year The first public casino was born here in 1638. Venetians loved to wear masks for any possible occasion, and many laws were made to specify when, where, and who was allowed to walk around with a mask. Famous Venetians include Marco Polo, Antonio Vivaldi and Casanova. Calletta, or Ramo Varisco Street, is one of the narrowest streets in the world - only 53 cm wide. The San Marco bell tower, the tallest bell tower in Italy, collapsed in 1920 and was rebuilt again. The city is visited by 18 million tourists a year, on average 50,000 a day. The progressive sinking of Venice is making the locals move out. It is expected that in 2030 Venice may be a ghost town, populated only with tourists, coming in from morning until evening. So now I’m sure you’ve [...]