What's Your Rush? and other Venice, Italy General Tips

Favorite Thing: Most people arriving in Venice (especially those off the trains) are in such a rush to hop a vaporetto and steam toward the east end of the Grand Canal that they miss some interesting structures near the station itself. The station bridge is no work of art, but the nearby churches (such as the pictured green dome) are generally worth a closer study.


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Favorite Thing: The Grand Canal is clearly the center of life in this remarkable city. Hotels and palaces still line its waterfront. Some of the changes that Venice has undergone through the centuries might be observed by the varying arches in windows and doorways, reflecting Byzantine influences and other styles from the Levant.


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Favorite Thing: Venice has only three bridges that arch the Grand Canal: the station bridge near the rail station, the famous Rialto midway along the canal, and the last-added Accademia Bridge, so named for the nearby art academy. The last bridge seems almost a replica of Rialto except that instead of stone it is composed of wood, which makes it seem a little more old-fashioned than the former. The views looking east from the Accademia Bridge encompass Santa Maria della Salute and the mouth of the lagoon.


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Favorite Thing: Every strong or conquering nation on the globe probably still shows proofs of its past pilfering in its public edifices and ornamentation. Take Rome for example. Fifteen obelisks nicked from Egypt. Not bad. The Venetians, once masters of the Mediterranean, were nowise immune from such permanent loans. The remains of St Mark the Apostle were stolen from Alexandria in a barrel of pork. The four horses that once emblazoned the Byzantine Hippodrome have been copied for the public to gaze upon atop San Marco, the true copies spirited away to the basement. Indeed, Venice has taken much that once belonged to Constantinople. Note the four Roman emperors in the famous "Tetrarch" on the corner of St Mark's. See how they almost cower in fear and unfamiliarity in their new surroundings.


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Favorite Thing: Once you stroll beyond the Piazzetta San Marco past the Palazzo Ducale, you've essentially left "classic" Venice. This used to be a place where foreign ships cast anchor when doing business with the Venetians.


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