"Venetian Magic" a Venice Travel Page by jlee008

When I first stepped out of the train station onto the Grand Canal, it seemed as if I had been transported into a place that I could have only imagined in my dreams. The surrealic beauty of a life lived on the water was just amazing and breath-taking. Even though there was a great number of people visiting, it was easy to feel the romantic atomosphere and understand how a couple could get lost in a vast sea of people.

It's amazing to think that this beautiful island was a conquest of humankind over malaria infested swamp waters. In the 6th century BC, the land was occupied by the Euganei and the Veneti (obviously the latter gave the name to the island). In the 3rd century BC, the Romans conquered the Veneto. Venice has not been without its share of disasters either. Later, in 1630, a plague decimated the population to 100,000. After Italy defeated the Austrians in 1866, Venice became a part of Italy. Miraculously, the island city was unscathed by WWII. And still to this day it has survived floods and its ever challenging fight to stay afloat to be the victorious "Queen of the Adriatic!"