Venice-Italy's Pride

The city of Venice is unique in the entire world. A port city, Venice is built directly on canals. Venice is truly a city of explorers and among its most popular citizens was Marco Polo. It is also an important location as far as the shipping fraternity is concerned. Tourists to this city are always in awe of its rich history and beauty.

The fantastic Northern Italian city of Venice presents a unique section of Italy, which has a distinct style in art, architecture, food, and people. Unlike other Italian cities, Venice has a unique Turkish flair with Byzantine designs in architecture and gold coatings on every available surface.

On your visit to Venice, do not miss the world famous St. Mark’s Basilica, better known as San Marco. This fantastic edifice was restored for the Jubilee year of 2000 and is now more breathtaking than ever! With all the gold, mosaics, and carvings freshly cleaned, San Marco is a sight worth seeing. The building is most famous for the four horses that stand guard over the basilica. Originally thought to originate from Constantinople, Napoleon Bonaparte looted the four equines, which were returned years later in 1815.

The piazza where the basilica is situated is known for its pigeon population and is just as famous as the building itself. However, if you are bird shy, you can watch from the arcades on either side of it. But, you must not miss out on the beautiful Doge's Palace and all the shops in the square.

Although Venice is a city of bridges that cross over the lagoons and canals, the most famous by far is the “Bridge of Sighs.” Located near the Piazza San Marco, this beautiful bridge can be viewed easily from the Grand Canal. The name of this 17th Century bridge comes from prisoners who would pass through the beautiful bridge on the way to their cells.

The other famous bridge in Venice is the Rialto Bridge, which straddles the Grand Canal. Shops line both sides of this famous bridge, allowing visitors to purchase a wide variety of Venetian goods. Legend states that couples who kiss while riding under the bridge on the city’s classic gondolas will remain in love forever.

Gondolas have been a major attraction of this famous city for a long long time. Take a ride on these long black boats. What is unique about this experience is that these stripe shirted gondoliers use only a pole for navigation and have the knowledge of the city's canal system on their fingertips. If you tip and tip well, they would most definitely oblige you with a song.

You must have heard of the world famous Murano glass. This is manufactured in Venice. Some of the world's biggest glass companies are located in Murano, a tiny island not far from the Piazza San Marco. A visit to these factories would be a great learning experience for you, as you would see how these masterful craftsmen shape molten glass into beautiful things.

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Ingrid Ingra is the owner and operator of F italy, the web's premier resource for information about italy, For questions or comments about this article visit: www.finitaly.com/articles
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