City of canals
Venice is a beautiful city situated on the Adriatic Sea in Italy. It is built on a cluster of small mud islands, more than a hundred in numbers. The houses and buildings are built on wooden posts driven into the mud. Several strips of sea criss –cross the islands; these are the famous canals of Venice.
No cars or buses are allowed inside Venice, so the entire transportation is either by boat or on foot. Black, flat-bottomed boats called `gondolas’ serve as the chief means of transport. The gondolier or the driver of the boat stands on a raised platform in the rear of the boat and propels it with a long pole. In modern times motor-boats have replaced most of the gondolas.
There are about 170 canals and 400 bridges in Venice. Two of these bridges, `The Rialto’ and `The Bridge of Sighs’ are world famous. The most important canal is known as the `Grand Canal,’ runs through the heart of the city. It is like any big and busy road in the main shopping centre of the city. Both sides of the Grand Canal are lined with shops, and carefree shoppers and sight –seers keep moving up and down in their gondolas.
Venice is a very old city. For hundreds of years it was the most important centre for trade between Europe and the empires of the east. At the height of its power, it came to be known as `The Queen of the Adriatic’. It became a very rich city that boasted of several magnificent palaces and hotels built by merchants.
Some of the places have now been converted into museums and libraries. The Libraries contain rare books and records which tell the early history of Venice. An outstanding collection of painting by Venetian masters is exhibited at the Academy of Fine Arts. Hundreds of students from all over the world attend Venice’s school of architecture, art and music, so that they may learn the finer points of art.
All big cities have parks and gardens where people like to gather and meet one another. In Venice, it is Saint Mark’s Squire that is the hub of main social activities. Saint Mark’s Squire is a large open space paved with marble. There are shops and restaurants along the sides of the Squire, which are favorite meeting places for tourists and the residents of the city. Brightly colored tables and chairs are arranged all over the square to provide amole seating space for people to sit at leisure and enjoy the beauty of Venice. Friendly pigeons keep flying around and come near the tables to be fed. Tourists enjoy throwing bits of food to them and watching them eat, often there is a band also playing merry tunes to regale the visitors.
On side of the square stands Saint Mark’s Cathedral this is one of the most beautiful and colorful buildings of Italy. It was built in the 11th century. It is made up of colored pieces of marble and has 500 pillars. At the main entrance of the Cathedral stand four exquisite bronze horses which were brought to Venice in the thirteenth century.