Venice Top 10

Talking about Venice, St. Mark’s square (in Italian: Piazza San Marco) is the first place that everybody thinks about. This is the biggest square in the city and here there’s the beautiful Basilica dedicated to the Saint Patron of Venice. The floor of the square is hidden by million of pigeons. Pigeons wait the tourists that feed them with bread crumbs or seeds. Maybe the image of St. Mark’s square full of pigeons is the most famous image of this city, someone use to say that in Venice there are more pigeons than inhabitants. Before the arrival of St. Mark’s relics, and the consequent construction of the Basilica, this area was a big garden, crossed by the river Rio Batario. The Doge Vitale II Michiel wanted this river to be fill in to allow the construction of the square. Nowadays St. Mark’s square is the only area in Venice called “Piazza” (which means “square” in Italian), all the other areas of this kind are called “campi” (which means “gardens” in Italian). This square is the inevitable destination of all the tourists in Venice. Everyone wants to be photographed while flights of fat and dirty pigeons assault them to take the seed that they keep in their hands. In the past St. Mark’s square hosted tournaments, processions, fairs and the bull hunting. Today it is surrounded of very expensive bars, real tourist traps, where you can sit and look at a live remake of Hitchcock’s “The birds”, with just one difference: here the “victims” smile, clearly happy.

Venetians are very fond of this palace because it keeps part of their history and it has been protagonist of important facts of Venice’s life. The Doge’s Palace was exactly where it is now during the republican period of Venice, it was there when Venice was conquered by Napoleon and it was always there when Venice become Italian. This palace is a constant presence, always loyal to the city. It has been subject of many changes, because of a long series of terrible fires. The political importance of this palace, once seat of the Doge of Venice, was underlined from Napoleon too, who wanted this palace to become the centre of his administration in 1797, when he conquered Venice. The historical importance of the Doge’s Palace is testified also from the great sum of money that the newborn Italian republic gave to Venice to remodel this building. In spite of the loss budget of the new unified Italy, it spared no expenses to one of the most important symbols of this city.

Information to visit Doge’s Palace:
When: from the 22nd March to 2nd November from 9 am to 7 pm (ticket office 9 am-6 pm) from the 3rd November to 21st March from 9 am to 5 pm (ticket office 9 am – 4 pm).
Tickets: 13 € entire ticket or 7,50 € reduced ticket, this ticket is called “Card San Marco Museum Plus” and it allow you to enter in all the museum of Piazza San Marco (Doge’s Palace, Correr Museum, National Archaeological Museum, Grand Chambers of the Marciana National Library) and you can choose to visit one (only one) Museum among the Civic Venice Museums.

Venetians use to call it “canalazzo”, that’s their way to identify the biggest canal of their city. This canal cross the city and it’s 4 kilometres long, it divides the “centro storico” (the ancient centre of Venice) in two parts. The Grand Canal is even older than Venice, it has a S reverse shape and it is almost 5 meters deep in some points. Its width can reach 70 meters. If you want to admire the city from a different point of view you can make a boat tour on the Grand Canal. The ferry-boat leaves from Santa Lucia Station and arrives to Saint Mark square, it offers a wonderful view of the city. The buildings that overlook the Grand Canal seem to compete in beauty. If you observe the peculiarity of the buildings, the harmony of the constructions and the narrow alleys that you can see from the canal, while the ferry slowly goes in direction of Saint Mark square, we think that you’ll understand why Venice is one of the most loved cities of the world.

It’s quite impossible to count Venice’s bridge: they’re 354! This city has an important relation with its bridges because they are necessary to its survival, they connect the different areas of the city and they make possible easy movements between one zone to other. Venetian made a necessity become the main feature of their city: Venice is so characteristic thanks to all these half moons that you can see on its canals. The most known bridge it’s the Bridge of Sighs, but few people knows that this name doesn’t come from the languid sights of the lovers that passing under this bridge swear eternal love to each other. Quite the opposite! The bridge takes its name from the sights of the condemned to death, that were brought to the near prison passing through this bridge, and looking for the last time the city from the little windows, they sadly sighted. The newest bridge of Venice, the spectacular Bridge of the Constitution, has been projected and built by the famous Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The Bridge, commissioned in 1997, after a long time due to some mistakes in its design, has been opened to the public in 2008 and only after one year he received the definitive technical approbation.

The Peggy Guggenheim collection is the most prestigious Italian collection dedicated to the European and American contemporary art. In this Museum you’ll find the masterpieces of the greatest artists of the first part of the 1900: Pollock, de Chirico, Picasso, Kandinsky, Brancusi and Duchamp. One of the most interesting collection is the Gianni Mattioli’s, one of the greatest collectors of ‘900. The works here exposed will give you an idea of the Italian Futurism with artists as: Sironi, Carrà, Soffici, Rosai, some paintings of Morandi and a beautiful portrait of Amedeo Clemente Modigliani. The Museum is situated in the only incomplete palace of Venice: The Venier House of Lions. Peggy Guggenheim bought it to realize the biggest modern art museum of the 50’s. She spent all her life with the only purpose of realizing a museum which could enhance the vanguards of all the world. Her passion wasn’t stopped from the second world war, during those years she continued travel all around Europe, mindless of dangers, looking for the works she wanted in her prestigious collection. The strong personality of Peggy Guggenheim allowed artists to become the most representative of the American Abstract Expressionism.

Informations to visit Peggy Guggenheim Museum:
When: Everyday from 10 am to 6 pm.
Never: Tuesday and the 25th December Tickets: 12 €, reduced tickets 7 €.
How to get here: From Piazzale Roma or from the central station: Ferry line 2, direction “Lido”, Stop “Accademia”.
Ferry line 1, direction “Lido”, Stop “Accademia” or “Salute”.
From Saint Mark square: Ferry line 2, direction “Piazzale Roma”, stop “Accademia”.
Ferry line 1, direction “Piazzale Roma”, stop “Salute” or “Accademia”.

This museum was born from the great passion of Teodoro Correr, one of the most known collectors of Venice. He has been very able in widening his collection during the years. He was born in 1750 and he exploited his great ability to buy, at very cheap prices, paintings, objects and ornaments. During the years of the republic and during the successive dominations, noble families were forced to sell a big part of their patrimony a cause of the economical difficulties. The rich Correr found a very good situation for his purpose, he could buy important pieces of art at selling off prices. Correr collected all the objects that he liked, without a real logic, and when he died he left all his assets to the city of Venice, but he also left very specific indications about the organization of the museum.
The Correr collection comprehends prints, books, paintings, manuscripts, silver objects, ivory objects, seals, weapons and numismatic collections… everything is in a perfect state of preservation because of the great care that Correr reserved to his precious objects. Vincenzo Lazari was charged to take care of the exposition and he enriched it too but, at the same time, he destroyed many documents that in his opinion should never be diffused.

Information to visit the Correr Museum: When: from the 1st April to the 1st November, from 10 am to 7 pm. From 2nd November to the 31st March, from 10 am to 5 pm. Never: 25th December, 1st January Tickets: 13 €, reduced tickets 7,50 €. This ticket is called “Card San Marco Museum Plus” allow you to enter in all the museum of Piazza San Marco (Doge’s Palace, Correr Museum, National Archaeological Museum, Monumental Rooms of the Marciana National Library) plus you can choose to visit one Museum among the Civic Venice Museums. How to get here: from the ferry station, Line 41, stop “San Zaccaria, Line 2 or Line 1, stop Vallaresso or San Zaccaria.

Venice gastronomy has particular tasty dishes. You can begin with the appetizers, the masterpieces of Venetian menu. The “bacari” (the typical taverns) offers to their customers the “cicchetti”, typical Venetian appetizers that must be served with a “ombra de vin” (a little wine). You just have to choose among groceries or fried crab, the typical “soppressa” (a sort of salami) with polenta or half egg with anchovies. Among the first courses, the most know dish is “risi e bisi”, also known as rice with peas, that the Doge’s ate in honour of the Saint Patron of the city on 25th April. In Venice you can also eat seafood: spaghetti with clams or cooked with sepia. In this place an other dish really appreciated is the pasta with beans. To conclude your meal you must choose a second course: inevitable (for people who has a strong stomach…) the liver cooked in the Venetian way, its characteristic is to be cooked with a lot of onion, served with “castrature”, the typical artichokes farmed on the little islands of the Laguna.

Walking through the streets of Venice you can make shopping in boutiques or just give a look to the typical souvenir workshops. Venice offers a lot of typical things that you can bring home as souvenirs. If you prefer big name shops you have to go to Saint Mark square, where you’ll find the shops of the greatest Italian stylists: Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Giorgio Armani, Valentino, Versace and Missoni. Doge’s city is rich of prestigious jewellery that expose stupendous works, as Bulgari, Damiani, Cartier and Pomellato. In spite of the aristocratic appearances of the city, Venice is also full of characteristic workshops which show fine and precious cloths, unique dresses and the famous ceramic masks, utilized during the Carnival. If you love typical products you can’t go home without a velvet carnival hat or without the “furlane”, traditional gondoliers’ velvet shoes which look like funny slippers. Moreover you have to visit, even for just some hours, Burano and Murano islands, where you can find fine laces and wonderful blown glass objects.

We know that Venice is a very famous city, that’s why every year 18 million of tourists visit it. Tourists have long walks through its alleys. The particular thing is that only the smallest part of them stop in Venice for the night: they visit it and love it, but they don’t spend the night here. Maybe they’re afraid to fall irremediably in love? Venice can accommodate all its visitors with many solutions suitable for all the wallets: from the luxury hotels that overlook the Canal Grande, to the comfortable B&B, from the country houses to the hostels. Sleeping in Venice, above all in the area of Piazza San Marco, could be very expensive. But you’ll enjoy the extraordinary view of the sunset on this magic city. If you prefer cheaper solutions and you don’t care about wake up-open the window-look at the Laguna, you can find B&B and hotels in Mestre, from where you can reach the city in few minutes by train or bus. Indeed Mestre is very well connected with Venice.

Venice is the romantic city par excellence and if you have a walk among its alleys during the night you’ll understand why.
After a dinner by candlelight you could have a walk holding hands in the streets of the city. In the famous places of Venice, both day and night, there’s no difference: they’re always crowded. But, if you move a little from the Basilica and you go in direction of the “calle di Rialto”, you’ll discover charming and more romantic corners. On the contrary, if you prefer to spend sparkling nights, Venice will offer you wild nights too. You could dance until the sunrise in very cool discos or have a drink in the numerous pubs and clubs of the city. You can begin your night having an aperitif, it could be the perfect occasion to meet people and to make a little conversation. Then, if you are in Venice in the period of Carnival you’ll find yourself in a joyous atmosphere. The Carnival of Venice has nothing to envy the Carnival of Rio for!