The Magical City of Venice.

First time I heard the word Venice was of course in the Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. As I grew older I came to know more about this  city and the more I read about it, the more I fell in love with it. No wonder it is called the Magical City. I'm sure everyone who has visited Venice will agree that it is one of the, if not the most beautiful city that exists.

Anyone who knows the name of this city, for sure knows it's strangeness. There are no roads in Venice but only boats that float over water,  yes it is a city between water.

Venice is also known for it's architecture and buildings. You can imagine the importance of this city by the fact that UNO has included the complete city in World Heritage List. Let's tell you more about this city.

Introduction.

Venice is a city in northeastern Italy sited on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges.  In 2009, there were 270,098 people residing in Venice's comune.

Strangely though, there are no historical records that deal directly with the founding of Venice, tradition and the available evidence have led several historians to agree that the original population of Venice consisted of refugees from Roman cities near Venice such as Padua, Aquileia, Treviso, Altino and Concordia.

Venice, the Name and City.

The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC. The city historically was the capital of the Republic of Venice. 

Venice has been known as the "La Dominante", "Serenissima", "Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Masks", "City of Bridges", "The Floating City", and "City of Canals". 

Luigi Barzini described it in The New York Times as "undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man". Venice has also been described by the Times Online as being one of Europe's most romantic cities.

Beautiful Places to Visit.

Although I haven't been able to visit all the places my self but here are a few places that you should visit if you ever travel to Venice.

Saint Mark's Basilica

Saint Mark's Square.

Mark's Basilica.

Bridge of Sigh.

Grand Canal.

Doge's Palace.

Rialto Bridge.

Gondola Boats.

Mark's Campanile.

Riva Degli Schiavone.

Santa Maria Della Salute.

Zattere.

Arsenale.

Ca' d'Oro.

Chiesa di San Zaccaria.

Scuola Grande di San Marco.

Lido.

Vaporetto.

Teatro La Fenice.

Museo Storico Navale.

Madonna dell'Orto.

Squero di San Trovaso.

Santi Giovanni e Paolo.

Food.

Venetian cuisine is characterized by seafood, but also includes garden products from the islands of the lagoon, rice from the mainland, game, and polenta. Venice combines local traditions with influences that are distant from millennial business contacts. These include sarde in saor, sardines marinated in order to preserve them for long voyages; risi e bisi, rice, peas and ham; fegato alla veneziana, Venetian-style liver; risotto with cuttlefish, blackened from the ink; cicchetti, refined and delicious tidbits (akin to tapas); antipasti, appetizers; and prosecco, an effervescent, mildly sweet wine.

In addition, Venice is famous for bisàto (marinated eel), for the golden, oval-shaped cookies called baicoli, and for different types of sweets such as: pan del pescatore (bread of the fisherman); cookies with almonds and pistachio nuts; cookies with fried Venetian cream or the bussolai (butter biscuits and shortbread made in the shape of an "S" or ring) from the island of Burano; the crostoli also known as the chatter, lies, or galani; the fregolotta (a crumbly cake with almonds); milk pudding called rosada; and cookies of yellow semolina called zaléti.

Festivals.

The Carnival of Venice is held annually in the city, starting around two weeks before Ash Wednesday and ends on Shrove Tuesday. The carnival is closely associated with Venetian masks.

The Venice Biennale is one of the most important events in the arts calendar. During 1893 headed by the mayor of Venice, Riccardo Selvatico, the Venetian City Council passed a resolution on 19 April to set up an Esposizione biennale artistica nazionale, to be inaugurated on 22 April 1895. Following the outbreak of hostilities during the Second World War, the activities of the Biennale were interrupted in September 1942, but resumed in 1948.

The Festa del Redentore is held in mid July. It began as a feast to give thanks for the end of the terrible plague of 1576. A bridge of barges is built connecting Giudecca to the rest of Venice, and fireworks play an important role.

The Venice Film Festival is the oldest film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata in 1932, the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the Lido, Venice, Italy. It is one of the world's most prestigious film festivals and is part of the Venice Biennale.