VENICE
Venice (in Italy: Venezia venɛʦːi̯a, in Venetian: Venice Venessia or venɛsi̯a) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is also the capital of the Veneto and Venetian provinces, receiving the nickname "La Serenissima" (La Serenissima). The historic center, declared World Heritage by UNESCO, is located on all of the larger islands of the Venetian lagoon north of the Adriatic Sea. The city is built on an archipelago of 118 small islands connected by bridge 455, if we belong to the island of Murano and Burano. You can reach Venice from the mainland by the Liberty bridge, which accesses Piazzale Roma. In the city center, no traffic. Public transport is done by transbordadoras vessel known as vaporetti. They are in charge of city ACTV company. Its canals make up a large network by way of the gushing streets of the Grand Canal, where it runs the path of many people from ships, large and small, known as gondolas.
HISTORY
Venice was founded in the V century by people trying to escape the attacks of German society. At the beginning of its history depended on the Eastern Roman Empire, namely Constantinople, but gradually became independent of it. For centuries Venice was a force that enabled him to dominate the world's medieval oceans. He holds a dominant position in trade with the Chinese and Indian empires. Until 1797 it was the capital of the Republic of Venice and, with 180,000 inhabitants, one of the largest cities in Europe.
After the reign of France and Austria, Venice was built in Italy in 1866.
Since its establishment, the city has suffered periodic flooding. Today the city is facing a serious threat by repeated floods. In spring and autumn the call goes on acqua alta (tide), twice a day, which completely fills Plaza de San Marcos. The Italian government is preparing a project called Mose (Modulo elettromeccanico Sperimentale), to lift the mobile embankment to be closed if the water level rises the acqua alta sea.
TRANSPORTATION
In Venice is a very useful public transport (vaporetto). In the old part of town the only means of displacement are private boats, taxis (expensive boats) and traghetti: ships are very similar to gondolas but without decoration, which bridge at various points of the Grand Canal.
The Venetian classic boat is a gondola, currently used primarily for tourists, weddings, funerals and other ceremonies. Most Venetian trips by vaporetto, include regular routes along the Grand Canal and on the lagoon islands. In addition many of them have boats or motor boats as cars.
Connecting the island to mainland road transport can reach the city via the Liberty Bridge, a long pier through the Venetian lagoon endowed railway and highway connected to the mainland. Buses and private cars stop and park at Piazzale Roma, at the connection point from Liberty Bridge to the city entrance.
The street numbering path is with the environment or sestiere, and instead of the number of paths by road, each environment has been assigned a series of numerics.The abundance and winding layout of streets, canals, streets, alleys and visitor orientation pages is difficult. To avoid this, the streets and bridges are marked with large signs and in many places signs indicating the direction to the most important landmarks are: San Marcos, Piazzale Roma (where the bus station at the entrance of the city), Rialto , school, etc.
Venetian street names still retain the XI century nomenclature, so they have nothing to do with the rest of the Italian cities. Thus, there are channels (which are obviously not regarded as roads, and if large are called canes, and if they are narrow streams), streets (which, like the rest of Italy, called through, here are called paths) streets and springs which runs along canals and rivers (called Fondamenta), small streets lined with houses and shops (called ruga or Rughetta).
There are also some paved roads (called Salizada or Salizzada), small alleys called bouquet, cul-called courts, important dock docks calledriva, passing streets under buildings called SotoPortego and boxes (All Field Calls or campiello by size, except for San Marcos, which itself receives a qualifying piazza and a bus station, which is small called Piazzale).
Bridge over the Grand Canal
Rialto Bridge. For years it was the only one across the Grand Canal. Built by Antonio da Ponte at the end of the sixteenth century, it is one of the most visited places in town for its views over the canal, and shops flanking both sides.
Accademia Bridge.
Scalzi Bridge (Ponte degli Scalzi).
Bridge Constitution, also called the Fourth Bridge on the Grand Canal or Calatrava Bridge. Opened in 2008.
ARTS AND CULTURE
Venice has a legendary reputation for its extensive art legacy and long history as a reference to European paintings. The fortunes of city rulers (Churches, politicians and certain traders) are allowed to sponsors extended artists, architects and other artists: from Gentile Bellini in the fifteenth century until Francesco Guardi in the late eighteenth century, through Giovanni bellini, Titian, Giorgione, Sebastiano del Piombo , Tintoretto, Veronese, Jacopo Bassano, Giambattista Tiepolo, among others. Interestingly, many of these artists were born in other locations and came to Venice attracted by its power.
Successive Venetian style painters hold several common characteristics (warm and rich colors) emitted by their average European influence. The so-called "Venetian School" teachers are influenced as diverse as Rubens and Velezquez, and play an important role in the origins of Baroque paintings in the seventeenth century. The architecture of the city experienced a brilliant time during the Renaissance, the architect and Mauro Codussi, Pietro Lombardo, the beautiful church writer, and Jacopo Sansovino, who built the monumental Biblioteca Marciana. Andrea Palladio and Vincenzo Scamozzi also left a remarkable work in Renaissance Venice. Then highlight Baldassare Longhena.
In Venice was born Antonio Vivaldi, one of the tops of baroque music, the 4th of March from 1678 (died in Vienna on 28 July 1741). Another great music, Richard Wagner, died in the city on February 13, 1883. Likewise, the great composer Igor Stravinsky, though he died in New York, wanted his body brought to Venice and now rested at the cemetery of San Michele. This reflects the importance of the city not only as the birthplace of many geniuses, but especially as an inexhaustible source of inspiration throughout the history of poets, musicians, painters, and all kinds of artists. Venice is one of the most famous opera arena in the world, La Fenice theater, which literally means "phoenix" and lives up to its name, having emerged from the ashes after repeated fires, the last of the end of this century XX. That's rather the Release of some of the most famous parts in the repertoire, including some Verdi.
