English Francais DeutschFacebook LinkedIn Twitter
wider area


VeniceVenice (Venezia) really needs no introduction. The Serenissima has been a fabled destination for centuries. Just the name Venice is enough to conjure up a host of images, even for those who have not yet set foot in Italy: gondoliers in striped jerseys, the Rialto and the Bridge of Sighs, masked balls, golden barges, courtesans in gondolas and crumbling palaces facing streets made of water. The western world's most famous figures visited Venice, marveled at the gold mosaics of St Mark's, admired art in churches, explored the city's maze of canals (or, in Byron's case, swam in them), and then proceeded to preach Venice's wonders to those unable to make the journey.

Venice is composed of more than a hundred tiny islets, packed closely together around canals. The city is in a lagoon, protected from the sea by a long strip of land called the Lido. Venice is famously sinking.  Every year high water levels (acqua alta) threaten the city's fabric, and it has long been feared that the beautiful city will one day disappear beneath the water. Many ideas (and funds) have been put forward to protect the endangered heritage site, but the problem is a complex one and 'solutions' such as those to construct a giant water-gate are controversial.