Santa Maria Novella, Florence (Part 1)

Visitors to Florence who arrive by mainline train will notice the trackside signs displaying Firenze S.M.N. … If written in full, the railway signage would read ‘Firenze Santa Maria Novella‘. However, there are three Santa Maria Novellas of note in Florence. One is the Santa Maria Novella railway station, the second is the Santa Maria

A Vaporetto Ride down the Grand Canal (Part 4)

COVER PHOTO: A view towards the southern end of the Grand Canal with our final two stops, Giglio (on the left bank ) and Salute (on the right bank). The first three parts of the vaporetto ride along the Canale Grande (in Parts 1, 2 and 3) covered the journey from the Piazzale Roma at

A Vaporetto Ride down the Grand Canal (Part 3)

COVER PHOTO: Santa Maria della Salute church and the end of the Grand Canal taken from the Accademia Bridge Part 1 and Part 2 of A Vaporetto Ride down the Grand Canal have brought the vaporetto down as far as the Accademia stop – with just two more stops on the canal before the vaporetto

A Vaporetto Ride down the Grand Canal (Part 2)

COVER PHOTO: Approaching the Palazzo Ca’ Foscari on the major bend of the Grand Canal Part 1 of our three-part trip on the Vaporetto Linea 1 from the Ponte della Costituzione took us as far as the Rialto Mercato stop … Here in Part 2, the vaporetto plies its way from Rialto Mercato as far

A Vaporetto Ride down the Grand Canal (Part 1)

To see Venice from a Vaporetto (water bus) is to see Venice in all its glory. Our four-part trip is going to take us on the Vaporetto Linea 1 the 4km (2.5 miles) from the Ponte della Costituzione in the west, to glide beneath the Scalzi, Rialto and Academia bridges to where the southern exit

Bridges of Venice 5

Cover Picture: Ponte d’Amore separating the Rio del Magazen and the Rio del Malcanton on a damp, misty December evening. Bridges of Venice 1, 2 ,3 and 4 have covered what are probably the most important bridges of Venice, namely the four that span the Grand Canal and the one that connects Venice’s Centro Storico

Bridges of Venice 4

This ‘Bridges of Venice 4′ post looks at one particular bridge combination that begins south of Mestre and Porto Marghera on Venice’s mainland and crosses the lagoon onto Venice itself. This post makes no excuses for considering not only the bridges’ history, structure and infrastructure but also its usefulness for those living on, or visiting,

Bridges of Venice 3

Bridges of Venice 1 and Bridges of Venice 2 looked at three of the bridges that cross Venice’s Grand Canal. So now, travelling further along the Canale Grande, our vaporetto rounds a corner to reveal the fourth and final bridge spanning the canal, the Accademia Bridge (Ponte dell’Accademia) … This bridge connects the districts of

Bridges of Venice 2

Our post, Bridges of Venice 1, looked at three bridges at the northern end of Venice’s famous Grand Canal, but now we ply our way further along this major waterway on the vaporetto (waterbus) … … to round a corner … … to be confronted with another bridge – a bridge that has to be

Bridges of Venice 1

Venice, the “Floating City”, is a conglomerate of about 118 closely-packed islands with an accompanying extensive network of around 150 canals. This labyrinth of intricate and charming waterways is crisscrossed by a remarkable network of bridges that connect different parts of the city. The exact number of bridges in Venice can vary depending on the