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

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 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

The Four Ospedali Grandi of Venice

At the time when Venice was a wealthy and powerful maritime nation that ruled the Eastern Mediterranean, it needed a practical and economic solution to the ever-present problems of caring for its many sick, homeless, orphaned and destitute. In the first half of the second millenium came the need for institutions that would take responsibility

The Gondolas of Venice

It’s almost impossible for visitors to Venice to come away without at least one photograph of gondolas, either as the foreground to a much-photographed Venetian landmark … … or as an attempt at being ‘arty’! … or just for the gondolas themselves in an everyday Venetian context … But have you ever considered their history,

The Skyline of Venice

Venice is so often viewed from street level, from the confines of the calli (alleyways). Occasionally these calli may break out into a campo (literally: field), piazza (square) or a ponte (bridge) across a canal, giving visitors the opportunity to lean their heads back to take in the broader vista of Venice. But how often

Is Venice Doomed? (Part 1)

In this post we look at the reasons why people decided to live on an inhospitable island in the middle of a shallow lagoon and the causes of why Venice could eventually disappear. In the next post, the effects will be discussed and in the third post, we’ll look at proposed and existing solutions. So,

Antonio Canaletto

Picture Postcard Painter per eccellenza? This post is a shortened, potted version of our highly illustrated 50-minute PowerPoint presentation, Canaletto: Picture Postcard Painter per eccellenza? Canaletto, the Italian artist most widely known for his city views of Venice, London and Rome, was born Giovanni Antonio Canal in Venice on 18th October 1698. His birthplace is shown