Venezia is world famous for its 150 canals. It is the capital of the region called Veneto and the city is built on an archipelago of 118 islands that lie in a shallow lagoon. The islands on which the city is built are connected by about 400 bridges. In the old center of Venice the canals serve the function of roads and every form of transportation takes place on water or on foot, just as it did in past centuries. Venice is Europe's largest urban area that is totally without cars, yet it is still a good-sized city that functions just fine without them. How can that be?
The classical Venetian boat is the gondola although it is now mostly used as a tourist attraction, or for weddings, funerals and other ceremonies. Most Venetians now travel by motorised waterbuses (vaporetti) which zip around along the major canals and between the city's islands. The city also has many private boats. The only gondolas still in common use by Venetians are the traghetti, ferries that cross the Grand Canal at certain points that are without bridges.
Once upon a time the Venetian Republic was a major sea power and an important center of commerce, especially for the spice trade. It was also a place of revival of the arts during the Renaissance and during the 16th century, Venice became one of the most important musical centers of Europe.The Piazza San Marco, often called St. Mark's Square, is the central landmark and gathering place for Venice and is popular with tourists and the pigeons they feed! The Piazza was the focus for many of Venice's festivals and there is still a famous carnival that takes place every year in March when people dress up in costumes and masks.
Overlooking the Piazza is St. Mark's Basilica which is the most famous of all the churches of Venice and one of the best examples of Byzantine architecture. The walls inside are covered with mosaics that contain gold, bronze and a great variety of stones. St. Mark's symbol, the winged lion, is seen everywhere in Venice.
Connected to St. Mark's is the Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale), a huge gothic palace that used to be the residence of the rulers (doge) of Venice. One of its most spectacular rooms is lined, walls and ceiling, with paintings, including a painting titled Paradise, painted by Tintoretto, which is supposedly the world's largest painting on canvas.