Venice, Italy

Venice, Italy

The unique city of Venice is built on a group of islands crossed by canals on an extensive lagoon in the Adriatic Sea.

Located between the Piave estuary and the Po Delta, the Venetian Lagoon is a coastal lake region with 118 island and islets and is virtually cut off by sandbanks. This strategic position allowed Venice to grow enormously during the Middle Ages. The inhabited islands are crossed with canals, which in many cases are used as streets. 

Today Venice is the capital of the autonomous region of Veneto, which spans a large part of the extreme north-east of Italy. A few Latin settlers from the north-east of Italy sheltered in the marshy lagoons located between the Piave estuary and the Po Delta to protect themselves from invasion by the Huns and other tribes from the north and east of the continent. The city began on stilts.

Grand Canal

At almost 4 km long, this is the longest canal in Venice. It traverses the main island of the city and is crossed by only four bridges: Rialto, Costituzione, Accademia and Scalzi.

Lido

The Lido is one of the sandbanks which separates the Venetian Lagoon from the Adriatic Sea, and which has for centuries protected the city from foreign attack. It is 12 km long and barely 100 m wide at its narrowest point. On its eastern coast, pleasant beaches look out into open sea. It has a population of 20,000 and each year hosts the prestigious Venice International Film Festival.

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