After leaving Naples, we drove ~8 hrs to the Northeast town of Venice. Originally founded in the 2nd century AD, Venice consists of more than 100 islands, linked by waterways and small bridges, with structures built on wooden pilings sunk into the mud, overlaid with a limestone foundation. The salt and extremely low oxygen content in the water has preserved the wood pilings remarkably, but the city is nevertheless slowly sinking under its own weight. Invaded by Attila the Hun, the city was rebuilt in the 5th century, and many of the historic structures on the island were completed in the centuries that followed. Positioned on the land route between Western Europe and Asia, Venice merchants became world-renown for attaining unique and hard-to-find items from around the world. When a water-route between Europe and India around the Cape of Good Hope was discovered, the importance of Venice's location on the land route declined, and the city turned to its unique structures and waterways to draw in visitors. Marco Polo called Venice home, and was inspired by the tales of Venetian merchants to travel the Silk Road.
Unfortunately, the city is sinking, as the wooden pilings holding it up slowly decay. We spent the night in the city during this month's highest tide, and were able to witness the water flow into Piazza San Marco - this square was dry just 30 minutes before I took this picture, and was ankle deep at high tide, with water flowing down the city streets and into the buildings.
St. Mark's Basilica, in Piazza San Marco, Venice. Built around ~1080 AD, this thousand year-old church is said to hold the relics of the author of the Gospel of Mark, which were taken in the 9th century from Alexandria by Venetian merchants.
The band plays on while the water rises in Piazza San Marco.
Piazza San Marco, and St Mark's Basilica, as the water fills the square.
Landon tried to keep his feet dry as the water ran into the city alleys and walkways.
But the rest of us took a stroll through the ankle deep water.
The next day, in the same Piazza - much drier.
Gondolier cleans the underside of a gondola. Venice is the origin of many items and terms common today: The Venice Ghetto was an area outside the city where a Jewish population was kept separate form the rest of the Venice population, creating the term ghetto we use today. Venetian blinds were brought from Persia to Venice by Venetian merchants, giving them their name (the Venetian flag also has cutouts which resemble Venetian blinds). The gondola originated in Venice, and is the preferred way to view the city from the water.
St Mark's Campanile - started as a watch tower in the 10th century, it was built higher in the late 1500's. It collapsed completely in 1902 and was rebuilt.
Another view of the Basilica in daylight.
Overlooking one of the canals running through the city, while a gondolier waits for a passenger in the background.
Gondolier and his gondola.
There are only 4 bridges that span the Grand Canal, the largest of the canals between the islands. This is the Rialto Bridge, built in 1591.
The Grand Canal.
Gondolas float along the Grand Canal.
View from Rialto Bridge, with wooden water taxis and gondolas moored up.
The Grand Canal, as viewed from the Rialto Bridge.
Evidently, there's no law against "texting and gondolier-ing".
One of the many, many walkways/alleys throughout Venice.
Gondolas along one of the smaller canals, as we walked over a bridge spanning the canal.
Just barely fits.
The unique iron prow of a Venetian gondola. Here's the description I found online of how the shape originated:
"First of all there is the shape of the metal blade which can be seen on the gondola prow. This element, with its typical S shape, represents the turns of the Canal Grande (the main water street of Venice) or the mane of the lion, the symbol of the powerful Serenissima. Then, there are the six fingers which stand for the six sestrieri of Venice (San Marco, San Polo, Santa Croce, Castello, Dorsoduro, Cannaregio). The opposite one stands for the Giudecca and it is called the risso di poppa. Then there is the upper part which symbolises the hat of the Doge."
Packing it up for the day, and headed to the Alps (next blog).
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