Venice

After saying our goodbyes in Austria to our cousins we headed off on a train towards Villach and then to take a 4-hour bus ride to Venice.  We set off on the train this time not getting pickpocketed and made it to the train station in Villach and sprinted towards the bus terminal since our bus was going to leave any minute.  We made it there in one piece and got on the bus and tried to get some rest and go to sleep since we were about to travel through the windy mountains of Italy towards Venice.  When we finally arrived in Venice it turned out that the bus stopped 30 minutes walk away from where it said it would go so we took the monorail towards the water taxi stand.  We almost missed our taxi and had to pay another 30 euros since we were late but we were on our way towards our hotel; Hotel San Moise.

The Canals in Venice

There are no cars in Venice since it was built on a swamp and also some artificial ground so people get around Venice by boats through the canals and stop at small docking platforms to go where they like.  There are still streets in Venice and there are a lot more now than there was back in the 15^th and 16^th century.  This transformation was caused by the introduction of the trains in the late 1800’s, linkin main land Italy to Venice. Venetians got around only by boat but with passengers off the trains, they did not have boats, they had to walk so the Venetian authorities decided that some of the canals should be filled in so there is more space to walk around.   Over 60% of today’s bridges were built after the trains.

Back in the days when there were canals all over Venice people didn’t get around using water taxis that could reach high speeds they used to use gondolas. In fact there was over 11,000 Gondolas in Venice, today there are around 400, and only used by the tourists.  Gondolas are a thin boat that was traditionally painted in bright colours, but with the advent of tourist it was agreed to have them all painted black.  They can fit up to 6 people max and in the old days had a roof that gave the people in the boat some privacy, there was also someone driving the boat called a gondolier.  The gondoliers wear a striped black and white shirt (like a French mime) with long black pants and highly polished black leather shoes.  The wealthy people in Venice usually used to own a gondola and they regularly used them to get around, and the poorer people used to just stay in one area.

The houses on the canals have doors that go straight into the water so the people could just step into their boat and away they went but now because of the water level rising many of the doors get flooded, which usually causes the house to flood as well.  People now stop this in Venice by placing metal barriers in front of their doors that stop the water from leaking inside.  Since Venice was built it has sunk some 6 feet, and in the last century, 15cms caused by the building of industry on the mainland that drew on the underground water, causing the Venice basin to shrink.

Sadly now the gondolas are no longer used by the Venetians but are a major tourist attraction but if you wanted a job in Venice go for a gondolier since it is quite expensive to ride on a gondola.

The front of the houses back in the old days used to look over the canals and since they didn’t really have roads people used to decorate the front of their house as much as they could so now when you walk through Venice (since some of the canals have been filled in and there are more streets) people only see the back of the houses not the front so they are not as impressive.   To see them you have to go by boat.

The houses on the canals in Venice are built on the swamp and are built up in layers.  The way the olden day Venetians built the layers on the swampland was very clever and they used to start from the bottom layer being made out of wood, which was always underwater causing it to petrify, then stone, and bricks.  The inside was made of wood as stone and brick would be too heavy.  The outsides of some of the buildings were covered with marble, giving a sense of grandeur.  The buildings cover many different architecture from The Renaissance,, Baroque and classical.  Some of the owners in the houses used to cover the bricks with plaster and this makes the house look better and easier to decorate on.   As Venice is sinking the water level is now past the stone level and is seeping into the brickwork.  This makes the plaster on the building fall off after a short period of time.  You can see salt on the outside of the buildings as evidence of the rising water level.

In Venice one big canal runs straight through the middle of Venice is called the Grand Canal.  Originally only one bridge was successfully built called the Rialto, which we walked over most days.  Now days there are several bridges over the Grand Canal for people to walk across.    

The Doges Palace

Back in the times when Venice wasn’t connected to the mainland a ruler of Venice called the Doge would take control of what happened around the place.  He planned where bridges were built, houses were built, gave permission to do important jobs etc.  There were several Doges back in the olden days but there was only one Doge at a time and they he lived inside of a palace called the Doges Palace.  The palace is richly decorated with pictures from very famous artists and the whole ceiling was made of gold.  To become a Doge back in the olden days the noblemen used to vote like today but only the men got to vote and whoever got the highest vote was crowned the Doge.  Some of the Doges were very mean and cruel and were very selfish so they ordered people to do whatever they wanted and they didn’t last very long in the palace.  But on the other hand some of the Doges were very nice and helped the poor and did some very great things, which pleased most of the people in Venice.  

St Marcs Square

A Gondola in Venice