The Islands of Venice
Venice May 2008
Venice is the world's most unique city made up of a cluster of 118 islands, divided by 150 canals and held together by 400 bridges. This walker's paradise sits in a salt water lagoon joined to the north east coast of Italy by a man-made causeway. Whether arriving by bus, car or even the luxurious Orient Express, once across the causeway all forms of wheeled transportation must be abandoned.
....join the pigeons listening to orchestras at the sophisticated cafes....
Venice has every kind of vehicle you would expect in a normal city except all the roads are made of water. The river-like Grand Canal is the city’s main thoroughfare and, shaped like a reverse “s”, it divides the city in two with 3 districts to the north and 3 to the south. Boats of all shapes and sizes make deliveries and vaporettos (public buses) and speedboat taxis transport residents and visitors up, down and across this elegant boulevard. However, to explore the city’s narrow backstreets there is only one vessel fit for the task – the gondola.
A 40 minute gondola trip is expensive but worth every Euro and its only when you are away from the hustle and bustle of the Grand Canal and floating inches above the pea-soup coloured water that you can say you have experienced the real Venice. From this strange perspective, especially at low tide, your gondola gently nudges off ancient walls and bridges covered with a strip of green algae and barnacles. Sitting in the plush “love seat”, the only sounds come from the large creaking oar and the melodic calls of your stripy chauffeur, standing behind you, as he communicates with fellow gondoliers before making blind sharp turns.
There is something luxurious about seeing Venice from a long, slick black gondola with its silver prow. The only equivalent would be driving around Manhattan at night in a stretched limo - in fact we were surprised to learn that a gondola costs almost as much as a limo to buy. It is also strangely enjoyable being photographed by fellow tourists from every bridge you pass under or sharing a smug smile with those gliding past in the opposite direction. Not only do you experience a piece of history unique to Venice but your gondolier points out famous buildings; takes several photographs of you in the arms of your loved one and happily poses for many more.
Although the gondola ride is an absolute must it does help if you are going in the opposite direction to everyone else and not stuck in a “bow to stern” traffic jam. It was all too easy to imagine that the gondolas coming towards us were part of a Disney or Las Vegas ride following an underwater mechanical track. To avoid this happening don’t catch a gondola at one of the main tourist spots – it’s the equivalent of jumping in a cab in Piccadilly Circus or Times Square – and go early or later in the day to avoid the main swarm of day trippers.
Once you’ve seen Venice from its narrow canals it’s even more amazing to think that it was once a marshy archipelago. It’s only thanks to the millions of wooden piles, transported from Russia, used to “shutter” each island that the city exists at all. It also takes a while to appreciate that every time you cross a bridge you are leaving one island and stepping onto another and, regardless of the size, each has a square (campo), a church, drinking fountain and well.
Grand villas and palaces overlook these squares and from here narrow alleyways lead off in every direction. Some are dead ends finishing at the edge of a canal but the majority lead to one of the city’s 400 bridges. It really is hit and miss but the fun part about Venice is getting lost. There is really no wrong way to go and eventually you will come to a painted sign on a gable wall pointing you in the direction of the RialtoBridge or Piazza San Marco which helps you get your bearings, even if you don’t want to go there.
....to explore the citys narrow backstreets there is only one vessel fit for the task - the gondola.
The best part about exploring Venice is trying to get away from your fellow tourists delving further and deeper into the narrow streets, indiscriminately turning left or right or going straight ahead. But eventually you have to join the camera yielding crowds and have your photo taken from the beautiful RialtoBridge overlooking the Grand Canal; squeeze onto the bridge that overlooks the Bridge of Sighs and join the pigeons listening to the orchestras at the sophisticated cafes in St Mark’s Square such as the Caffè Florian. It is even worthwhile joining the long queues to see inside St Mark’s Basilica as it gives you time to admire the carvings and statues on the buildings around the piazza and watch the time change on the striking clock tower.
Although the islands of Venice are the lagoon’s most famous, there are other islands worth leaving the city for and the most important isn’t technically an island but an 11 mile long sandbar. A quick ferry ride takes you to The Lido whose main job is to protect Venice from the Adriatic Sea and keep the waters of the lagoon and the city’s canals reasonably calm.
The first thing you notice as you step onto The Lido is that there are motor vehicles but this is more than made up for by the long stretch of sand, crammed with beach huts of all shapes and colours. If the weather isn’t hot enough to sunbath or paddle then visit the Westin Excelsior for a cup of tea or a glass of Prosecco on their terrace and enjoy the sea breeze.
The islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello make an excellent half day boat trip and you also get to experience Venice’s watery motorway lined with street lamps. Although you only get 45 minutes on each island it’s the perfect way to get a glimpse of what these islands have to offer. The glassworkers of Venice were forced to move to Murano in 1291 for fear of setting the city on fire and a visit to one of the glass factories will leave you awestruck at the skill of the glassblowers. There is even enough time before jumping back on the boat to browse around the showroom wishing you could afford one of the exquisite chandeliers and sculptures.
A short hop brings you to the colourful island of Burano which is captivating and postcard perfect. Here you can enjoy a walk round the vibrant fisherman’s houses and purchase a souvenir made out of lace for which the island is famous for. The final stop is to the almost deserted island of Torcello which, with only twenty inhabitants, resembles a nature reserve. A leisurely stroll along the canal brings you to the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, a basilica church built in 639. Unfortunately there is only enough time to say you’ve seen it before you have to head back to the boat and the return trip to Venice.
....every time you cross a bridge you are leaving one island and stepping onto another.
In its prime Venice was a major commercial port and strategically placed to trade between Europe and the East and a trip out into the lagoon gives you a feel of the city’s unique location. As well as the scheduled stops the 3 island boat trip will take you past the suburbs of Venice as well as the Isola di San Michele, nicknamed the Island of the Dead, home to Venice’s cemetery. You will also pass other islands with old monasteries, forts and market gardens as well as some patches of marshlands which give a hint of what the lagoon’s islands looked like before being transformed by man.
The closest island to Venice is Giudecca, located immediately across the lagoon, where you will find stunning palazzos, churches and the famous Cipriani Hotel. The trip across is worth it just for the panoramic views of the city edged with a row of bobbing gondolas tied to colourful wooden stakes and jetties with jostling ferries, water taxis and delivery boats. If you have good eyesight you can even spot Harry’s Bar near the Royal Gardens where you must have one of their legendary Bellini’s but don’t go in the evening unless you can afford to splash out on dinner, as you will end up crammed five deep at the tiny bar.
After a weekend surrounded by history; stunning architecture and shop windows bursting with colourful Murano glass and Venetian masks, it is a shock to step off a boat for the last time and come face to face with buses and cars parked next to the train station. However, if we were ever in doubt that we were leaving behind an incredibly preserved piece of the past and firmly back in the present then we just had to look out the car window. On the mainland sits a dominating oil and petrochemical refinery, supposedly responsible for the lagoon’s eco-structure being destroyed, and its shocking and disturbing to see how close it is to Venice.
Thankfully, despite suffering from tidal floods at certain times of the year, recent reports suggest that Venice is no longer sinking. Having now experienced the city for myself I will be joining the millions who are praying they are right. I also hope that despite what man and nature continue to throw at the islands of Venice it will continue to remain a truly magical place.