City of hopes and expectations; a city where the warmth of feelings is heightened beyond recognition; a city where every lady dreams of visiting, and every man considers it his duty to take her there. The beautiful city of Venice, located in the northern part of Italy, awaits everyone who wants to make all their dreams come true and breathe in the unique smell of love.
The most interesting facts about Venice we will tell you before you go there.
1. Did you know that Venice essentially consists of two parts, the port and the cultural-historical? These two “small towns” are connected into one bridge and the whole thing turns into the Greatness of the city.
2. Can you imagine that somewhere there is no sewage system? And this is right here, in the city of Venice. Thus, all waste is simply washed into the passing channels by the tides of water. Therefore, in fact, there is no such profession as “plumber” here at all.
3. Pigeons are a real treasure of Venice. But you can feed these birds only in one square - San Marco. If you decide to do this in another place, you will have to pay a tidy sum as a fine.
4. Very unusual fact is also the fact that seeds intended for pigeons have the right to be sold here only if they have a license for them.
5. Every second person dreams of coming to this city at least once in their life. And every year some 15 million “extra” people live in Venice for a period of time. And all of this is us, tourists.
6. There are a great many souvenir shops here. About 450 of them are located in Venice.
7. The symbol of Venice is undoubtedly gondolas. Only one person can manage it and, for the most part, it is always a man. However, even here it could not have happened without a “woman’s hand”.
Of the 425 gondoliers that exist on the coast, there is a lady gondolier. It cost her no little effort - for more than 10 years she achieved her goal. And yet, I did.
8. Do you know whose homeland is Venice? Casanova, Vivaldi and Marco Polo were born here.
The constantly “sinking” city is waiting for you so that you can drown in its “watery” embrace.
You will find other interesting facts about Venice on the Internet web pages.
Venice is a famous city in northeastern Italy. It is a tourist, scientific and educational center. This city celebrates the famous Venice Carnival and the fascinating Venice Film Festival.
What other interesting facts can we learn about the unusual city of Venice?
The city is located on 118 islands, which are connected by more than 400 bridges. There are about 150 canals in Venice.
Venice has a very small number of public toilets, and in order to use those that do exist, you have to pay about 1.5-2 euros, which is unattractive for a budget tourist. Moreover, the city does not have sewers; all sewage is washed away by rising waters. Accordingly, there is no need for plumbers.
One of the most common entertainments for tourists in Venice is gondola riding. As you know, the boat is driven by a gondolier.
In order for the gondolier to begin work, he needs to fulfill a number of conditions. First, you need to have a license to operate a gondola. The license is inherited from father to son or at regattas organized by local gondoliers.
Secondly, it is important to pass exams, including gondola driving, history of Venice and foreign language. The gondolier needs such preparation, since he will not only have to maneuver the boat, but also maintain a romantic atmosphere in the boat.
Thirdly, since a narrow boat is sensitive to the slightest waves, the gondolier should be in good physical shape in order to operate only one oar while standing and transport tourists without any unpleasant incidents.
The number of gondoliers is fixed and is 425 people.
On some buildings in Venice there are sculptures of lions, whose paws clutch the book of the Gospel. You will notice that some books are open and some are not. So, the open book indicates that during the construction of the building, peace reigned in the city. The closed book speaks of the war period in which the building was built.
What the buildings were built on allows the buildings of Venice to exist to this day. The strong foundation, namely the piles for the buildings, were made of larch, which was brought from Siberia, which is not only an interesting fact, but also a mystery.
The special property of larch to harden under water and not deteriorate allows the city to float on water.
Interesting fact - the cemetery in Venice is located on the site former prison Isola di San Michele. Another name for the cemetery is the island of the dead. Due to a shortage of land, the Venetians bury people on the water, on a separate island in the lagoon.
Every seven to ten years, the remains are exhumed and sent to the urn containing ashes.
Honored to be buried in the Venetian cemetery are: famous people like Brodsky, Diaghilev and Starvinsky.
In order to avoid unnecessary collisions on the streets of the city, the authorities decided to ban the use of bicycles. Those who disobey face a fine of 100 euros.
Another undoubtedly interesting fact. The word “ghetto” originated in Venice, when they decided to move Jews to a separate island. Before the Jews moved there, there was a foundry on the island, which is why the entire island was strewn with slag. In Italian, slag is ghetto.
In Venice, one of the bridges has an interesting backstory. In the 15th century, the authorities asked ladies of the most ancient profession on the Bridge of Breasts (Ponte delle Tette) to show their naked bodies to confirmed homosexuals. It was understood that in this way it would be possible to correct the wrong orientation of men.
Another interesting fact: oddly enough, Venice is the most expensive city in Italy. Prices are higher for everything - housing and rent, food, entertainment.
In the Middle Ages, the height of fashion was blonde hair, similar to the hair of women in the paintings of the great painter Botticelli. In those days, horse urine was used to change hair color. Therefore, the young ladies performed procedures with hair on their heads on the white stone tower-chapel, so as not to interfere with unpleasant smell to others. This is an interesting fact, but not very pleasant.
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Some people think it's just a frivolous, romantic town. But they are very mistaken: once you get to know old lady Venice better, she will slowly begin to take off her carnival mask, revealing dark secrets.
website decided to show Venice as the Venetians know it, and not as tourists.
There is no sewerage system in Venice; they say there are no plumbers. All waste is washed directly into the canals. But they are laid in such a way that the tides carry wastewater into the sea, so the water in the canals is always clean. But during strong low tides, the smell may indeed appear.
In general, tourists' opinions about the aroma of Venice are divided polarly: some only smelled freshness, while others smelled stinking water. To join the first ones, we recommend going to Venice in winter.
Around the 17th century, people came up with the idea of wearing masks to protect their personal space, since the town was small. They could have been worn by lovers who did not want publicity, or by a person buying medicine for a shameful illness.
But then people realized that by covering their faces (and some masks even changed their voice), they could do dark things: walk through brothels, play gambling, dress frivolously. Complete decadence began in Venice.
Therefore, it was decided to wear masks only during certain months. Over time, this evolved into the Venice Carnival.
At the same time, in Venice there was a mask for women, when you look at it you won’t immediately understand how it stayed on your face. She was called “moretta,” but sometimes she was called “dumb servant” or “husband’s delight.” You probably already guessed that there was a special pin inside the mask that was inserted into the mouth, depriving the woman of the ability to speak. This was considered very mysterious.
Many people think that Venice is just a city with many canals. In fact, it is an island city (if you do not take into account the mainland). Most likely, Venice owes its strange location to the fact that it was simply flooded at one time. Look at the Grand Canal - it looks like a flooded avenue.
By the way, Venice is shaped like a fish, and this fish consists of 118 islands.
The dead are taken by boat to the gloomy cemetery island of San Michele. Every 7–10 years, the remains are exhumed and placed in a columbarium (urn storage). This frees up space on the island for the new dead.
Many people have noticed that Venice is somehow not very similar to the rest of Italy. And they are right - for many hundreds of years (from the end of the 7th century to 1797) Venice was a separate state - the Venetian Republic. And she was quite large and powerful.
But in the end it suffered a decline - after the Napoleonic Wars, the republic joined the Austrian Empire, and even later entered the kingdom of Italy. So you shouldn’t order pizza or spaghetti in Venice; it’s better to try something from Venetian cuisine.
Look carefully at these photos, one of them is not Venice.
The Venice casino opened in Las Vegas, USA, in 1999. Bridges, houses and canals were built around it, in which gondolas with gondoliers floated. Some even say that they liked American Venice better. By the way, the real “Queen of the Adriatic” is shown in the photo above.
The city of love and romance is rightfully considered Venice. Couples from all over the world come to celebrate their marriage. It is not uncommon to see a bride in a beautiful white dress in the main square of the city. The inexhaustible flow of tourists indicates that Venice remains one of the most beautiful and interesting places on the planet. Therefore, there is no doubt that everyone has heard about Venice, but not everyone knows about its customs, morals and traditions.
1. Venice is mostly flooded in November and December.
2. In 2009, visitors to the website venessia.com buried Venice. The gondola with the coffin floated along the main canal towards the administration. The fact is that the population of this city is constantly falling. At the time of the funeral it was about 60 thousand people.
3. In Venice there is little space for shops, so vegetable sellers are forced to sell on the streets.
4. Venice is the most expensive city in Italy. Venice has the most expensive real estate and accommodation.
5. Venetians themselves are given very large discounts in cafes and restaurants, which causes indignation on the part of tourists.
6. Venetians are buried on the special island of San Michele. Every 10 years, graves are exhumed to make room for new burials.
7. In the event of a fire, citizens and city services are not allowed to use sea water, which they have everywhere. Salt water is believed to damage buildings and corrode furniture. That's why there are fire boats in Venice.
8. Things are also very interesting with cleaning up trash and removing garbage. In Venice there is a special service IRIS that deals with such things. If garbage or rubbish has accumulated, Venetians simply call this service or leave a request online, which is safely removed in a very short time.
9. The country of Venezuela is named after this city. Travelers from Europe, led by Amerigo Veslucci, saw Indian houses on stilts and immediately remembered Venice and named the country Venezuela.
10. Venice is constantly going under water, so it has already been rebuilt twice. Scientists predict that by 2028 the city will be completely hidden under water.
11. The historical center of the city is located on 118 skeletons of the Venetian Lagoon, which required the construction of 400 bridges to connect.
12. On most buildings in Venice you can see the symbol of St. Mark in the form of a lion with a book. If the book is open, then the building was built in peacetime; if it is closed, then there was a war during construction.
13. The first ghetto in Venice appeared in the 16th century, where the city authorities settled all Jews. There was also a foundry there, which left waste and slag everywhere. It is from the Venetian that the word “slag” means ghetto.
14. About 18 million people come to the city every year, and up to 50 thousand tourists can admire Venice in a day.
15. All human waste is drained twice a week with the tide, since there is no sewerage system in the city. That is why the number of plumbers in Venice reaches only 20 people.
16. Many houses are built on stilts made of Russian larch, which is very resistant to water.
17. The famous lover Giacomo Casanova, the traveler Marco Polo and the composer Antonio Vivaldi were born in Venice.
Venice... How many enthusiastic lines have been dedicated to it by many generations of writers and poets. How many paintings depict her unique, incomparable appearance. This cheerful and friendly city breathes eternal youth, although its age goes back millennia.
Venice... Mysterious and beautiful, beautiful and cruel, cheerful and dying. The controversial city is constantly the object of admiration and questions, often completely opposite ones.
We tried to include as much as possible everything that might seem interesting about the Serenissima. These are not just interesting facts about Venice. This article is a kind of historical potpourri, composed of the most original and interesting facts from the history, life and customs of the brilliant Venetian Republic.
Outstanding personalities of Venice: Bellini, Vivaldi, Goldoni, Casanova, Canaletto, Carpaccio, Marco Polo, Tintoretto, Titian.
Grand Canal. Rialto Bridge
What's hidden under a Venetian dress? Tsokolli up to 50 cm long!
Amsterdam's sexy window idea is borrowed from Venice.
In Venice, in advertisements for apartments for rent you can see the note “not for Venetians only.”
The most recognizable masks of the Venetian carnival: bauta and the plague doctor
Glassblowers were so talented that in 1500 one of
contemporaries wrote about the production of Murano glass: “There is no gemstone, which could not be imitated by the production of glaziers in the wonderful competition of man with nature.”
Portrait of the famous courtesan Veronica Franco.
Venice - birthplace italics
Spaghetti “alle sepia nere” with cuttlefish ink
Venice has something to add to the culinary table of Italy. There are several dishes that you won't find anywhere else, even in mainland Venice.
For example, “sande in saor” - fried sardines soaked in vinegar along with raisins, onions and pine nuts. Spaghetti “alle sepia nere” with cuttlefish ink. Also “baccala mantecatto” - a dish made from Norwegian cod. Squid rings “Polpette di carne”. A special type of Venetian risotto, which is thinner, is known as all'onda (with waves). And small cicchetti sandwiches: the Venetian answer and pintxos. The list would be incomplete without the legendary Venetian-style liver “fegato alla veneziano” and 1000 and 1 ways to prepare polenta.
ABOUT! Venetians love their corn porridge- polenta. They know exactly how to cook it and have their own ideas about when to serve it toasted and when to serve it soft. If you want to understand the science of making polenta, then read the book by T. Quiros.
Spritz: vermouth, white wine and sparkling water
The message “Don't eat meat, eat fish” is more relevant than ever in Venice. The fish here in any restaurant is good. I recommend the osteria “Paradiso Perduto”: the menu is handwritten on A4 sheet, the chef cleans the fish right on the embankment at the entrance, then, like a lord, pours free wine into glasses for guests. You feel not in a restaurant, but at a family dinner of a large Italian family. Sometimes there are concerts. For event information, visit their website. If you want to show off, then go to Piazza Santa Margherita. This is the main hangout for Venetian students.
After a delicious lunch or while waiting for it, it is worth ordering a digestif/aperitif. The symbol of Venice and the Veneto region in general: dry white sparkling wine Prosecco. Drink a glass of cold Prosecco on a hot day - compulsory program in Venice.
Carpaccio was invented in Venice
But perhaps what is even more popular is not the wine itself, but a cocktail based on it. Wine glasses with bright orange spritz cocktail can be seen at literally every table in Venice. The spritz is made in different ways. I like the combination of white wine, Campari and sparkling water. Campari is sometimes replaced with Aperol. Place olives in a glass and serve with chips. Sometimes the chips are “pinched” - feel free to ask the waiter for them.
When talking about cocktails in Venice, one cannot fail to mention Bellini. He was “invented” by Giuseppe Cipriani, owner of the iconic Harry’s Bar, and named after the painter Giovanni Bellini. The artist skillfully achieved unique pinkish shades of white in his canvases, just like the color of a cocktail. Bellini is a mixture of champagne and natural juice peach
Cipriani is also known as the inventor of the dish "carpaccio". These are thinly sliced sheets raw beef under olive oil with lemon and parmesan. The dish was named after the great Venetian artist Carpaccio.
A trip to Venice is already a holiday. And if you get to Svetleyshaya for a cultural event, it’s a double celebration. The most significant events for the city are, of course, the carnival, biennale and film festival. The rest of the time, Venice is more or less calm.
The first "ghetto" originated in Venice
A poster of Venice events is presented on the website.
"Bauta" mask
The Venice Carnival takes place before Lent in February or March and lasts 10 days.
When the next carnival will take place in Venice in 2017, and in general all the information about the carnival, including where to rent a costume for the Venice carnival, read on www.carnivalofvenice.com.
At the Venice Carnival, everything was previously allowed: love dates were scheduled a minute after meeting, husbands did not recognize their wives, brides and grooms. Expanse was for professional hired killers with appropriate name“Bravo,” because if, amid the music and dancing, a person suddenly fell, groaning and wheezing, everyone around them would only laugh louder, watching this skillful comedian. For more than six months of the year, Venetians were allowed to wear a mask.
The most recognizable masks of the Venetian carnival: bauta and the plague doctor.
Bauta Despite its eerie appearance, it enjoyed special love from the people, who wore it in combination with a long black cloak and a triangular hat - tricorno. Bauta was considered the ideal mask to remain incognito. Thanks to the specific shape, the person’s voice changed, and the lower part of the mask was designed so that the person could eat and drink without exposing his face.
The most terrible disaster for Venice was the plague, which was a frequent visitor to the city on the water. IN usual time plague doctor mask They didn’t wear it, but during the epidemic doctors wore it when going to see patients. Aromatic oils were placed into her long beak-shaped nose. It was believed that they protected against infection with the plague. Over his clothes, the doctor wore a dark long cloak, which made him look a lot like an ominous bird. He held a special stick in his hand so as not to touch the plague-stricken person with his hands.
The main and undeniable transport of Venice is, of course,
First, a small break in patterns, as often happens in the world of spelling. The famous Venetian gondola in Italian sounds like “Gondola” with an emphasis on the first “o”. Live forever, learn forever!
Rowing a gondola is a tricky science. You have to study long and hard. The profession of a gondolier is inherited. Every year there are fewer and fewer gondoliers, as well as the boats themselves. Today there are 425 gondoliers in Venice, one of them is a woman.
Gondolas are made in only two workshops - and only in Venice. Such a boat costs much more than a car. Residents of Serenissima give most of the boats female names: Juliet, Laura, Anna Maria, Lucia.
Technical characteristics of the gondola
The gondola consists of 280 individual parts, made from 8 types of wood - elm, cherry, oak, spruce, mahogany, larch, walnut and linden. It takes 3–4 months to build one gondola. Its traditional length is 11 m, the width inside is about 1.5 m, and its weight is about 600 kg. One of the features of the gondola is that it is asymmetrical: the left side is wider than the right. This design makes it easy to steer the boat with one oar.
Say it correctly: gondola
Gondola decoration
On the nose of the gondola you can see a metal decoration shaped like a comb. The six prongs represent the six quarters of Venice: San Marco, San Polo, Santa Croce, Castello, Dorsoduro and Cannaregio. Upper part The crest is called the Doge's hat (Cappello del doge), the semicircular notch on the left above the battlements symbolizes the sea basin of San Marco, and its curved line is the Rialto Bridge. The only prong on the opposite side is the island of Giudecca, the largest in the lagoon, the handle of the ridge is the Canal Grande.
The Legend of the Gondola
“A long time ago, two lovers could not find a place on the Venetian streets to hide from prying eyes and be alone. The moon was filled with compassion for their love, descended from the sky and landed on the water of the canal in the form of a shining gondola. The young man and the girl climbed onto it and swam all night, enjoying their youth and love..."
There are 425 gondoliers in Venice
It is forbidden to drive cars in old Venice, and even in the narrow streets. Owners of cars keep them in special parking lots. There are two of them in Venice: the “San Marco Garage” in Piazzale Roma and a huge parking lot on the artificial island of Tronchetto in the southwest of the city. The People Mover, an elevated light metro line, runs to the latter from Piazzale Roma. On average, a parking space costs Venetians 150 euros.
The speed of ships in Venice is limited to 20 km per hour. Otherwise, they raise waves that are too large and cause damage to houses.
A similar situation exists with boats. Contrary to general ideas, no more than 40% of Venetians have boats. Finding a parking space for a boat is not so easy, and it costs the same as for a car. Venetians value parking space very much. Even if the boat is in disrepair, it is still kept at the pier in a semi-submerged state. There are no other problems with boats: for small (up to 6 m) and low-power (up to 40 hp) vessels, even a driver’s license is not required.
Burano Island
The reasons for Venice’s slow but steady sinking into the sea are not only global warming, but also human activity: Until the 1960s, the Venetians extracted 90% of their water from artesian pools, as a result, over 35 years the soil settled by 6 centimeters. To save Serenissima, the authorities banned the use of underground sources for the needs of factories and factories, and also closed artesian wells in the city itself.
The process of soil subsidence has slowed down, but has not stopped. Venice is given a pessimistic forecast: in the next 100 years the sea may rise by another 50 centimeters. If this happens, all streets and squares will be under water, the first floors of houses will be flooded. Venice will become uninhabited.
In the meantime, your life is enough and Venice can sit somewhere on the Slavyanskaya embankment with a glass of spritz and watch how the most elegant city in the world plunges into the water.
