A fascinating city between sea and sky, like Venus rising from the waves, Venice welcomes tourists from the five continents drawn to her by the charm of her water and pellucid light, free from all dust and cooled by the sea breezes. She also offers the intellectual pleasures to be derived from her masterpieces which mark the meeting of East and West. Venice is built on 117 islands; it has 150 canals and 400 bridges. A canal is called a rio, a square a campo, a street a calle or solizzada, and a quay a riva or fondamenta. The narrow streets, with their historic names, are paved with flagstones but have no footpaths. They are lined with flower decked balconies, Madonnas, shop signs and lanterns. Artisans' stalls and palaces stand side by side. The squares are charming: a few trees grow in front of a church, and gossips and fruit-vendors gather round a well with a carved coping and a drinking trough at its base for the pigeons. The brick bridges, with white stone trimmings, are pitched high to allow barges to pass under them. The Frari Quarter and that of Santa Maria Formosa are the most characteristic in this calm old rose brick Venice.
The vanished greatness of Venice accounts for the myth of an artificial, voluptuous and tragic city, the scene of intrigues plotted in an atmosphere of corruption where dreams became nightmares. The Romantics especially have described this atmosphere. Today the exceptional position of Venice constitutes a threat to its very existence. The nature of the terrain on which it is built induces a sinking while the level of the surrounding waters are constantly rising. Various measures have already been taken and a plan to safeguard and remedy the position is under investigation.
The hub of public life is the Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square), where tourists and citizens sit on the terraces of the famous Florian and Quadri cafes to listen to the music, dream and see the rosy walls of the Doges' Palace glow under the rays of the setting sun. The Florian is the best-known cafe: founded in 1720 it has received Byron, Goethe, George Sand, Musset and Wagner within its mirrored and allegory-painted walls. St. Mark's Square is famous all over the world; it forms a great marble saloon with all round covered galleries shelter famous cafes and luxury shops.
In front of the basilica three flag-poles with bases which were carved in the 16C, symbolizing the Venetian Kingdoms of Cyprus, Candia (Crete) and Morea. The square opens on the Grand Canal through the delightful Piazzetta, formerly called Broglio, (Intrigue) because from 10 a.m. to noon only the nobles were allowed to meet there and traffic in appointments and hatch their plots. The two granite columns surmounted by the Lion of St. Mark and the statue of St. Theodore were brought from Constantinople.
The most glamorous Venetian shops are to be found in the central triangle determined by San Marco, the Rialto, and the Accademia. You will find plenty of temptation under the arcades of Piazza San Marco, in the Mercerie, Frezzeria, Calle Vallaresso, Salizzada San Moise, Calle Larga XXII Marzo and in the narrow streets around the Fenice. But when shopping, as when sightseeing, it pays to wander off the beaten track. There are beguiling small shops and artisans' botteghe all over the city. Prices are sometimes negotiable. Don't, however, expect many bargains. Venice is now one of the most expensive shopping cities in Europe.
