This is an iconic city and was the capital of its own country for over 500 years. Its strategic location at the head of the Adriatic Sea made it a fantastic location for a trading hub. Sea travel was faster than land travel as there were few decent roads. Thus, being at the northern end of the Adriatic made the land distances shorter. Venice was a rich and powerful city state and it also has a bit of an empire. From the 9th century to the 14th century it exerted influence on islands and port towns all throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. In addition to lands surrounding Venice, the islands of Crete, Cyprus, much of modern Croatia and parts of modern Turkey and many Greek islands came under Venetian rule. This allowed them to control the trade routes and amass more and more wealth. With all that money they went on a building binge and erected many spectacular places
Some places are humble and were for the common folk
The Ponte di Rialto is a massive bridge
An expensive proposition
This section of our trip was aboard a water bus
The buildings took on a grander scale
Stacked close together
Each vying for space
The Venetian flag
The docks are for the hotels so the customers can get a quick water taxi
Another major bridge
Already we get t peek of the domes of the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute
Towering over the land we will get much closer
They define the larger scale of the buildings on this end of town
Even the smaller buildings are decorated with greater detail
Moorish windows
Getting fancier and fancier as we move down the Grand Canal
The fantastic flag of Venice
Lots of private docks filled with taxis
Lots of private docks filled with gondolas
So many beautiful buildings, the domes of the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute
Dancing on the top of the world
Further afield on another island, San Georgio
This is why it is called the grand canal!
We took a water taxi back to the train station
The clock tower in the distance
Gates to a waterside park
The Piazza San Marco
With the Doges Palace
The grand canal at its widest
A very long hallway
A look from the water
