Bridging the gap to a beautiful history
Lazy days amid ancient architecture and art is Tom Prendeville’s Venetian vision
Venice is one of the most beautiful cities on Earth. Founded in the 5th century and spread over 118 islands, by the 10th century it was a fabulously wealthy city state and a major maritime power. By the Middle Ages it had evolved into a world power.
The modern-day city, which mostly dates from the 17th and 18th century, is an architectural masterpiece, with even the smallest buildings boasting works by the world’s greatest artists, from Titian to Veronese.
In recognition of this legacy, Venice is a designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has featured as the backdrop for the most glamorous of movies, from The Talented Mr Ripley and the modern remake of The Italian Job to the spectacular finale of Casino Royale. The city and its many islands is located in the middle of a marshy lagoon on the northern shores of the Adriatic Sea. Interlinked by no fewer than
400 bridges, there are no tarmac roads per se.
During a recent visit there I never saw as much as one solitary car. Intriguingly there are no bikes either; the only mode of transport is by foot on ancient paved paths or via water taxis.
Most of the city’s 2 7 0,0 0 0 residents live on the mainland with less than 60,000 inhabiting the ancient city itself. As a result in the evening time when most of the 50,000 daily tourists depart, an incredible stillness descends upon the medieval streets and canals.
The only sounds to be heard are the birds singing or faint distant chatter and laughter echoing off the walls of the ancient buildings that line the canals.
That’s not to say that there is no nightlife or bars; there are plenty of watering holes in and around the bustling Rialto Bridge area that stay open late into the night.
The city has a reputation for being very expensive and if you find yourself sitting down in an outdoor café in St Mark’s Square, a cup of coffee costs an eye-watering €14.50: €8.50 for the coffee and €6 for the privilege of listening to the outdoor orchestra that plays all day long. Fortunately I didn’t partake in lunch, otherwise I would have spent the weekend washing dishes.
Of course you don’t have to pay such ludicrous prices. If you walk a few streets away, the prices are more or less the same as you would expect in Dublin.
Criss-crossed by a myriad of waterways, the Grand Canal is Venice’s main street and home to the magnificent Rialto Bridge, which was built in 1591. A rather grand structure, it consists of a single splendid central arch with a covered portico running the length of the bridge and housing two rows of shops selling souvenirs and the like. Venice is often called the City of Bridges and another mustsee is the romantically named Bridge of Sighs, or Ponte dei Sospiri. While many people may associate it with those boatmen in striped jumpers paddling a gondola whilst serenading passengers as depicted in that ice cream ad, the bridge has a darker history.
It connects the Doge’s Palace with the Prigioni (prison) and
in times past, unfortunate prisoners who fell foul of the Venetian Republic’s iron-fisted rulers were led across the roofed footbridge and offered a final opportunity to gaze at the beautiful city before being led away forever to prison or the executioner. It was said that the unfortunate prisoners were heard to audibly sigh when they took their last look, hence the name.
Intriguingly, the sound of anyone chatting on the bridge is amplified and echoes off the walls of the tall buildings on either side.
Flooding is an ongoing problem in Venice, particularly in the winter. The city rests on an aquifer – an underground layer of waterbearing rock – which is dotted with thousands of surface wells. As the water level in the aquifer drops, the land subsides causing the city to literally sink into the mudflats.
Another reason to avoid the city in winter is the cold, damp pea soup fog that regularly descends. When chilly air rolls down from the nearby Alps and meets the warmer air coming from the Adriatic Sea the city becomes enveloped in an impenetrable haze. So stick to spring and summer when the weather is a balmy 24°C.
An excellent way to get around Venice is via the ACTV waterbus network. For €35 you can buy a three-day pass, which allows you unlimited travel and access to the entire city and its outer islands. Tickets can be picked up at any ACTV canalside ticket booth.
gondola ride costs €40 and lasts about 35 minutes. However, a word of advice, the tariff is for the hire of the boat – which can seat six – so if you share you can save a few bob. While you are sailing down the narrow canals, enjoy the obligatory serenade.
The city has no shortage of fine accommodation and the Casa Nicolò Priuli Hotel near St Mark’s Square is a beautiful boutique hotel with a quaint courtyard. The €215 a night price may put people off but there are plenty of other hotels to choose from with prices closer to €120.
Munro Island is famous for artisan glasswork with literally hundreds of small workshops and factories turning out everything from stained glass windows to mantelpiece ornaments.
If you are all museumed out of it, Venice is the perfect place to do absolutely nothing except laze beside the canals drinking coffee and watching the gondolas passing by. It is also a particularly safe city where drunks or drug addicts wandering the streets are practically unheard of. So it is safe to meander around at night. I should probably mention another of the city’s unique aspects, one that permeates every nook and cranny – its distinctive bouquet of salt water and march gas is hard to forget.