By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises
Venice is one of the most extraordinary places on earth.
A city afloat.
The grand remnants of a once-great Republic.
La Dominante. The Dominant.
La Serenissima. The most serene.
The City of Water.
The City of Bridges.
The City of Canals.
The City of Masks.
Most of all, a magical place that never fails to charm and amaze. We have been here more times than I can count, and we still are thrilled to return.
We arrived early this morning, tying up at San Basillio along the Giudecca canal, walking distance away from Saint Mark’s Square and a world away from the monster cruise ships around the corner at the terminal.
To guests leaving us here today, I wish you safe travels and arrivederci.
We spent our three full days in Venice basking in the late spring sun, and looking for new corners to explore. Here are some photos from this visit, including a view of Saint Mark’s Square with snow on the distant Alps taken from the campanile of St. Giorgio Maggiore across the Guidecca.
VENICE FROM ABOVE AND AFLOAT
Saint Mark’s Square, with snow on the Alps in the background, as seen from the campanile of San Giorggio Maggiore.
BURANO ISLAND
TORCELLO ISLAND
Depending who is doing the counting and sometimes on how high the water rises, modern Venice consists of about 124 islands that sit in the shallow and marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy between the mouths of the Po River to the south and the Piave to the north.
It was during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance that the Republic of Venice rose to become a major maritime power, along with Genoa, Pisa, and Amalfi.
At its peak, in the 12th and 13th centuries, the Venetian Republic eliminated the pirates along the Dalmatian Coast, acquired control of most of the islands in the Aegean, including Cyprus and Crete, seized and sacked Constantinople (today’s Istanbul) in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade, establishing the Latin Empire in the process and became a major power-broker, trading with Western Europe as well as continuing to deal with the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic world.
By the late thirteenth century, Venice was the most prosperous city in all of Europe.
At the peak of its power and wealth, it had 36,000 sailors operating 3,300 ships, dominating Mediterranean commerce.
Today, it has been invaded by tourists. That may seem quite a comedown, but the fact is that without tourism Venice would have returned to the swamp long ago.
Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.
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