Venice: Pride of Italy

Venice, Italy is a city unlike any other in the world! Built directly on canals, Venice is truly a port city. Serving as a critical element in the shipping world and home to explorers such as the famous Marco Polo, visitors of all ages will fall in love with the beauty and history of this famous Italian city.

Venice encapsulated the soul of Italy. If you want to have a truly Italian experience, look no further than the North Italian city of Venice. The city has its unique style of art and architecture, delicious food and friendly people. Its importance in the shipping routes has opened it to influence from outside, particularly Turkish. Hence you would find Byzantine designs in Venetian architecture and gold coating of surfaces.

San Marco or St. Mark's Basilica is the fantastic edifice that was restored for the Jubilee year of 2000 and is now more breathtaking than ever! With all the gold, mosaics, and carvings freshly cleaned, San Marco is a sight worth seeing. The building is famous all over the world for the four horses that stand guard over the basilica. It is said that these four equines originally came from Constantinople, and were subsequently looted by Napoleon Bonaparte. They were returned years later in 1815.

The piazza where the basilica is situated is known for its pigeon population and is just as famous as the building itself. However, if you are bird shy, you can watch from the arcades on either side of it. But, you must not miss out on the beautiful Doge's Palace and all the shops in the square.

Venice is a city of bridges that cross over the lagoons and canals, but the "ridge of Sighs" is the most famous one. It is located near the Piazza San Marco and can be seen from the Grand Canal. It gets its name from the prisoners who used to pass through the bridge to go to their cells in the 17th Century.

Rialto Bridge is another famous bridge in Venice, which straddles the Grand Canal. There are shops on both sides of this famous bridge, where a wide variety of Venetian goods are sold. A lovely legend is associated with this bridge that states that couples who kiss while riding under the bridge on the city's classic gondolas will remain in love forever.

Gondolas have been a major attraction of this famous city for a long long time. Take a ride on these long black boats. What is unique about this experience is that these stripe shirted gondoliers use only a pole for navigation and have the knowledge of the city's canal system on their fingertips. If you tip and tip well, they would most definitely oblige you with a song.

Murano is a tiny island just minutes from the Piazza San Marco where the most famous item Murano Glass is made in Venice. It has some of the most famous glass companies in the world. You can visit the factories and see how these masters of glass blow and shape molten glass into magnificent creations.

Ingrid Ingra is the chief editor for F italy, a fantastic resource for information about italy. For questions or comments about this article why not visit: www.finitaly.com/articles
Don't reprint this article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.

For more motorcycle articles visit: http://www.motorcycle-articles.com

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated

• Motorcycle Riding in Costa Rica: Riding in Paradise! - By : Thorsten Klier
  
• Many a Madrid in the United States - By :
  
• Brazil: Everything From The Amazon to Carnaval - By :
  
• Maryland Trails are a Hidden National Treasure - By :
  
• North Carolina: First in Flight - By :
  
• The Tennessee Valley Authority - By :
  
• Holidaying in Boston, Massachusetts - By :
  
• Natural Beauty is Key to Minnesota Charm - By :
  
• The Houston Space Center - By :
  
• Boredom Impossible in Memphis - By :
  

	Web Motorcycle-Articles.com