Venice is among the most visited and loved cities in the world. Rich in history and architectural and artistic wonders, to be lived to the full it needs to be ‘explored and discovered’ several times with targeted visits, slow times and a careful look to enjoy it and respect the fragility of its beauty.
Selecting the ten things not to be missed in a city that concentrates many works of historical and artistic interest was not easy.
We have chosen the examples that we consider the most significant among the various architectures, the different styles, the most successful artistic expressions. In short, monuments, palaces, mosaics, paintings … but also the ‘venezianità’, the Venetianness in the markets and in the ‘bacari’.
1. Piazza San Marco, the most beautiful “living room” in the world.
2. The mosaics of the Basilica of San Marco, an explosion of gold and light that leaves you breathless.
3. Rialto bridge and market, the heart of ‘Venetianity’.
4. Basilica dei Frari, one of the most beautiful examples of Gothic architecture in Venice.
5. Church of San Giovanni e Paolo, the Pantheon of the Serenissima, as evidenced by the numerous funerary monuments of doges in its interior.
6. Accademia Galleries, the richest collection of Venetian paintings, from the Byzantine and Gothic fourteenth century to the greatest artists of the Renaissance.
7. Chiesa della Salute, built by vow to the Madonna to free the city from the terrible plague of 1629-1633.
8. The Ghetto, the area of the city where, since the early sixteenth century, the Serenissima concentrated the population of Jewish origin.
9. Cicchetti tour – In the Rialto area: Osteria Ruga Rialto, Al Mercà; Zattere area: Cantine del Vino, Al Squero; Cannaregio: Al Timon, Al Paradiso Perduto, Alla Vedova.
10. Boat trip to the islands of the lagoon: Murano and the famous glass making, Burano with laces and colorful houses and Torcello, cradle of Venice and with the throne of Attila.
With a walk through the lively streets of the historic center, between Piazza San Marco and Rialto, you can admire Venice in all its splendor and get in touch with its millenary atmosphere, without worrying about optimizing times and routes. The sunset is indescribable, everywhere, better from Giudecca, from the Basin of San Marco or from Fondamente Nove.
