Venice and the lagoon

No cars, just gondolas, this is Venice in a nutshell. The city is built on an archipelago of 118 islands intersected by 150 canals and connected by more than 400 bridges, an absolutely unique scenario in the world.

Protected by a suggestive basin of brackish water, Venice and its lagoon, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are not only one of the most beautiful cities in the world, but also a priceless treasure of art and culture, landscape and environment. Of a romantic nature, it has a poignant love-hate relationship with the sea, which is the cause of its beauty throughout history but also creates some difficulties for those who live there, especially when the sea swells and invades the squares and streets of the city .

Venice is a unique jewel, an enchanting city full of fine art and architecture. How not to mention the magnificence of Piazza San Marco, with its Basilica, a masterpiece of Romanesque-Byzantine architecture, and the Palazzo Ducale built when Venice was the Serenissima, the Bridge of Sighs, the Rialto and even the Grand Canal with its richly decorated.

Venice hosts traditional cultural events such as the Biennale – festival of art, dance, cinema and theater – the symphonic season of the Teatro La Fenice, the Historical Regatta, the Feast of the Redeemer and the Carnival, one of the most beautiful in the world.

The Lagoon hosts other fascinating islands, such as the Lido, where the prestigious Film Festival is held; Torcello, the first inhabited island of the lagoon and today almost abandoned; Burano, with its multicolored houses and its lace; Murano, famous all over the world for its artistic glass blowers; San Francesco del Deserto, a suggestive place for meditation and prayer; San Lazzaro degli Armeni, former leper colony and now home to a monastery with an extraordinary collection of treasures.