12 things to do and see in Venice

Venezia

12 things to do and see in Venice

It is always an understatement to make a list of things to do in Venice. In fact, there are so many details and glimpses that talking about one inevitably does the other wrong. It is also true, however, that in a world-famous city, second in terms of visitor flow only to Rome, the "tourist" story ends up obscuring the more "unusual" parts but no less beautiful for this. Hence the need to try to insert others "straight" alongside the essential stops (Piazza San Marco, Rialto Bridge etc.). As for the periods of the year in which to visit it, spring and autumn are preferable, unless you likeacqua alta (continuously monitored by Tide center of the municipality) And the Carnival. Said this. Visiting Venice, at least once in a lifetime, is always worthwhile regardless of the seasons and weather and sea conditions. Happy reading.

1 St. Mark's Square

Heart of the Most Serene Republic of Venice at the same time, living room of Europe. Piazza San Marco has always had this "glocal" vocation: symbol of Venice and a multicultural environment par excellence. It is inevitable that it is the first stop for anyone arriving in the city. A photo in the center of this trapezoidal square it will also be an abused rite, to make some overzealous locals turn up their noses, but "you have to do"Absolutely. All around only works of inestimable value: from Basilica, bell tower, in Ducal Palace. Wonders that the whole world envies the city and Italy and which therefore deserve to be treated separately.

2 Basilica of San Marco

After arriving in Piazza San Marco and having taken all the usual photos, the very first thing to do is to visit the Basilica of the same name. The reason is soon said. It represents theliving legacy of Roman, Byzantine and Venetian culture. Especially the latter since the inhabitants of the Serenissima, a proud seafaring people, have taken steps over the centuries to embellish and adorn it with artifacts from the most distant lands of the East. Moreover, considering the foundation myth of the church, it could not be otherwise. Legend has it, in fact, that the need to erect a temple arose following the stealing of the saint's relics from Alexandria in Egypt by two Venetian merchants. The golden mosaics inside do not leave indifferent even the most tenacious of agnostics. To see, in Museum of the Basilica, the Four Horses of San Marco. Until the 80s of the last century these sculptures came from Constantinople (stolen at the end of the 700th century from Napoleon Bonaparte and brought back to the city in 1815 after the defeat of Waterloo) were placed on the terrace of the Basilica. Subsequently, the need arose to protect them from the elements by housing them in a specific room of the Museum set up in the spaces above the north-western atrium. Those currently visible on the outside are therefore identical copies.

Free entry. Sundays and public holidays: 14:00 - 17:00. The passage from 16.45 pm to 17.00 pm takes place at Easter (March / April). The visit lasts approximately 10 minutes. A is recommended appropriate clothing to the sacredness of the place.

For more information: www.basilicasanmarco.it

3 St Mark's Campanile

Together with the homonymous square and basilica, the St Mark's Campanile it is an unmissable stop on a visit to Venice. "El paron de casa”(Transl.“ The landlord ”) as the Venetians call it is a bell tower of 99 meters, originally built for sighting and defense functions. Over the centuries it has undergone several changes and renovations, the most important of which in the sixteenth century with the construction, by Jacopo Sansovino, of the loggia at the base of the tower. Important interventions were also carried out the day after 14 July 1902 when the bell tower collapsed on the square. It took 10 years to rebuild it "how it was and where it was”According to the famous statement made during the inauguration speech (April 25, 1912) by the then mayor Filippo Grimani, the most influential politician in the city at the turn of the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries. The bell tower of San Marco is also famous for the Angel Flight, opening anniversary of Venice Carnival. An artist, attached to a metal cable, flies - "flies”In dialect - from the belfry to the center of the square. Since 1962, an elevator allows visitors to comfortably reach the top in no time.

Working Time:
>> October and November 9.00 / 19.00
>> November - April 9.30 / 15.45
>> April - June 9.00 / 19.00
>> July - September 9.00 / 21.00
The ticket office closes an hour earlier.

4 Doge's Palace

Palazzo Ducale is a must for anyone who wants to deepen the historical, cultural and political importance of Venice for centuries bridge city between west and east. A majestic architecture, emblem of the Gothic-Venetian, further embellished byhuge amount of artwork kept in the three large buildings that make up the structure. Structure that until 1797 followed the developments of the millennial Serenissima Republic (Palazzo Ducale was the seat of the Doge of Venice), later passing first into French, then Austrian hands, until the Italian annexation in 1866. Between the end of the 800th century and the beginning of the 900th century, the young Italian state provided radical restoration of Palazzo Ducale. A far-sighted and not at all obvious initiative, given the enormous amount of problems and inequalities that unification brought with it. Since the 20s, Palazzo Ducale has been the seat of the Superintendence for Environmental and Architectural Heritage of Venice and the Lagoon. Moreover, since 1996 it has been an integral part of the system of City Civic Museums.

to know more: The Doge's Palace in Venice in brief

Working Time
>> 1st April - 31st October 8.30 / 19.00 (admission allowed until 18.00)
>> 1st November - 31st March 8.30 / 17.30 (admission allowed until 16.30) Closed on 25 December and 1 January

Website: palazzoducale.visitmuve.it

5 Grand Canal

3800 meters long, Grand Canal - "Canalaso”As the Venetians call it - it is still the main transport axis in the city. A ride by vaporetto or, better still, by gondola is therefore a must. By vaporetto the lines most frequented by tourists are 1 and 2. The single ride costs € 7,00 and is valid for 60 minutes. An almost uninterrupted parade of palaces to relive the glories of the Venetian Republic, paying attention to the numerous architectural traces that have survived over the centuries from the erosion of water (aggravated by the wave motion). By gondola, however, the ride costs no less than 80 € uro for about 30 minutes. There are those who argue that it is not worth it but, judging by the question, we must admit that most do not think so. A curiosity. In Venice there is a kind of collective taxi in a gondola that the inhabitants call "ferry". It stands upright and connects the two banks of the Grand Canal at different points. Above all, it costs very little. Ideal for trying to understand how a genuine lagoon lives and moves.

6 Peggy Guggenheim Museum

Picasso, Kandinsky, Magritte, De Chirico, Boccioni, Dalì are just some of the artists whose works have become part of the Peggy Guggenheim collection. One of the most important museums in the world on European and American XNUMXth century art based in Venier dei Leoni Palace on the Grand Canal. In addition to the permanent exhibition with the works of this American collector buried, among other things, in the palace garden (Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim 1898-1979), the museum is characterized by an intense calendar of activities with exhibitions, debates and training initiatives aimed at children. To know: it is allowed to photograph inside the galleries as long as without flash. The use of tripods or monopods is prohibited.

Working Time
Every day (Tuesday closed) 10.00 / 18.00
Closed the 25 December

Ticket 15.00 € uro
Entrance free for children up to 10 years. Further reductions and discounts are foreseen

For more information: www.guggenheim-venice.it

7 Rialto Bridge

Paintings, sonnets, films and shows. Ponte di Rialto, the oldest - and most famous - of the four bridges that cross the Grand Canal, has been the subject of numerous works of art over the centuries. Between these, “Casanova” 1976 film by Federico Fellini, even if the city (including the bridge) that we see in the Rimini director's film was reproduced in its entirety in the studios of Cinecittà. As for the history, the bridge has allowed the crossing of the banks of the Grand Canal since the 1591th century. The current form, however, dates back to XNUMX, the year in which the project by the Venetian architect was completed Antonio Da Ponte. Despite the subsequent interventions and renovations, the shape of the Rialto Bridge is still that of the sixteenth century. It will remain so even at the end of the restoration project financed by Renzo Rosso, owner of "Diesel" and other famous clothing brands. At the project, Renzo Rosso and the town of Venice they have also dedicated a site that explains in detail the intervention criteria and the design choices that will be implemented (www.restauropontedirialto.it).

8 Casino Venier

Alongside the tourist Venice there is another city "out of the ordinary". If you are looking for an unusual Venice, and therefore more authentic, it is this part of the city that you must look for. As? Even simply wandering around aimlessly around the “sestieri”, the 6 districts into which the city is divided. Or, as in this case, following some targeted advice. Casino Venier, between the Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco, it is worth a visit because it is one of the last Venetian residences in which there is a peephole in the floor to supervise those who were about to enter. A very common precaution in the Venice of the '700, the period of maximum diffusion of the "casini", small noble houses where people gambled, danced and discussed politics and philosophy. For thirty years, to be precise since 1987, this house has been the seat ofAlliance Française, a foundation that throughout the world pursues the cultural and artistic exchange between local and French-speaking cultures. In short, the French, the architects of the end of the glorious Republic of Venice, are the guardians of one of the hidden jewels of the city. The address is Ponte dei Bareteri, San Marco 4939.

Working Time:
>> Monday to Friday 9.00-13.00 / 15.00-18.00

9 Jewish Ghetto

Even those who have never set foot in Venice in their life have heard of St. Mark's Square, the Campanile, the Rialto Bridge, of the turn in gondola etc. In short, the places and habits that have contributed most to the formation of the tourist imaginary of the lagoon city. But Venice is also something else. More. For example, the Jewish Ghetto in the Casaregio district definitely worth a visit. Five synagogues, a museum and the tower houses (the Venetian ghetto is the only district of the city to have had a prevalent development in height) to discover how the Jews of Venice lived for almost three centuries - from 1516 to 1797 -. Today the ghetto is a dynamic and full of life neighborhood where 500 members of the Jewish community still live, guardians of an ancient culture and revealing stories of the limitations suffered first by the Serenissima Republic of Venice and, over a century later, in 1938 (year of the promulgation of the racial laws in Italy), from the fascist regime.

10 Murano Glass Museum

You cannot come to Venice and not take the tour of the lagoon. An essential stage of this tour, the Murano Glass Museum. Seven paths, from the fourteenth century to the contemporary, to know and deepen this ancient form of art, heritage of the city and of the whole of Italy. The Murano Glass Museum (can be visited with a single ticket together with Burano Lace Museum) complies with the following times:

>> from 1 April to 31 October 10.00 / 18.00 (ticket office 10.00 - 17.00)
>> from 1 November to 31 March 10.00 / 17.00 (ticket office 10.00 - 16.00)

Closed on December 25th, January 1st

For more information: museovetro.visitmuve.it

11 Rialto Market

If you want to savor thepopular atmosphere of Venice there is no better place than the Rialto market, not far from the famous bridge of the same name. Market of fruit, vegetables and fish, already from the early morning crowded with tourists and residents. A historic place for Venetians, to be recommended to anyone who is really eager to learn more about the "genius loci”Of the city, going beyond its many postcard images. A curiosity. On the walls around the market the inscriptions with the regulatory measures of the fish promulgated at the time of the Serenissima Republic are still visible. Historical!

Rialto fruit and vegetable market
San Polo, Casaria - Campo de la Pescheria
>> Monday to Saturday 7.00 / 20.00

Rialto fish market
San Polo, Campo de le Becarie - Loggia Grande and Loggia Piccola
>> Tuesday to Saturday 7.00 / 14.00

12 Go to Bacari

Venice, we said, is not just gondolas and souvenirs. Therefore, apart from the truly unmissable stops (Piazza San Marco, Grand Canal, etc.), the advice is to let yourself go through the city districts. Getting lost in Venice is probably the most beautiful thing that can happen to a tourist. And if at some point you get hungry, forget about the pretentious places, those reviewed in most tourist guides and go in search of a real Bacaro!. What's this? It is the typical Venetian osteria, nothing more than a small bar where food is just an excuse to enjoy ashade of red or white. The fact that food is a function of wine does not mean that it is of poor quality. On the contrary, come on cod crostini, To mozzarella in the carriage it is in these places, where people often stand, that you find top quality raw materials. On the web there is no shortage of guides, insights and advice on the best bacari in the city. To try!