Interesting Facts about Venice

The Venetian lagoon is an inlet of Adriatic Sea, with a series of sand bars at the lagoon's entrance largely restricting the access to sea water. It's a marshy environment that is fed by river, and yet flused by salt water from Adriatic.
The lagoon remains as one of the richest natural habitats for fish, birds, and plant life, and is also the largest wetland in the Mediterranean Basin.
Venice and its lagoon are collectively designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site. The word Lagoon, has its origin from Venetian language (Laguna Veneta), to indicate an enclosed, shallow bay of saltwater. The picture you see here is an aerial view of central Venice and the narrow Giudecca island.

The historic center of Venice is divided into six districts, called sestieri. Although there are six zones, it is possible to cross the city on foot in under an hour. The Grand Canal divides the city into 2 parts, with three sestieri to the west (San Polo, Dorsoduro and Santa Croce) and three to the east (San Marco, Castello and Canneregio)

1) San Polo - It is one of Venice's oldest districts, and the smallest. Rialto bridge & market is located here.
2) Dorsoduro - University district. Salute Church is located here
3) Santa Croce - City's bus terminus Piazzale Roma is located in this zone
4) San Marco - Lies in the heart of the city, and is a tourist hot spot.
5) Castello - Has the beautiful Giardini, and Venice Arts Festival Biennale
6) Cannaregio - Quiet residential area, and home to the historic Jewish ghetto

Not many of us might know that Venice is slowly sinking. Reports say that the city has sunk by about seven centimeters a century for the past 1000 years, and has subsided over 24 centimeters in the past century alone. The debate about how to save Venice has been fierce for a long time.
An ambitious project called MOSE is underway to secure the future of Venice, by building a series of movable dams (inflatable gates). Then again, it is said that it's only a temporary measure which could protect the city for just 100 years.
Read on to know about some of the causes for this problem.

High water or Aqua Alta is a common phenomenon in Venice, particularly between October and March. It's an unusually high tide, that floods parts of Venice. It may be a new experience for the visitors wading through the water in St.Marks Square (the lowest part of the city), but it's an inconvenience for the locals and also an indicator of the threat faced by the Venetian lagoon. In the last century, the frequency of aqua alta has risen from less than 10 times a year, to more than 60 times a year.
However aqua alta is predicted and monitored, and you can see the forecasts in newspapers, some electronic displays around the city, on a board outside the Campanile in St.Marks Square. Most of the time, aqua alta will just be a mild nuisance. If it's going to be a more serious flooding(above 110cm), sirens will sound a warning 3-4 hours in advance.

Venice is an archipelago of over 100 islands in the center of the shallow lagoon. Venetians evolved techniques unique to the city, to overcome problems associated with low muddy islands.
The Venetian buildings are constructed on closely spaced wood piles. The wood piles penetrate the soft layer of sand/mud, and rest upon the solid compressed clay that underlied the lagoon islands. The foundation lies on the piles, and buildings of brick or stone sit above these. It is said that, under Santa Maria Della Salute Church there are over 100,000 poles!

St. Mark is the patron saint of Venice. His symbol a winged lion, usually holding a book is seen everywhere in Venice. The lion rests its paw on an open book whose Latin inscription may be translated as: "Peace be with you Mark, my Evangelist".
The winged lion is the historic symbol of Venice as well. According to legend, few Venice merchants in Ninth century stole the remains of St.Mark from his tomb in Alexandria and brought it to Venice, where it is said to remain to this day.

The Bridge of Sighs, an enclosed passageway, that connects Doges Palace and the prison, was constructed in 1600s by the architect Antonio Contino. But it acquired its famous name only during the late 18th century, when Lord Byron recounted the sound of condemned prisoner's sighs.

The prisons of the Doges were known for being difficult to escape. However, one man did manage to prove it wrong. Giacoma Casanova, one of the most famous prisoner here, escaped from the cells in 1756. His memoirs titled "The story of my escape from the Piombi" was published in 1788 and is said to be the equivalent of a modern day best seller.

The island of San Michele, a former prison, is Venice's cemetery since the early 1800s. The island is calm and peaceful with beautiful gardens.
Death may be permanent, but San Michele is so crowded that bodies are buried in tight rows of graves and are allowed to decompose for a mere twelve years before being dug up. The remains are then either moved into an urn or put with countless others in a nearby bone yard.

The English words Arsenal, ciao, ghetto, gondola, lagoon, lido are of Venetian origin. Also 'Venezuela' means little Venice. The picture here is the Venetian Arsenal, which was a shipyard and naval depot.
The word ciao, originally from Venetian language, was adopted by Italians and later entered the English vocabulary where it is mostly used as goodbye. Ghetto originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews lived, is now used to describe 'portion of a city in which members of minority group live'.

The famous Venice Carnival starts around 2 weeks before Ash Wednesday and ends on Shrove Tuesday. During the carnival, Venetians and visitors alike dress up in the oddest of ways. Some of the highlights include mask parade in St.Marks Square, gondola/boat parades along Grand Canal and grand fireworks show on the final day.
Venice Film festival is one of the oldest and most prestigious in the world. Started in 1932, the festival has since taken place every year in the Venetian island Lido, during late August or early September. The main awards are Golden Lion for the best film and Volpi cup for the best actor. The festival is part of Venice Biennale, an important contemporary art event.