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A fascinting city between sea and sky, like Venus rising from the waves,
Venice welcomes visitors from the five continents drawn to her by the charm
of her canals, the pellucid light and the coolness of the sea breezes. She
also offers the intellectual pleasures to be derived from her masterpieces,
which mark the meeting of East and West.
Venice is built on 117 islands; it has 150 canals and 400 bridges. A
canal is called a rio, a square a campo, a street a calle or salizzada, a
quay a riva or fondamenta, a filled-in canal rio Terra, a passageway under
a house sotto-portego, a courtyard a corte and a small square a campiello.
The hub of public life is the Piazza San Marco where tourists and citizens sit
on the terraces of the famous Florian and Quadri cafes to listen to the
music, dream and see the mosaics of St. Mark's glow under the rays of the
setting sun. The Quadri is more popular but the Florian is the best-known
cafe; founded in 1720 it has received Byron, Goethe, George Sand, Musset
and Wagner within its mirrored and allegory-painted walls.
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