Venice is an old city and decaying in the most majestic of ways as the masterpieces of architecture throughout the city crumbles. I believe that Venice is the most beautiful of cities with its palazzos, monuments, cathedrals, and ancient spaces that shows off its extraordinary history of wealth and prestige. An 1500 year old city-state of Italy, Venice was built on 117 islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea, where merchants came from all ends of the Earth to drop off their goods. This was built by and for the super wealthily. They had a navy that kept out militant countries from intruding and therefore also kept out cultures from influencing their own. Venice now has a reputation for their expensive, terrible food sold exclusively to the millions of tourists and cruise passengers every year. With a population of only 60,000 people, the Venetian culture that they once doggedly tried to preserve is changing so quickly. However, their are still great foods to eat and sights to enjoy to understand the grandeur and wonder of Venice. https://play.spotify.com/track/5CVSC6Ehnko15JmOuGYFwA
- Food
Venice is in the water, so the seafood (as you would expect) is deliriously delicious because it is so fresh and the chefs know how to cook it. They even have garden islands that grows the best fruits and vegetables. Venice was built to be self sufficient, getting fish from the canals and produce from the garden island. These ingredients were blended with the tantalizing traces of flavors from around the world because of Venice's place in the ancient spice routes as seen in their foods. In Venice, you can have lavish spreads of cicheti (Venetian tapas) and a proper sit-down Venetian meal, with lagoon seafood and views of the canals. Restaurants offer Italian classics and great grilled seafoods.
- Entertainment
Venice is the most devastatingly beautiful city in the western world. Wandering around in the Piazza San Marco and looking out on the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge passes the time quickly. Getting lost in the confusing maze of canals is the one of the most fun things you can do in Venice. Just discovering a little shop that you will probably never find again or discovering a beautiful nook between the buildings is amazing and shows the alluring quality of the entire city. Everywhere you go is like you are walking in a postcard. Venice is so entirely wonderful that it feels as if you are walking around in a dream. That's is enough entertainment for me, but Venice has a lot of shopping and culture to also experience. Things like getting a hand crafted plaster carnival mask that is a symbol of the city and their culture. In Venice, it is hard not to be completely involved in beauty.
There are many islands surrounding Venice and the two most popular are....
- Murano
Murano is known for the stunning glass products that are churned out by the factories all around the island. All the best glass artisans are in Murano because when the best glass crafters originally came, they worked in Venice to supply the wealthy. However, to make the glass they needed to have these blazing hot ovens on constantly, which caused fires on the island. A way they devised to prevent these fires was to move all the factories and crafters to the island of Murano. Now on the island, it is great to see the people making glass products in front of your eyes and also purchasing some of it to bring home.
- Burano
Burano is the island that was known for the carefully crafted, delicate laces that were made there, but now very few people are still making the lace there. Although there are still a few exceptions if you are looking for it. Burano is now a quiet place to wander about. There are cats that stroll lazily around the brilliantly colored houses that fill the island. I went to Burano for one reason: to eat. Da Romano Trattoria has been open on the island of Burano for over 100 years and is tied to tradition. The restaurant is famous for its Goh (little garbage fish) risotto, which has been enjoyed by countless musicians, celebrities, artists, and government officials. Burano is a great place to see the buildings, walk around peacefully, and eat amazing risotto.