Hotels in Venice, Italy

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Venice

The impressions one has of Venice, ring true. This is a place like no other.

We have all seen the images of the unique city state dozens of time, but the running canals, Basilica di San Marco and Ducal Palace never fail to impress, when you see them for the first time in the flesh, even when accompanied by hordes of tourists (a less positive side of tourism which also rings true).

Gastronomy Venice and the wider region of Veneto can lay claim, alongside Lombardy, to producing the best rice dishes in Italy. In part, this is due to the influence of products coming from the east which included the importing of not only rice but spices like nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon.

Being a water based city, Venice is very keen on fish, a notable dish being Seppie in tegame (cuttlefish), Risotto al radicchio rosso (Risotto with red chicory) Filetto di manzo al vino (fillet of beed I wine).

History Venice's history as an autonomous state began some time during the early Middle Ages, after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, and continued for more than 1,100 years until the Napoleonic era.

By then Venice became a great Mediterranean naval power, greatly strengthened by her role as intermediary between East and West. With the conquest of Constantinople in 1204 she became the dominant power in the Levant.

The rise of the great monarchies from the 16th century onwards however, spelt the end of the medieval city state and Venice was no exception. By the time of Napoleon’s intervention and Austrian rule, Venice’s role was no longer one of a regional superpower and it gradually lipped into becoming a picturesque location with little political clout.

The politics of intrigue has been substituted by the politics of tourism, which provided the region with a major lifeline.

Culture Venice is world renowned for its festivals, and whilst some have been reinstated over the years for tourism purposes, they never fail to impress for their colour and sheer sophistication: Carnevale / Carnival, Festa della Sensa / Festival of the Ascension, Regata Storica / Historical regatta, Festa del Redentore / Feast of the Redeemer, Festa della Madonna della Salute / Our lady of Good Health and San Martino: the cake.

Museums in Venice: the Academy Galleries house the major collections of Venetian painting from 1300 to 1700; the G. Franchetti Gallery houses important paintings, while Guggenheim collection exhibits international works of contemporary art.

In the Palazzo Grassi, exhibitions of international interest are organized every year. In this beautiful city there are also: the Museum of the eighteenth century life in Venice with tapestries, attire, furniture and paintings; the National Gallery of Modern Art, the Oriental Museum and the Correr Museum, which is reserved to Renaissance masterpieces.

In Verona the Civic Museum of Art, which is devoted to the great Verona painting, the Archaeologic Museum and the Museum of Frescoes can be visited. Vicenza offers: the Civic Museum (ethnology and archaeology) and the Pinacoteca. In Padua the famous Scrovegni Chapel, with Giotto’s frescoes, can be admired; the Civic Museum and the botanic garden, the oldest in Europe, can be admired.

In Treviso there is the Museum of the Casa Trevigiana with modern furniture and sculptures. Rovigo has the Gallery of the Concordi (Venetian school from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century) and the Civic Museum of the Polesine Civilization.