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by Manos Angelakis
La Bella Venezia
 Venice is built on one hundred and seventeen small islands, and is crisscrossed by one hundred and fifty canals, connected by an amazing four hundred and nine bridges, of which only three ( Ponte dell’ Accademia, Ponte di Rialto, Ponte Scalzi) cross the Grand Canal.
Most visitors to Venice land at Marco Polo airport, 12 km from Venice, and take transportation to the city. Both airport busses terminating in the Piazzale Roma station, and vaporetti (waterborne buses) are available. Of course, there are also the motoscafi, taxi boats that link Venice Airport, which is on the mainland, directly to the center of the City i.e. St. Mark’s square, Rialto Bridge, the train station, the luxury hotels on the Grand Canal, the cruise ship docks and Lido beach.  The classic gondola ride with the “O Sole Mio” warbling gondolier is pretty touristy and very expensive but a unique, not to be missed, experience. The traghetto is a commuter gondola used by Venice’s residents to cross the Grand Canal at strategic points.
Actually, Venice is the perfect place to walk for hours on end, pretending to know where you are. A map is useful, though nowadays if you look up at the corners of the alleyways that pass as streets (Calle) you will see, at strategic points, signs pointing to important destinations, such as Piazza San Marco, the Rialto etc. The real Venice is hidden in an endless maze of back streets and deserted squares.
It's almost always high season in Venice, although the city is busiest in spring (April-May) and September-October. Accommodations can be hard to find then, as well as around Christmas, New Year and during il Carnevale (February). Like Italy's other great tourist cities, Venice is at its worst in the summer (June-August): it's crowded, oppressively hot and humid. Weatherwise, the most pleasant time of year to visit is late March into May, with clear spring days and comparatively smaller crowds. September is the next best in terms of weather, but October is quieter. Flooding occurs in November and December, and winter can be unpleasantly cold and damp. 
Dating back to the second half of the 13th Century, the Venetian Historical Regatta (Regata Storica) is a spectacular competition whose origins are firmly entrenched in the history of Venice. It takes place on the first Sunday of September and it begins with a ceremonial parade along the Grand Canal of historical boats manned by Venetians in period costume. The regatta of Venice, reenacted on an annual basis, recalls a famous procession of the 16th Century when Caterina Cornaro, a native Venetian who was later crowned Queen of Cyprus, returned to Venice to deliver the island of Cyprus into the hands of the Venetians. 
For a thousand years the city was one of the most enduring mercantile sea powers on the face of the earth. Today the brilliance and influence have long since faded, leaving a town out of time, so beautiful it's hard not to look for the back of the set. With the dramatic Basilica as a backdrop, Piazza San Marco seems to be a stage and all the men and women, tourists and locals alike, even the multitude of pigeons, are merely players.
Piazza San Marco is the only true “square” in Venice (it is actually an oblong - but I won’t quibble about definitions). The other open areas in the city are called campi. Piazza San Marco has been the scene of some of the most important political activities of the Serenissima. as Venice was known at the height of its power, as well as the center of Venetian social life for almost a millennium. The present form reflects the works of many famous architects Sansovino, Longhena, Scamozzi, and Tirani to name but a few. Two of the most photographed buildings in the world, St. Mark’s Basilica and the Ducal Palace, which was the residence of the Doge up to the fall of the Venetian Republic, form one side of the square. Shops and patisseries, including the famous  Florian, the quintessential Venetian café, line the other sides.
Art has always been important to Venice. Both public and private buildings are decorated with marvelous sculptures and paintings of the most talented Renaissance artists. Artist’s canvas was a Venetian invention. It is not by chance that Peggy Guggenheim, one of the most influential dealers and collectors of early 20th Century art made Venice, not Paris, her home.
Every nook and cranny of Venice is filled with shops reprising the same wares: glass, lace & masks. They're expensive and often of doubtful origin, unless you visit the actual factories or workshops. Be ready to bargain as if you were born in a bazaar. My most effective ploy has been “Hey! I’m not American, I’m Greek” spoken in broken Italian.
The food in the touristy parts of the city can be outrageously poor and expensive, or outrageously great... and expensive. But wander off the beaten track; there are restaurants, osterias, trattorias and bacari (the Venetian version of the tapas bar) that can satisfy every appetite and every pocket. Obviously, fish and seafood are the primary and freshest ingredients (see Ristorante Antico Pignolo and De Pisis, two great restaurants we visited while in Venice). Pasta is as popular a primo piatto as is risotto, but that is only because tourists when in Italy demand pasta and the cooks are delighted to oblige - pasta is a lot easier and faster to prepare than a good risotto. Soave, is the perfect complement for the city’s best dishes -- full flavored, fresh seafood. We always order house Soave, usually a mixture of 10% Trebbiano and 90% Garganega, a fresh, highly fruity but complex and not cloyingly aromatic wine. Prosecco, is the second most popular local wine, a light sparkler that is also refreshing and aromatic. It is the base for Venice’s famous Bellini; but a lot of cheap prosecco is being pored. When the Prosecco is good, it is very good, and the one we had at Antico Pignolo proved the point. When ordering Prosecco, ask for a Cartizze bottle (wine from a specific hill where the best prosecco grapes are grown). You certainly pay more but you will get an outstanding wine.
Venice is a wonderful city, not only fascinating statistics. Its residents are friendly and warm, excellent raconteurs, and proud of their traditions. If you have never been there, now is the time to visit because it could eventually sink to the bottom of the lagoon, and the world will be poorer for its loss.
© November 2006 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
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