This is a satellite view of Venice. Clicking on it will bring you to a much larger version. I've labeled a few of main tourist sights and the areas where cruise ships dock. The large picture is very large, and it may take a while to load on your computer.

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Not much to say about these pictures, except that they are of one of the most beautiful places in the world. The Piazza San Marco has two of Venice's most important sights - The Doges' Palace (Palazzo Ducale), and St. Mark's Cathedral (San Marco). St. Mark's and the Doges' Palace were founded in the 9th century and both have been renovated many times since. The bell tower (Campanile) was built in 1902 to replace an earlier version that collapsed. Napoleon described St. Mark's square as the "Most elegant drawing room in Europe."

This was my third visit to Venice and I knew my way around. I had no trouble making from the ship to the square and back before our ship left its temporary dock. After we left the ship for our two-day stay in Venice, Roberta and I didn't spend much time in St. Mark's square. There were too many tourists, and way too many pigeons.

The next morning, we left the Casanova for our two-night stay in Venice. We stayed at the Hotel Luna Baglioni, which is the oldest hotel in Venice. It’s very close to St. Mark’s Square and has its own dock if you’re arriving by water taxi. We stayed at the same hotel ten years ago, after it had recently been renovated. Unfortunately, it seemed a little worn to us this time, and definitely not worth the extremely high cost.

The picture to the left is of the dining room where breakfast is served.

We spent the last two days of our vacation walking around and enjoying Venice. The pictures below were taken on our walks.

The Rialto Bridge, remained the only way of crossing the grand canal until 1854 when the Academia Bridge was built. We ate lunch very near where this picture was taken. It's one of the few areas on the Grand Canal that has space enough for a couple of restaurants.

The two pictures below were taken from the bridge. We ate lunch in one of the restaurants on the right, then crossed the bridge and took a vaporetto (a water bus) back to our hotel.

The pictures to the left was taken just outside of our hotel. All of the pictures below were taken on our walks during our second day in Venice; and again, they're all in order.

The two pictures below were taken near and on the Academia Bridge.The Academia houses the greatest collection of Venetian Paintings in the world.

St.Mark is the Patron Saint of Venice, and his symbol is the winged lion. St.Mark's Cathedral in Venice houses his bones, which were stolen from Alexandria, Egypt in about 828 A.D.

A little history... Although it was previously thought to have been founded by mainlanders fleeing from the Barbarians in 421, Venice was actually founded by the Romans in the 1st century. Venice became a wealthy independent trading republic in the 10th century and was also renowned as a center of early publishing. Fifteen percent of all printed books before 1500 were printed in Venice. It was governed by an aristocratic oligarchy (a political system controlled by a few aristocrats) which was called The Council of Ten and a senate, which appointed the doge.

In 1204 Doge Enrico Dandolo led the the Fourth Crusade in storming Constantinople (Istanbul). The Crusades did much to develop Venice’s trade with the Near East and Asia. The Eastern influence of Byzantium characterized much of Venetian art and architecture, and its influence is clearly visible in St Mark’s Cathedral. During the 15th century, the city grew into the most powerful of the Italian states and Europe’s leading sea power. It opened lucrative trade routes to the Far East, and distributed its imports throughout Western Europe. By the mid-15th century the Venetian Empire stretched to the Alps and included Crete. It also ruled Istria, Dalmatia, Ravenna, and parts of Lombardy and Apulia.

In the latter half of the 15th century Venice’s decline began. The chief causes of its decline were the Turkish conquest of Constantinople, the discovery of America, the Cape route around Africa, and the rise of the great European powers. Venice helped defeat the Ottoman Empire in the naval Battle of Lepanto (1571), but the republic was overthrown by Napoleon I in 1797. It passed to Austria by the Treaty of Campo Formio (1797) and became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1866.

We backed out of the gondola dock and started our ride by going down the Rio di Palazzo, which is the canal next to the Doge's Palace.

The Bridge of Sighs over Rio di Palazzo was erected in the year 1600 to connect the Doge's prisons with the inquisitor's rooms in the main palace. The name "Bridge of Sighs" was invented in the 19th Century, when Lord Byron helped to popularize the belief that the bridge's name was inspired by the sighs of condemned prisoners as they were led through it to the executioner.

The gondola was very comfortable, and we had a relaxing 40-minute tour through the heart of Venice. If you're planning on visiting Venice, don't miss taking a gondola ride. It gives you a completely different view of the city.

The picture to the left is my favorite from our gondola ride. I took it as we pulled into the dock. After our ride, we decided to sit in one of the outdoor cafes in St. Mark's square. We picked a cafe that was featured in the movie Summertime, with Katherine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi. Although I didn't like the ending, I recommend renting this movie before your first trip to Venice.

Some of the cafes in the square have small orchestras, and it's nice to sit at one and listen to the music.

After our ice cream, it was back to the hotel to pack and get ready for our flight home.

We left Venice very early the next morning. Our trip started with a very scenic 45 minute private water-taxi ride from the hotel to Venice Airport. From there we took a 1 1/2 hour flight to Paris, then a 12 hour flight home to Los Angeles.

Venice has always been one of my favorite places since the first time that I was there in 1990. I hope that we return there soon.

I saved the best picture for last; and, the ironic thing is that it wasn't taken by me! This is picture of us taken by our gondolier.

If you discovered my site because you're researching your own future trip to Italy, Buono Viaggio!

I hope that you enjoyed my pictures. It's a pleasure to share them with you!

Italian Music Recommendation...

I've been to Italy four times, but the best Italian music I've heard is from Al Fabrizio and Hugo Wainzinger of HeartStrings Music, based in Mountain View, California.

My brother, Joe, heard Al playing in a San Jose mall. He bought one of Al and Hugo's albums and sent it to me. Since then, I've been enjoying their music, and I highly recommend their albums.

This is a picture of me, Al, and Hugo at my nephew Mark's wedding in October 2005. When Mark told me that he was getting married, I told my brother that he should get Al and Hugo to play at the wedding.

My favorite song is their rendition of "Summertime in Venice", from the movie "Summertime", starring Audrey Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi.

Their albums are available on Amazon.com and Cdbaby.com (search Fabrizio).