Getting to Know Venice, Italy
April 6th, 2007 by Chris Fury
Have you ever heard about the “City of Water”? Well, you will find this city in Italy, called Venice. Venice is completely unique being that it is built on many small islands and surrounded by water. You will not find another place like this anywhere. That is why Venice is one of the most popular cities in the world.
Venice is a great place to vacation and I am sure that everyone has dreamed about visiting at one point because it is so extraordinary. The city was built on about 120 different islands and there are canals, bridges and ancient pavements all throughout the city. A solid foundation is holding all the buildings in place with wooden posts that are driven into the ground. These piles are very strong and do not decay because the soil is waterlogged and does not have any oxygen, the absence of oxygen preserves the wood.
Boats are the main means of transportation and the canals take the function of roads. They have boats moving around the city just like other cities such as New York or Chicago will have cars and other means of transportation to get around. Motorized water buses make their routine routes around the canals such as a subway would do. Because of the unusual circumstances, you will basically be getting around on foot or water.
The best time to visit is in the spring time. The winter time can get extremely cold and unpleasant but the scenery can be amazing. In the summer the heat can get rather excessive. The choice is certainly yours but I think that you would be better off in the spring because the heat is not too scorching and will be most comfortable.
You might want to make your visit soon if you have never done so yet. The reason I say this is because the city is actually believed to be sinking. Some tests suggest that the city is no longer sinking but they are not quite certain yet. More studies will have to be conducted and plans of saving the city are in progress right now.
