A city in decadence

As I already suggested, indirectly, in the last post, Venice is a city in decadence: the visitor can easily experience this after a short time in the city. Beyond the typical view all of us have (gondolas, canals, bridges, churches,...), it is crystal clear that the best years of the city are gone and it seems that it just moves slowly towards its end (do not forget that Venice is facing increasing problems with the high waters, much more often now than before).If there is something that Venice has, it is churches. Every square there, except two (according to my guide), has a church. But over all of them I must mention San Marco. It is definitively a different church, much influenced by byzantine architecture. For example, it is not crucifix-shaped and its walls and ceilings are full of colourful mosaics, two features that I had never seen in any other church before.

The best views from Piazza di San Marco are those from the island in front of it (San Giorgio), as you can see in the picture below.Venice is composed of several islands, the two main of them staying around the Canal Grande. But there are many others, being Murano probably the most remarkable. Murano is known for its glass factories. In my case, I was lucky when I arrived as to watch a demonstration of how glass is made and then I could access the exclusive part of the factory's shop, with masterpieces whose price was beyond 45.000 €. It was quite a remarkable experience, much like being in a museum.

Another remakable place to visit in Venice is the Jewish Ghetto. The word ghetto was actually taken from here. The island where the Jews lived in Venice was closed during the nights, so that nobody could leave or enter into it. For this reason, the highest buildings of Venice are to be found here, with six or seven floors (quite an interesting number for buildings from XVI century).

One of the places more crowded with tourists is the "Bridge of sights". Contrary to what many think, it has nothing to do with love. It was the bridge joining the court with the jail and the sighs where those coming from the people going into jail, when they saw Venice for the last time in a long time. It should not be forgotten that Venice built its power, among other sources, from its own "Black legend". But the Dux was not exercising an absolute power, but, on the contrary, his powers were rather limited, when compared with similar rulers in Europe, since there were a number of assemblies and boards governing the city. Regarding the picture below, Venice was quite good at sailing, but its maps were maybe not so accurate: the ocean you see is the Pacific Ocean, between California and China.Anyway, I do not want to bore you. Visiting Venice is a must for everybody, for its history, for its beauty and for everything.