Address: Italy, Venice
Length: 3800 m
Depth: 5 m
Coordinates: 45 ° 26'21.6 "N 12 ° 20'09.0" E
Content:
Short description
When they talk about the main transport artery of any city, in almost all cases they mean a wide road with high traffic capacity, along which a large number of cars and public transport can simultaneously move.
Vaporetto (river tram) on the Grand Canal
This generally accepted definition is completely inappropriate for the unique Italian city of Venice, where a water canal serves as the main transport artery. It has several names at once: the Grand Canal, the Grand Canal and even the Canal of Palaces. No, it was not built by human hands, like, for example, the famous Panama Canal. Canal Grande is the most common, naturally formed channel, which can easily reach almost anywhere in the city. and the islands of the picturesque Venetian lagoon. A distinctive feature of the Grand Canal is a huge number of magnificent buildings erected by famous architects on its "banks".
The Grand Canal in Venice: "dry" data
According to research carried out by the sociological services, Venice is visited by at least 3,500,000 people annually. Almost all tourists and people who come to this city on a business visit, even with all their desire, cannot but take a walk along its main transport artery. Speaking about the Grand Canal, it should be noted that many art critics also call it an open-air museum. There is nothing surprising in this: on both sides there is a huge number of attractions, historical and architectural monuments.
View of the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge
All the luxurious palaces and houses that can be seen while traveling along the Grand Canal of Venice, and built in various architectural styles, stretch for almost 4 kilometers (the length of the city's main transport artery). The width of this, one might say, a miracle of nature, decorated with human hands, in some places reaches 70 meters, and in the narrowest part of the strait it does not exceed 30 meters. The greatest depth of the Grand Canal, which seems to "cut" the city into two parts of different sizes, is 5 meters.
You can get to any of its districts along the main transport artery of Venice, but we should not forget that it is divided into 45 (!) Small canals (rio). Along these small waterways, the indigenous people visit their places of work and shops, and return home. By the way, despite the fact that it is impossible to get from one end of the city to the other, bypassing the Grand Canal, the builders erected only four bridges across it... This is despite the fact that in total in Venice you can count over 400 (!) Bridges connecting streets and lanes.
View of the Grand Canal from the Scalzi bridge
The grandeur of the Canal of palaces in Venice
If this article was not about a Venetian landmark, but about some megalopolis, then it would be possible to provide "dry" statistical data for an infinitely long time. They don't talk about Venice like that, not only admired tourists and guides, but even scientists do not speak: this city is amazing and inimitable, any building and canal in it are unique and have their own history and legend. One has only to imagine that on both sides of the Grand Canal there are just over a hundred palaces, each of which is a real architectural masterpiece, and then an irresistible desire arises to sit in one of the luxurious gondolas and go on a leisurely excursion.
You can arrange a walk along the canal and its many branches with the gondolier at the gondola pier. It is located right behind the station square, where most tourists buy colorful souvenirs and gifts for family and close friends. By the way, prices at this largest and noisiest bazaar in Venice are unusually expensive. Do not forget that "Serene" is considered one of the most expensive cities in the world, so if the budget is limited, it is best to buy fridge magnets, shawls and jumpers elsewhere.
The Grand Canal overlooking the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute
After arriving at the pier, almost all tourists sit in the amazing beauty of the gondola, at the stern of which there is a gondolier. From this moment, a real journey into a fairy tale begins for the happy guests of the city: many light special lanterns and slowly go to their hotels or on an excursion to numerous attractions. It will not be an exaggeration to say that a gondola ride along the Grand Canal to the most popular Doge's Palace (if you do not take into account the Golden Palace) is already a close acquaintance with Venice, because during it you can see a lot of sights and get a certain idea of the architectural styles , characteristic of "Serene".
Many guides who conduct excursions around the city on the water call the largest canal in the city a huge museum hall, in which the entire exposition consists of beautiful palaces and other no less magnificent buildings. Surprisingly, all the buildings on both sides of the main transport artery of Venice were built no later than the middle of the 17th century.
Gondola parking on the Grand Canal
Since those distant times, palaces and houses have not been rebuilt, moreover, it was forbidden even to change the decoration of their facades. For people who have arrived in the city on the water on a business trip and do not plan an excursion, it will be useful to know that you can cross the canal not only on a slow gondola, but also on a special ferry and a high-speed motor boat called a vaporetto. By the way, these boats are used by most of the Venetians: movement on them is prohibited only in especially narrow channels, where the wave from the side of the ship can flood the first floor of the building.
On both sides of the Canal of Palaces, each building has brightly colored striped pillars to which the gondoliers tie their sumptuous vessels adorned with golden figures.... Especially many of these pillars have been erected at the most significant sights of the Grand Canal and at the hotel called Splendid Suize. The entrance to this expensive and comfortable hotel and many palaces is a balcony, which tourists enter directly from the boat.
Gondolas on the Grand Canal
Do not be surprised if in one of the historic buildings located on the Grand Canal, a spa salon, a restaurant or an ultra-modern casino will offer its services: despite the fact that all the monuments are the property of Italy, the areas in them are leased to entrepreneurs. This allows us to attract even more tourists who like to spend time in entertainment establishments. The construction of a new building near the Grand Canal in Venice is impossible. If a restaurant or a casino is located on the lower floor of a palace, in any case there is a museum or a huge art gallery on the upper floors. It just so happened in a beautiful and romantic city…. Due to the lack of space, the Venetians have been adapting each of their buildings for different needs since ancient times.
