Venice Trip: A little history, gondolas and a few sighs

We researched a bit about Venice, as the kids were bound to ask many questions. Firstly, the city of Venice is actually spread out across 117 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon. The independent country, the Republic of Venice, of which Venice was the capital, was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and a staging area for the Crusades, as well as a very important center of commerce and art in the 13th century up to the end of the 17th century. Venice's status began to decline in the 15th century, when it engaged in battle with the Turks, then was lost behind in the race across the Atlantic for colonies and also by a series of plagues. In 1630, the plague killed a third of Venice's 150,000 citizens.

The buildings of Venice are constructed on closely spaced wood piles, which were imported from the mainland. (Under water, in the absence of oxygen, wood does not decay, rather it petrifies and becomes a stone-like structure.) During the 20th century, when many artesian wells were sunk into the periphery of the lagoon to draw water for local industry, Venice began to sink. This sinking process has slowed markedly (some say it has stopped completely) since artesian wells were banned in the 1960s. However, the city is still threatened by more frequent low-level floods, regularly following certain tides. In many old houses the former staircases used by people to unload goods are now flooded, rendering the former ground floor uninhabitable.

We first walked along the shore and gondolas were everywhere. Gondolas are traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat -- gondoliers never stick a pole into the bottom of the lagoon to propel the boat forward -- the water of Venice are too deep. For centuries gondolas were once the chief means of transportation within Venice. Today, the iconic boats still have a role in public transport in the city, serving as traghetti (ferries) over the Grand Canal. They are also used in special regattas (rowing races) held amongst gondoliers. Their primary role, however, is to carry tourists on rides at established prices. If you pay a little extra, you can have musical accompaniment. We saw some tourists having gondola rides with a guitarist and others with an accordion player and singer.



Until the early 20th century, gondolas had a small cabin, to protect the passengers from the weather or from onlookers. Its windows could be closed with louvered shutters -- the original "venetian blinds." The cabins were disbanded, possibly in response to tourists complaining that it blocked the view. There was once a law requiring that all gondolas be painted black, and that custom continues today.

The famous Bridge of Sighs. *Sigh* This was not how we were hoping to see it, looking like a ride from Disneyland. This is how we were hoping to see it:

Built in 1602, the white limestone bridge passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the old prisons to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace. The view from the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment. The bridge name, given by Lord Byron in the 19th century, comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice out the window before being taken down to their cells. In reality, the days of inquisitions and summary executions were over by the time the bridge was built, and the cells under the palace roof were occupied mostly by small-time criminals.