Venice

Venice
Venezia (Italian)
Venesia (Venetian)
Comune di Venezia
Coat of arms of Venice
Location of Venice
Map
Venice is located in Italy
Venice
Venice
Location of Venice in Veneto
Venice is located in Veneto
Venice
Venice
Venice (Veneto)
Coordinates: 45°26′15″N 12°20′9″E / 45.43750°N 12.33583°E / 45.43750; 12.33583
CountryItaly
RegionVeneto
Metropolitan cityVenice (VE)
FrazioniChirignago, Favaro Veneto, Mestre, Marghera, Murano, Burano, Giudecca, Lido, Zelarino
Government
 • MayorLuigi Brugnaro (CI)
Area
 • Total414.57 km2 (160.07 sq mi)
Elevation
1 m (3 ft)
Population
 (2020)[2]
 • Total258,685
 • Density620/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Veneziano
Venetian (English)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
30100
Dialing code041
ISTAT code027042
Patron saintSt. Mark the Evangelist
Saint day25 April
WebsiteOfficial website
Venice and its Lagoon
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Venice in autumn, with the Rialto Bridge in the background
CriteriaCultural: i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi
Reference394
Inscription1987 (11th Session)
Venice
Map
About OpenStreetMaps
Maps: terms of use
1km
0.6miles
Tronchetto
12
Tronchetto
Santa Lucia
railway station
11
Venezia Santa Lucia railway station
Santa Croce
10
Santa Croce (Venice)
Dorsoduro
9
Dorsoduro
Castello
8
Castello, Venice
Isola di
San Michele
7
Isola di San Michele
Cannaregio
6
Cannaregio
Santa Maria della Salute
5
Santa Maria della Salute
Bridge of
Sighs
4
Bridge of Sighs
Grand Canal
3
Grand Canal (Venice)
Piazza
San Marco
2
Piazza San Marco St Mark's Basilica St Mark's Campanile Horses of Saint Mark Doge's Palace
Rialto Bridge
1
Rialto Bridge

Venice (/ˈvɛnɪs/ VEN-iss; Italian: Venezia [veˈnɛttsja] ; Venetian: Venesia [veˈnɛsja], formerly Venexia [veˈnɛzja]) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 126 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are linked by 472 bridges.[3] The islands are in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay lying between the mouths of the Po and the Piave rivers (more exactly between the Brenta and the Sile). In 2020, around 258,685 people resided in greater Venice or the Comune di Venezia, of whom around 51,000 live in the historical island city of Venice (centro storico) and the rest on the mainland (terraferma). Together with the cities of Padua and Treviso, Venice is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area (PATREVE), which is considered a statistical metropolitan area, with a total population of 2.6 million.[4]

The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC.[5][6] The city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice for almost a millennium, from 810 to 1797. It was a major financial and maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and a staging area for the Crusades and the Battle of Lepanto, as well as an important centre of commerce—especially silk, grain, and spice, and of art from the 13th century to the end of the 17th. The city-state of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial centre, emerging in the 9th century and reaching its greatest prominence in the 14th century.[7] This made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history.[8] For centuries Venice possessed numerous territories along the Adriatic Sea and within the Italian peninsula, leaving a significant impact on the architecture and culture that can still be seen today.[9][10] The Venetian Arsenal is considered by several historians to be the first factory in history, and was the base of Venice's naval power.[11] The sovereignty of Venice came to an end in 1797, at the hands of Napoleon. Subsequently, in 1866, the city became part of the Kingdom of Italy.[12]

Venice has been known as "La Dominante", "La Serenissima", "Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Masks", "City of Bridges", "The Floating City", and "City of Canals". The lagoon and the historic parts of the city within the lagoon were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, covering an area of 70,176.4 hectares (173,410 acres).[13] Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, and artwork.[13] Venice is known for several important artistic movements – especially during the Renaissance period – and has played an important role in the history of instrumental and operatic music; it is the birthplace of Baroque composers Tomaso Albinoni and Antonio Vivaldi.[14]

In the 21st century, Venice remains a very popular tourist destination, a major cultural centre, and has often been ranked one of the most beautiful cities in the world.[15][16] It has been described by The Times as one of Europe's most romantic cities[17] and by The New York Times as "undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man".[18] However, the city faces challenges including an excessive number of tourists, pollution, tide peaks and cruise ships sailing too close to buildings.[19][20][21] In light of the fact that Venice and its lagoon are under constant threat in terms of their ecology and cultural heritage, Venice's UNESCO listing has been under constant examination by UNESCO.[22]

  1. ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2020" [Resident population as of 1 January 2020]. Italian National Institute of Statistics. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  3. ^ "The Bridges of Venice". ArcGIS StoryMaps. 19 June 2023. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Patreve, l'attuale governance non-funziona" [Patreve, the current governance doesn't work] (PDF) (in Italian). Venice International University. 6 March 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 December 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  5. ^ Harper, Douglas (10 October 2017). "Venice | Etymology of the name Venice by etymonline". Online Etymology Dictionary. Archived from the original on 28 February 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  6. ^ Charnock, Richard Stephen (1859). Local Etymology: A derivative dictionary of geographical names. London: Houlston and Wright. p. 288. LCCN 08032183. OCLC 4696115. Pepin, as king of Italy, granted some territory along the banks of the Adige, and Rivo Alto (Rialto), united with neighbouring islands, took the name of Venetiæ, from the province of Venetia, the territory of the ancient Veneti, of which these islands formed a dependency.
  7. ^ Coispeau, Olivier (10 August 2016). Finance Masters: A brief history of international financial centers in the last millennium. World Scientific. ISBN 9789813108844.
  8. ^ Klotz, Justin (11 October 1998). "Venetian Music of the Renaissance". Vanderbilt University. Archived from the original on 14 June 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  9. ^ Vladisavljevic, Anja (19 February 2020). "Giovanni Vale: Venice's Legacy Still Shapes the Balkans". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  10. ^ River, Charles (2019). The Republic of Venice: The History of the Venetian Empire and Its Influence Across the Mediterranean. Independently Published.
  11. ^ Coulling, Ian (3 October 2020). "The Arsenal of Venice". Images of Venice. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  12. ^ "History of Venice – Present, past and future of Venice". www.introducingvenice.com. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  13. ^ a b "Venice and its Lagoon". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  14. ^ Chambers, David (1992). Venice: A documentary history. England: Oxford. p. 78. ISBN 0-8020-8424-9.
  15. ^ "Top 10 most Beautiful Cities in the World 2017". The Mesh News. 28 July 2016. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  16. ^ "Top 10 most Beautiful Cities in the World 2018". worldchacha.com. 2 September 2018. Archived from the original on 9 November 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  17. ^ Bleach, Stephen; Schofield, Brian; Crump, Vincent (17 June 2007). "Europe's most romantic city breaks". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 7 May 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  18. ^ Barzini, Luigi (30 May 1982). "The Most Beautiful and Wonderful City In The World". The New York Times.
  19. ^ Worrall, Simon (16 October 2016). "Tourists could destroy Venice – If floods don't first". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  20. ^ Buckley, Jonathan (2 November 2016). "When will Venice sink? You asked Google – Here's the answer". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  21. ^ "Venice just banned mega cruise ships from sailing through the city". The Independent. UK. 8 November 2017. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022.
  22. ^ "Decision 44 COM 7B.50 Venice and its Lagoon (Italy) (C 394)". UNESCO. Retrieved 5 March 2023.