Canal Grande, Grand Canal
- Rialto Bridge, Rialto district Academy Bridge, Ponte degli Scalzi, Palazzo della Regione del Veneto, Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, Santa Maria di Nazareth Church, Chiesa di San Simeone Piccolo, Ca' Rezzonico, Bridges, churches, palaces
Venice is famous for its large number of canals. The most central one is Grand Canal, or Canal Grande. Canal Grande (Grand Canal) is the main canal that goes in a S shape through center of the city, and were the four large bridges connect the West part with the East part of Centro Storico. The Grand Canal is 90m wide and 3.8km long. It has been the main transport hub for centuries. Along the canal you find some of the most magnificent palaces in different styles.
The Rialto Bridge (Ponte di Rialto) that is the oldest bridge that goes over Canal Grande. It is a much larger white stone bridge from 1591 (current) and connects the district San Marco and San Polo. It is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Venice. Another magnificent bridge over the Grand Canal, is the Academy Bridge (Ponte dell’ Accademia). It is a wooden bridge designed by Eugenio Miozzi. Ponte degli Scalzi, is a stone arch bridge from 1934 that looks like a more simple version of the Rialto Bridge, is the last (or first if you approach from the railway station) of the three historic bridges over Canal Grande.
From Piazzale Roma that is the last place where you see cars, there is a curvy futuristic bridge, Constitution Bridge, or Ponte di Calatrava, that was actually designed by Santiago Calatrava himself. The bridge leads to the magic Centro Storico, that is a totally different world. The bridge had its share of problems, it can be slippery in the winter and the glass floor has been cracked on many places (Calatrava's bridge in Bilbao has similar problems, we saw a TV documentary about it the day before) and many Venetians and tourists don't like the bridge because they think it is too modern.
Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute is a large white baroque church in the Southermost part of Canal Grande. It is one of the most prominent churches in Venice, construction started in 1630 in the honour of Virgin Mary, in hope that the plague should end. The plague took the life of 1/3 of Venice’s citizens. If you arrive in Venice via Caltrava's Constitution Bridge, you will walk along Fondamenta Santa Chiara with Canal Grande on the right side and the first buildings that appear are Palazzo della Regione del Veneto (Palace of the Venetian Region), a large pinkish baroque palace, and the beautiful 17th century baroque church Chiesa di Santa Maria di Nazareth, also called Church of Scalzi, the seat of Discalced Carmelites, facing the canal. A notable church on the other side of the Grand Canal, is the Church of San Simeone Piccolo, a large white neo-classicist building with green dome from 1738 , facing the Santa Lucia Station.
There are many palaces along Canal Grande. Ca' Rezzonico is a white marble palace along the Grand Canal, that is a fine example of 18th century Venetian baroque and rococo, and houses paintings of famous Venetian painters. Ca’Pesaro is another marble palace along the Canal Grande, it was built for the wealthy Pesaro family in the 17th century. Ca' Corner della Regina (Palace of the Queen from the Cornaro Family) was named so because Caterina Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus was born in this Baroque palace in 1454. Palazzo Bembo is a red, spectacular building in Venetian Gothic/Byzantine style, built for the noble Bembo family in the 15th century. It is now a hotel. Next to it is the white Palazzo Dolfin Manin, also facing Canal Grande, as well as Palazzo Loredan (or Ca’Loredan) that is a 13th century Romanesque palace built for the Loredan family. The main floor’s Council Hall features works of art by several artists. It is now the City Hall together with Ca’Farsetti, a grey palace that is right next to it, connected to the red Palazzo Cavalli, that is the Town Hall. Palazzo Cavallli-Franzetti is a grandiose yellow and white Venetian Gothic palace that houses that the Academy of Sciences. The Ca' d'Oro or Palazzo Santa Sofia is one of the oldest palaces in Venice, built 1428-1430 for the Contarini family, from which eight doges derived from. Palazzo Grassi is another palace, in Venetian classical style.
Every vehicle that you find in a normal city, you will find in Venice in boat form instead; police boats, ambulance boats, fire boats, post boats, delivery boats, taxi boats, excavator boats…you name it! The vaporetto is a sort of water bus, or ferry, that takes commuters and tourists along the Grand Canal. Keep in mind that you have to plan plenty of time for this, as they are very slow and stop at every station along the canal. We didn't. It can also be hard to film or take photos, since these boats are really crowded and you can’t look up because there is a roof, but the sides are open so you can actually see things from the sides of the boat. There is also an indoor part for commuters that don’t want to stand in the crowd of moving tourists.
