Canals of Venice

Travel in Venice requires access to boats in many cases.  There are over 400 walking bridges throughout the city, but some islands are still separated. St. George's Island (in the background below) is the home of a church and a monastery.  The island also protects the rest of the city by blocking the power of the Adriatic Sea and allows a lagoon to form with brackish water and the relatively calm waters of the many canals.  Wherever I looked, there were boats delivering people and goods. Most notably, the gondolas were available throughout the city.

I never quite understood how Venice was built. I always tried to figure out if the canals or land were formed first! Over hundreds of years, the desire if the Venetians to connect with each other lead to the filling in of land, the building of bridges, and a way of life where no cars are needed, walking streets are so narrow that there are rules for walking to the right as hand carts deliver goods, and cutting down a tree requires permits because removing the logs is not an easy process.

A view from the lagoon of the Church of Santa Maria Della Salute (left with the dome) to the Place of the Doge (right of the tower).  The Grand Canal entrance is between the two.  This is not a continuous skyline. It overlaps with the canal hidden behind the church.

I am enjoying the view of the Venetian skyline as our ship makes its way through the lagoon on the way out of the city.