Venice shimmers with an essence as alluring as
the visions of a romantic imagination. Mists rise on the canals and
glimmer in the sunlight as if lifted from an impressionist's canvas. A
city of islands, its dignified buildings and warm, confident people thrive
now as surely as they did during 1,000 years of sovereignty over the
seafaring world. Today, it isn't merchants who flood the canals and
winding streets, but enchanted travelers from every corner of the globe.
They come in search of that which has inspired artists, composers,
writers, and poets for centuries. Vivaldi, Titian, Hemingway, and
countless others criss-crossed the world to reach this Adriatic muse.
Byron, with characteristic passion, literally threw himself into the heart
of Venice, swimming often from his home on the Grand Canal to the resort
of The Lido.
As improbable a city as ever was built, Venice is made up of 117 islands
with 200 canals and over 400 bridges. It was created in the first
millenium by men who fled the mainland barbarians and defied the sea to
establish this lavish city on a lagoon. Venetian creations along with
treasures looted from across the Mediterranean and Asia adorn every
surface you walk, rest, or gaze upon. Just about everyone who has seen it
agrees that it is the most beautiful city in the world. Italian poet
Pietro Aretino rhapsodized that "If the Earthly Paradise where Adam dwelt
with Eve were like Venice, Eve would have had a difficult time tempting
him away from it with a mere fig." Alas, the modern traveler has an
airline departure date to end his Venetian affair, though surely nothing
else would succeed!
It seems almost redundant to describe the charms of Venice. The café's
of St. Mark's Square, Palazzo-lined canals plied by gondolas, the
elegant Doge's Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, and the Church of San
Giorgio Maggiore. Venice could possibly be the most romantic city on
earth.