Venice

Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 117 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by bridges. These are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, and artwork. The lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site.

The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC. Venice is also known as the “Serenissima,” “Queen of the Adriatic,” “City of Water,” “City of Masks,” “City of Bridges,” “The Floating City,” and “City of Canals.”

The Republic of Venice was a major financial and maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, as well as a very important center of commerce and art in the 13th century up to the end of the 17th century. The City State of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center, which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century. This made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history.

Venice is one of the most important tourist destinations in the world for its celebrated art and architecture. The city has an average of 50,000 tourists a day (2007 estimate). In 2006, it was the world’s 28th most internationally visited city, with 2.927 million international arrivals that year.

In the 1980s, the Carnival of Venice was revived and the city has become a major center of international conferences and festivals, such as the prestigious Venice Biennale and the Venice Film Festival, which attract visitors from all over the world for their theatrical, cultural, cinematic, artistic, and musical productions.

Today, there are numerous attractions in Venice, such as St Mark’s Basilica, the Grand Canal, and the Piazza San Marco. The Lido di Venezia is also a popular international luxury destination, attracting thousands of actors, critics, celebrities, and mainly people in the cinematic industry.

Venice is also a major international center for higher education. The city hosts the famous Ca’s Foscari University, founded in 1868.