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45-583: One end of the canal leads into the lagoon near the Santa Lucia railway station and the other end leads into the basin at San Marco ; in between, it makes a large reverse-S shape through the central districts ( sestieri ) of Venice. It is 3.8 kilometres (2.4 miles) long, and 30 to 90 metres (98 to 295 ft) wide, with an average depth of 5 metres (16 feet). The banks of the Grand Canal are lined with more than 170 buildings, most of which date from

90-453: A traghetto , although this service is less common than even a decade ago. Most of the palaces emerge from water without pavement. Consequently, one can only tour past the fronts of the buildings on the grand canal by boat. The Grand Canal probably follows the course of an ancient river (possibly a branch of the Brenta ) flowing into the lagoon. Adriatic Veneti groups already lived beside

135-497: A mint . In 1181 Nicolò Barattieri constructed a pontoon bridge connecting Rialto to Mercerie area, which was later replaced by a wooden bridge with shops on it. Warehouses for flour and salt were more peripheral. From the Byzantine empire, goods arrived together with sculptures, friezes , columns and capitals to decorate the fondaco houses of patrician families. The Byzantine art merged with previous elements resulting in

180-458: A Venetian-Byzantine style; in architecture, it was characterized by large loggias with round or elongated arches and by polychrome marbles abundance. Along the Grand Canal, these elements are well preserved in Ca' Farsetti , Ca' Loredan (both municipal seats) and Ca' da Mosto , all dating back to the 12th or 13th century. During this period Rialto had an intense building development, determining

225-572: A concern The large phytoplankton and macroalgae blooms in the late 1980s proved particularly devastating. Researchers have identified the lagoon as one of the primary areas where non-indigenous species are introduced into the Mediterranean Sea . Cruise ships crossing the Venetian Lagoon have contributed to air pollution, surface-water pollution, decreased water quality, erosion, and loss of landscape. From 1987 to 2003,

270-629: A new shopping centre to be incorporated into the Renaissance building. Benetton promised to transfer 6 million Euro to the city budget in exchange for building permits handed over by the end of 2012. This caused protests among the groups campaigning for preservation of the Italy's historical heritage. Today, the building houses a T Galleria duty-free store as part of the DFS Group . The fondaco (a word of Arabic origin meaning "store-house") has

315-485: A particular architectural taste that continued in the future. The Fourth Crusade , with the loot obtained from the sack of Constantinople (1204) , and other historical situations, gave Venice an Eastern influence until the late 14th century. Venetian Gothic architecture found favor quite late, as a splendid flamboyant Gothic ("gotico fiorito") beginning with the southern façade of the Doge's Palace . The verticality and

360-519: A square plan and has three levels facing a central courtyard. The courtyard contains a medieval well and is currently covered by a steel-glass structure. The façade has, at the lower floor, five large rounded arcades which enclose a portico where once the goods were unloaded from the Canal Grande . The second floor has a long row of double and single mullioned windows which, at the upper floors, are paired by smaller quadrangular windows. The top of

405-631: Is an enclosed bay of the Adriatic Sea , in northern Italy , in which the city of Venice is situated. Its name in the Italian and Venetian languages , Laguna Veneta (cognate of Latin lacus ' lake ' ), has provided the English name for an enclosed, shallow embayment of salt water: a lagoon . The Venetian Lagoon stretches from the River Sile in the north to the Brenta in

450-445: Is connected to the Adriatic Sea by three inlets : Lido , Malamocco and Chioggia . Situated at one end of a largely enclosed sea, the lagoon is subject to large variations in its water level. The most extreme are the spring tides known as the acqua alta (Italian for "high water"), which regularly flood much of Venice. The nearby Marano-Grado Lagoon , with a surface area of around 160 square kilometres (62 square miles),

495-521: Is mostly included in the Metropolitan City of Venice , but the south-western area is part of the Province of Padua . The largest islands or archipelagos by area, excluding coastal reclaimed land and the coastal barrier beaches : Other inhabited islands include: Fondaco dei Tedeschi The Fondaco dei Tedeschi ( Venetian : Fòntego dei Todeschi , in literal English, "warehouse of

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540-777: Is the northernmost lagoon in the Adriatic Sea and is sometimes called the "twin sister of the Venice lagoon". The Lagoon of Venice is the most important survivor of a system of estuarine lagoons that in Roman times extended from Ravenna north to Trieste . In the fifth and sixth centuries, the Lagoon gave security to Romanised people fleeing invaders (mostly the Huns and the Lombards ). Later, it provided naturally protected conditions for

585-567: The Bucentaur , doge's state galley . On November 21, Venetians thank the Virgin Mary for salvation from the plague epidemic in 1630-38 with a pilgrimage to Santa Maria della Salute . Pilgrims cross the Grand Canal on a temporary pontoon bridge from Campo Santa Maria del Giglio, and enjoy stalls and traditional dishes. Venetian Lagoon The Venetian Lagoon ( Italian : Laguna di Venezia ; Venetian : Łaguna de Venesia )

630-766: The Fondaco dei Turchi (13th century, heavily restored in the 19th). With the German warehouse, the Fondaco dei Tedeschi (which is also situated on the Grand Canal), it reflects the high number of foreign merchants working in Venice, where the republic supplied them with storerooms and lodging and simultaneously controlled their trading activity. More public buildings were built along the Canal at Rialto : palaces for commercial and financial Benches ( Palazzo dei Camerlenghi and Palazzo dei Dieci Savi , rebuilt after 1514 fire) and

675-651: The Peggy Guggenheim Collection . The churches along the canal include the basilica of Santa Maria della Salute . Centuries-old traditions, such as the Historical Regatta  [ it ] , are perpetuated every year along the Canal. Because most of the city's traffic goes along the Canal rather than across it, only one bridge crossed the canal until the 19th century, the Rialto Bridge . There are currently three more bridges,

720-463: The Ponte degli Scalzi , the Ponte dell'Accademia , and the controversial Ponte della Costituzione from 2008, designed by Santiago Calatrava , connecting the train station to Piazzale Roma , one of the few places in Venice where buses and cars can enter. As was usual in the past, people can still take a ferry ride across the canal at several points by standing up on the deck of a simple gondola called

765-914: The Santa Maria della Carità complex became a museum, the Gallerie dell'Accademia ; the Santa Croce complex, was converted into the Papadopoli Gardens area; and the Santa Lucia complex (partially designed by Palladio ) was razed for the establishment of the Santa Lucia Station . The Kingdom of Italy accession restored serenity in the city and stimulated construction along the Grand Canal respecting its beauty, often reproduced in Gothic Revival architectures like

810-565: The 13th to the 18th century, and demonstrate the welfare and art created by the Republic of Venice . The noble Venetian families faced huge expenses to show off their richness in suitable palazzos ; this contest reveals the citizens’ pride and the deep bond with the lagoon. Amongst the many are the Palazzi Barbaro , Ca' Rezzonico , Ca' d'Oro , Palazzo Dario , Ca' Foscari , Palazzo Barbarigo and to Palazzo Venier dei Leoni , housing

855-515: The Canal, he designed Palazzo Corner and Palazzo Dolfin Manin , known for grandiosity, for the horizontal layout of the white façades and for the development around a central courtyard. Other Renaissance buildings are Palazzo Papadopoli and Palazzo Grimani di San Luca . Several palaces of this period had façades with frescoes by painters such as Il Pordenone , Tintoretto , Paolo Veronese , all of them unfortunately lost. Particularly noteworthy were

900-481: The Canal, often inducing other families to renew theirs. Neoclassical architectures along the Canal date to the 18th century: during the first half was built San Simeone Piccolo , with an impressive corinthian portico, central plan and a high copper-covered dome ending in a cupola shaped as a temple. Date to the second half Massari's Palazzo Grassi . After the fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797, much of

945-635: The Germans") is a historic building in Venice , northern Italy , situated on the Grand Canal near the Rialto Bridge . It was the headquarters and restricted living quarters of the city's German ( Tedeschi ) merchants. The word fondaco comes from the Arabic funduq ( فُنْدُق ), which refers to an inn-like establishment for traveling merchants. Tedeschi means Germans. First constructed in 1228,

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990-612: The Grand Canal. Among the 15th-century palaces still showing the original appearance are Ca' d'Oro , Palazzo Bernardo a San Polo , Ca' Foscari (now housing the University of Venice ), Palazzo Pisani Moretta , Palazzi Barbaro , Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti . By the start of the 15th century, Renaissance architecture motifs appear in such buildings as the Palazzo Dario and the Palazzo Corner Spinelli ;

1035-456: The Lagoon's islands had originally been marshy, but a gradual drainage programme rendered them habitable. Many of the smaller islands are entirely artificial, while some areas around the seaport of the Mestre are also reclaimed islands. The remaining islands—-including those of the coastal strip ( Lido , Pellestrina and Treporti )—-are essentially dunes . Venice Lagoon has been inhabited from

1080-686: The Orient on their way towards the Alps. The Venetian Republic took commission on the transactions of the fondaco. The German community worshipped at a nearby Catholic church, San Bartolomeo . In the 20th century, the building served as the Venice headquarters of the Poste Italiane . In 2008, the building was sold to the Benetton Group who asked the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas to plan

1125-566: The Pescaria at Rialto. On the first Sunday of September the Historical Regatta ("Regata Storica") takes place, a competition between Venetian boats watched by thousands of people from the banks or from floating stands. Competitions are preceded by a historical procession ("Corteo Storico") remembering the entrance of the Queen of Cyprus Catherine Cornaro after abdication in 1489: gondoliers in costumes sail in typical 16th century boats following

1170-503: The Venice Lagoon was harmed by a reduction in nutrient inputs and by macroalgal biomasses caused by climate change , and by changes in the concentration and distribution of nitrogen , organic phosphorus and organic carbon in the upper sediments. At the same time, however, the seagrasses started a natural process of recolonization, helping to partially restore the pristine conditions of the marine ecosystem. The Venice Lagoon

1215-473: The beginning of the Republic's decline, but nevertheless, they saw the highest building activity on the Grand Canal. This can be partially explained by the increasing number of families (like the Labia) becoming patrician by the payment of an enormous sum to the Republic, which was then facing financial difficulties. Once these families had achieved this new status, they built themselves with impressive residences on

1260-659: The building was rebuilt between 1505 and 1508, after its destruction in a fire. The reconstruction produced a very functional four-floor building which surrounds a grand inner courtyard. Its architecture is typical of the Italian Renaissance style. Like the Fondaco dei Turchi , the Fondaco dei Tedeschi combined the functions of a palace, warehouse, market and restricted living quarters for its population, in this case mainly Germanic merchants from cities such as Nuremberg , Judenburg and Augsburg . The ground floor

1305-468: The conformation of the Canal and surrounding areas. As a matter of fact, in Venice building materials are precious and foundations are usually kept: in the subsequent restorations, existing elements will be used again, mixing the Venetian-Byzantine and the new styles ( Ca' Sagredo , Palazzo Bembo ). Polychromy, three-partitioned façades, loggias, diffuse openings, and rooms disposition formed

1350-421: The deep Grand Canal a safe and ship accessible canal-port. Drainage reveals that the city became more compact over time: at that time the Canal was wider and flowed between small, tide -subjected islands connected by wooden bridges. Along the Canal, the number of "fondaco" houses increased, buildings combining the warehouse and the merchant's residence. A portico (the curia ) covers the bank and facilitates

1395-507: The formerly-named "Rio Businiacus" before the Roman age. They lived in stilt houses and relied on fishing and commerce (mainly salt). Under the rule of the Roman empire and later of the Byzantine empire the lagoon became populated and important, and in the early 9th century the doge moved his seat from Malamocco to the safer "Rivoaltus". Increasing trade followed the doge and found in

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1440-555: The frescoes by Veronese and Zelotti on Ca Cappello , overlooking the Grand Canal at the intersection with the Rio de S. Polo. In 1582, Alessandro Vittoria began the construction of Palazzo Balbi (now housing the Government of Veneto ), in which Baroque elements can be recognized: fashioned cornices , broken pediments , ornamental motifs. The major Baroque architect in Venice was Baldassarre Longhena . In 1631 he began to build

1485-527: The great architect did not see any of these buildings finished, and the designs for all but Santa Maria Della Salute were modified after his death. Longhena's themes recur in the two older façades of Palazzo Labia , containing a famous fresco cycle by Giambattista Tiepolo . In the Longhenian school grew Domenico Rossi ( San Stae 's façade, Ca' Corner della Regina ) and Giorgio Massari , who later completed Ca' Rezzonico. The 16th and 17th centuries mark

1530-627: The growth of the Venetian Republic and its maritime empire . It still provides a base for a seaport , the Venetian Arsenal , and for fishing , as well as a limited amount of hunting and the newer industry of fish farming . The Lagoon was formed about six to seven thousand years ago, when the marine transgression following the Ice Age flooded the upper Adriatic coastal plain. Deposition of river sediments compensated for

1575-461: The illumination characterizing the Gothic style are found in the porticos and loggias of fondaco houses: columns get thinner, elongated arches are replaced by pointed or ogee or lobed ones. Porticos rise gently intertwining and drawing open marbles in quatrefoils or similar figures. Façades were plastered in brilliant colors. The open marble fascias, often called " laces ", quickly diffused along

1620-422: The inhabitants of Venice, as well as its economic core (its airport and harbor), are on the western border of the lagoon, around the former towns of Mestre and Marghera . There are also two towns at the northern end of the lagoon: Jesolo (a famous sea resort) and Cavallino-Treporti . Bottlenose dolphins occasionally enter the lagoon, possibly for feeding. The level of pollution in the lagoon has long been

1665-568: The late 20th century, most of the more prominent palaces were owned by the city, state, or civic institutions. During the era of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy , the Napoleonic suppression of the monastic religious orders vacated large sectors of real estate in the city. It also freed large amounts of furnishings and works of art into the antiquarian market or into the possession of the state. Large monasteries changed functions:

1710-590: The latter was designed by Mauro Codussi , pioneer of this style in Venice. Ca' Vendramin Calergi , another of his projects (now hosting the Casino ), reveals a completed transition: the numerous and large windows with open marbles are round-arched and have columns in the three classical orders . Classical architecture is more evident in Jacopo Sansovino 's projects, who arrived from Rome in 1527. Along

1755-495: The magnificent Santa Maria della Salute basilica , one of the most beautiful churches in Venice and a symbol of Grand Canal. The classical layout of the façade features decorations and by many statues, the latter crowning also the refined volutes surrounding the major dome . Longhena later designed two majestic palaces, Ca' Pesaro and Ca' Rezzonico (with many carvings and chiaroscuro effects), and Santa Maria di Nazareth church ( Chiesa degli Scalzi ). For various reasons

1800-563: The most ancient times, but it was only during and after the fall of the Western Roman Empire that people coming from the Venetian mainland settled in numbers large enough to found the city of Venice . Today, the main cities inside the lagoon are Venice (at the centre of it) and Chioggia (at the southern inlet); Lido di Venezia and Pellestrina are inhabited as well, but they are considered part of Venice. However, most of

1845-457: The palatial construction in Venice was suspended, as symbolized by the unfinished San Marcuola and Palazzo Venier dei Leoni (housing the Peggy Guggenheim Collection ). The Patrician families, bereft of their hereditary role in governance and sometimes persecuted by revolutionary forces, sought other residences. Several historical palaces were pulled down, but many found other uses, and some restorations have saved their 18th-century appearance. By

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1890-442: The ships' unloading. From the portico a corridor flanked by storerooms reaches a posterior courtyard . Similarly, on the first floor a loggia as large as the portico illuminates the hall into which open the merchant's rooms. The façade is thereby divided into an airy central part and two more solid sides. A low mezzanine with offices divides the two floors. The fondaco house often had lateral defensive towers ( torreselle ), as in

1935-502: The sinking coastal plain, and coastwise drift from the mouth of the Po tended to form sandbars that closed tidal inlets. The present aspect of the Lagoon is the result of human intervention. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Venetian hydraulic projects designed to prevent the lagoon from turning into a marsh reversed the natural evolution of the Lagoon. Pumping of aquifers since the nineteenth century has increased subsidence . Many of

1980-481: The south, with a surface area of around 550 square kilometres (212 square miles). It is around 8% land, including Venice itself and many smaller islands. About 11% is permanently covered by open water, or canals , as the network of dredged channels are called, while around 80% consists of mud flats , tidal shallows and salt marshes . The Lagoon is the largest wetland in the Mediterranean Basin . It

2025-512: Was accessible by water and was used for storage, while the first floor was dedicated to offices and the upper floors contained about 160 living quarters. The German merchants arrived shortly after the building was originally constructed in the 13th century and stayed until the Napoleonic occupation. It was one of the city's most powerful colonies of merchants, and consequently the fondaco became an important trading centre for goods passing from

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