The Grand Canal (Canal Grande), is the main artery of Venice, dividing it in half. Just like centuries ago, it flows throughout almost the entire city and keeps all its secrets. The channel is always full of graceful gondolas and is decorated with unique architectural patterns on both sides and is a prime spot for photography. The channel flows between the islands and is shaped like an inverted Latin letter S. Its total length is 3800 meters, width is 30-70 meters, maximum depth is 5 meters. The Grand Canal starts from the Venetian Lagoon near the Santa Lucia railway station and ends at the Customs House, where it connects with the La Giudecca and San Marco channels.
Research confirms that the Grand Canal was originally wider. It is located on the site of an old river, possibly a branch of the River Brent, which flows into the Venetian Lagoon. Even before the Roman era, small settlements appeared near this territory, formerly called Rio Businiacus. First during the Roman and then Byzantine Empires, the lagoon became more densely populated and soon played an important role. The political and economic power of Venice grew rapidly. At the beginning of the IX century, the Doge decided to move from the city of Malamocco to a more reliable area - Rivoaltus, to the city of Lido (in our time Rialto - group of islands in the Venice lagoon). Here the Venetian Republic was safe, which contributed to its prosperity. The Venetians focused on trade. In this regard, the Venice Lagoon was of great importance, since it provided protection from enemies, and the Grand Canal was an ideal terminal for trade from the sea.
The first Venetian settlements appeared in the Rialto area and became first a local and then the most important center of the Mediterranean and Europe. Ships carrying up to 400 tons of cargo came and went here. It is not surprising that the Grand Canal gave birth to the Fondacho (Fondaco) - large buildings that were used as warehouses and residences by hundreds of merchants from different parts of the world.
Today, two large fondacos have been preserved - "Fondaco dei Turchi" from the XIII century:
and also "Fondaco dei Tedeschi" also XIII century:
The Grand Canal is the main and busiest canal of Venice even in our time. In the morning, boats deliver fruits, vegetables and fish, as well as other goods, to the Rialto market. During the day, gondolas and water taxis operate for tourists. It should be noted that celebrations are also held here, such as the historical regatta, the rowing club carnival, the Della Beffani regatta, the Santa Race, boat picnics with food and music.
There are 4 bridges on the Grand Canal. Each of them was built at a different time and has a different style.
Constitution Bridge - created in 2008 and is the newest bridge on this canal. It is also called the Calatrava Bridge in honor of the Spanish architect who developed the project.
This bridge connects Santa Lucia train station and Piazzale Roma (Piazza of Rome), the last place accessible by land. It should be noted that the Venetians do not like it - much more money was spent on it than expected; It is not optimized for Venice's soft soil and requires constant monitoring; Due to the glass structure, the steps are slippery and quite dangerous for pedestrians.
The Scalzi Bridge is the same as the “barefoot bridge” (according to the report, poor people lived near it and did not even have enough money to buy shoes), located slightly to the left of the train station and connects the areas of Canareggio and Santa Croce. This is the first thing tourists see when leaving the station. This bridge was built in 1934 and replaced an old iron bridge. Its height is 7 meters, length is 40 meters.
Rialto Bridge - it is located in the middle of the Grand Canal, at its narrowest point, and is the most famous bridge in Venice, and during the time of the Venetian Republic it was the only one that connected the two banks of the Grand Canal. The Rialto Bridge connected the political heart of Venice in the San Marco district and the economic center in the San Polo district.
More about the Rialto Bridge =>>
Accademia Bridge is the southernmost and only wooden bridge in Venice. This name was given to it in honor of the nearby art museum, the Accademia Gallery, founded in Venice in 1807. The bridge connects the Accademia Gallery with the San Marco district. At first it was made of iron (1854), and in 1933 it was replaced by a wooden bridge. In 1986, it was completely dismantled and a new bridge was built, but the old structure and appearance were preserved.
The Grand Canal is famous for the centuries-old palaces (more than 100 of them) located on both sides of it. Because of this, the “Grand Canal” is also called “Canalazo” (“channel-palace”), most of which were built in the XIII-XVIII centuries. These palaces (palazzos in Italian) belonged to rich and noble Venetians. Each of them tried to make their palace the most beautiful, impressive and luxurious. This rivalry ended after the collapse of the Venetian Republic in 1797, when many Venetian families lost much of their economic power.
Currently, only a few people live along the Grand Canal. Most palaces have a hotel, museum or administrative building.
In 2019, an unusual “bridge” called “Building Bridges” opened in Venice, in the Castello district. Its author is Italian Lorenzo Quinn. It consists of six pairs of hands. Height 15 meters, width 20 meters. One pair of hands is a symbol of friendship for creating a joint future, the second is of wisdom, making mutually beneficial decisions, the third is of help, establishing long-term relationships, the fourth is a symbol of faith, trust in your heart, the fifth is hope for the continuation of important endeavors, the sixth is love, which is the basis of everything.
By the way, the same author created the sculpture “Support” in Venice in 2017. In his opinion, hands can both destroy the world and save it, for example, from climate change, which threatens to flood Venice in the future.
To see the Grand Canal, I recommend taking a vaporetto ride (see article Public transport in Venice).
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