Fun Facts about Venice

Venice is such a mysterious and unique city in Italy.  It’s built completely on water and there isn’t any car traffic, so all you hear is the pitter-patter of footsteps. Here are some other things that make Venice so special and worthy of a visit:

• Acqua alta, or high water, happens when the tide is 3.54 inches above normal height
• Venice has over 450 palaces (palazzi) and important buildings built in a mixture of styles, Gothic, Byzantine, Baroque etc.
• 3 major bridges cross the Grand Canal – Accademia, Rialto and Scalzi
• By the 18th century, there were over 200 churches in Venice
• Venice has about 150 canals
• There are 400+ pedestrian footbridges spanning the canals
• Venice is divided into six sestieri, or districts
• Over 15 million visitors flock to Venice every year
• Venice is made up of a collection of approx 115 tiny islands
• There are a little over 400 gondoliers in Venice
• Venice is sinking at the rate of 1-2 millimeters a year
• There are over 170 buildings that line the Grand Canal
• Venice got its first female gondolier in 2010
• The number of times you’ll get lost in the maze of calle – thousands
• You could visit ten thousand times and never run out of new things to discover