Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts

Vacation At Paris Disneyland

DisneysEnjoying a staying in Paris or taking a trip to Disneyland Paris doesn't have to be expensive, and with cheapest hotel offering all the luxury of a five-star hotel but not with high cost of something that is ideal for families. Paris is one of the most amazing cities in the world, not only for the vast number of tourist attractions but for its theatres and cafés, shops and boutiques and all round lively atmosphere. Cruise along the River Seine, see the views from the Eiffel Tower or watch the world go by from a pavement café.





Fun for all the family is a visit to Disneyland Paris. Enter into the world of Mickey and his friends and enjoys all the thrills and spills that Disneyland Paris has to offer - whatever your age!
Adventureland Fantasyland
Frontierland Studios-Park

Go to the Disneyland Park with your children and enjoy some attraction there. Next go to Adventureland. Where else to start your adventure, but Adventureland! Hunt for treasure with the Pirates of the Caribbean, and sail away to Adventure Isle to explore the secrets of Skull Rock. It's time to yo-ho-ho for some serious swashbuckling. Do you believe in ghosts? Frontierland will satisfy your adventure with the ghosts. Then Peter and the Lost Boys will take you flying to Fantasyland where fairytale dreams come true.

On the next day, you can continue the adventure with your children at Walt Disney Studios Park. Hear the remarkable story of Disney with Art of Disney Animation, then try your own hand at some cartoon techniques. Around every corner you'll find your favorite Disney Characters waiting to meet 'n' greet you. Smile and... 'click' - your Disney memories can be captured forever. And for more interesting, found it all at Disneyland Paris Site.



The Acropolis of Athens, the Best Known Acropolis in the World

What would a visit to Athens be without going to the Acropolis to see the Parthenon? And still people ask why the Partheon is so important. It’s because it was the most perfect building built by the world's most advanced civilization.







The Acropolis of Athens

The Acropolis of Athens is the best known acropolis (Gr. akros, akron, edge, extremity + polis, city, pl. acropoleis) in the world. Although there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as The Acropolis without qualification. The Acropolis was formally proclaimed as the pre-eminent monument on the European Cultural Heritage list of monuments on 26 March 2007. The Acropolis is a flat-topped rock which rises 150 m (490 ft) above sea level in the city of Athens, with a surface area of about 3 hectares. It was also known as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Kekrops or Cecrops, the first Athenian king.

The Acropolis rock is part of a Late Cretaceous limestone ridge (Higgins) that cuts through the Attica plateau in the northeast to the southwest axis and includes the Likavitos hill, the Philopappos (Museum) hill, the hill of the Nymphs, and the Pnyx.

The rock rises from the basin about 70 meters and levels to a flat top 300 meters long by 150 meters wide. Its flat top is due to the numerous landfills that have accommodated construction of fortifications and temples since the Mycenaean era. With its many shallow caves, the abundant percolating water springs and steep slopes, the Acropolis was a prime location for habitation and worship location for Neolithic man.

History

Acropolis_of_Athens_01361 The greatest and finest sanctuary of ancient Athens, dedicated primarily to its patron, the goddess Athena, dominates the centre of the modern city from the rocky crag known as the Acropolis. The most celebrated myths of ancient Athens, its greatest religious festivals, earliest cults and several decisive events in the city's history are all connected to this sacred precinct. The monuments of the Acropolis stand in harmony with their natural setting. These unique masterpieces of ancient architecture combine different orders and styles of Classical art in a most innovative manner and have influenced art and culture for many centuries. The Acropolis of the fifth century BC is the most accurate reflection of the splendour, power and wealth of Athens at its greatest peak, the golden age of Pericles.



Most of the major temples were rebuilt under the leadership of Pericles during the Golden Age of Athens (460–430 BC). Phidias, a great Athenian sculptor, and Ictinus and Callicrates, two famous architects, were responsible for the reconstruction. During the 5th century BC, the Acropolis gained its final shape. After winning at Eurymedon in 468 BC, Cimon and Themistocles ordered the reconstruction of southern and northern walls, and Pericles entrusted the building of the Parthenon to Ictinus and Phidias.

Erechtheum1 In 437 BC Mnesicles started building the Propylaea, monumental gates with columns of Pentelic marble, partly built upon the old propylaea of Pisistratus. These colonnades were almost finished in the year 432 BC and had two wings, the northern one serving as picture gallery. At the same time, south of the propylaea, building of the small Ionic Temple of Athena Nike commenced. After an interruption caused by the Peloponnesian War, the temple was finished in the time of Nicias' peace, between 421 BC and 415 BC.

During the same period the building of the Erechtheum, a combination of sacred precincts including the temples of Athena Polias, Poseidon, Erechtheus, Cecrops, Herse, Pandrosos and Aglauros, with its so-called the Kore Porch (or Caryatids' balcony), was begun.

Between the temple of Athena Nike and the Parthenon there was the temenos of Artemis Brauronia or Brauroneion, the goddess represented as a bear and worshipped in the deme of Brauron. The archaic xoanon of the goddess and a statue made by Praxiteles in the 4th century BC were both in the sanctuary.

Behind the Propylaea, Phidias' gigantic bronze statue of Athena Promachos ("she who fights in the front line"), built between 450 BC and 448 BC, dominated. The base was 1.50 m high, while the total height of the statue was 9 m. The goddess held a lance whose gilt tip could be seen as a reflection by crews on ships rounding Cape Sounion, and a giant shield on the left side, decorated by Mys with images of the fight between the Centaurs and the Lapiths. Other monuments that have left almost nothing visible to the present day are the Chalkotheke, the Pandroseion, Pandion's sanctuary, Athena's altar, Zeus Polieus's sanctuary and, from Roman times, the circular temple of Augustus and Rome.

Site Monuments

Parthenon

Northwest view of the Parthenon The Parthenon, dedicated by the Athenians to Athena Parthenos, the patron of their city, is the most magnificent creation of Athenian democracy at the height of its power. It is also the finest monument on the Acropolis in terms of both conception and execution. Built between 447 and 438 BC, as part of the greater Periklean building project, this so-called Periklean Parthenon (Parthenon III) replaced an earlier marble temple (Parthenon II), begun a

after the victory at the battle of Marathon at approximately 490 BC and destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC. This temple had replaced the very first Parthenon (Parthenon I) of c. 570 BC. The Periklean Parthenon was designed by architects Iktinos and Kallikrates, while the sculptor Pheidias supervised the entire building program and conceived the temple's sculptural decoration and chryselephantine statue of Athena.

Erechtheion

Detail of the south porch of Erechtheion, with the famous Caryatids The elegant building known as the Erechtheion, on the north side of the sacred rock of the Acropolis, was erected in 421-406 BC as a replacement of an earlier temple dedicated to Athena Polias, the so-called ''Old temple''. The name ''Erechtheion'', mentioned only by Pausanias (1, 26, 5), derives from Erechtheus, the mythical king of Athens, who was worshipped there. Other texts refer to the building simply as ''temple'' or ''old temple''. The building owes its unusual shape to the irregularity of the terrain - there is a three-metre difference in height between the eastern and western parts - and the multiple cults it was designed to accommodate. The eastern part of the building was dedicated to Athena Polias, while the western part served the cult of Poseidon-Erechtheus and held the altars of Hephaistus and Voutos, brother of Erechtheus. This is where, according to the myth, Athena's sacred snake lived. The sanctuary also contained the grave of Kekrops and the traces of the dispute between Athena and Poseidon for the possession of the city of Athens.

Propylaea

Southwest view of Propylea The Propylaia of the Athenian Acropolis were built on the west side of the hill, where the gate of the Mycenaean fortification once stood. The first propylon, or gate, was constructed in the age of Peisistratos (mid-sixth century BC), after the Acropolis had become a sanctuary dedicated to Athena. A new propylon, built in 510-480 BC, was destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC and repaired after the end of the Persian Wars, during the fortification of the Acropolis by Themistokles and Kimon. The monumental Propylaia admired by modern visitors were part of the great Periklean building program. They were erected in 437-432 BC, after the completion of the Parthenon, by architect Mnesikles. The original building plan was particularly daring both in architectural and artistic terms, but was never completed.

Temple of Athena Nike

West view of Athena Nike temple The temple of Athena Nike stands at the southeast edge of the sacred rock atop a bastion, which in Mycenaean times protected the entrance to the Acropolis. The Classical temple, designed by architect Kallikrates and built in 426-421 BC, succeeded earlier temples also dedicated to Athena Nike. The first one of these, a mid-sixth century BC wooden temple was destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC. The eschara, the altar believed to have supported the cult statue of the goddess, dates to this period. Under Kimon, c. 468 BC, a small temple of tufa was erected around the base of the statue and a new altar was built outside the temple. The foundations of these early temples and altars are preserved inside the bastion under the floor of the Classical structure. Pausanias (1, 22, 4) refers to this temple as that of the Apteros Nike, or Wingless Victory, and mentions that the cult statue of the goddess had no wings so that she would never leave Athens. Apart from the cult of Athena Nike other, earlier cults were also practiced on this site. On the west side of the bastion was a Mycenaean double-apsed shrine and on the east side, the pre-Classical shrines of the Graces and of Hekate Epipyrgidia. The construction of the Classical temple of Athena Nike was part of the Periklean building project. Several inscriptions, mostly decrees of the city of Athens, provide information on this particular part of the project.

Temple of Rome and Augustus

The temple of Rome and Augustus was erected in the late first century BC east of the Parthenon or of the Erechtheion. Several architectural elements of the building were found east of the Parthenon and many more were brought here after their discovery elsewhere. Nearby are the irregular tufa foundations (approximately 10.50x13 metres) of a building generally considered to be the Roman temple. Another theory, however, based on the construction technique of these foundations and on depictions of the Acropolis on Roman coins, places the temple east of the Erechtheion.

The inscription on the temple's epistyle mentions that the building was dedicated by the city of Athens to the goddess Rome and to Octavian Augustus. Pausanias does not mention the building during his visit to the Acropolis, possibly because it did not present any interest at his time. The small, circular temple had a single row of nine Ionic columns and no interior wall, the entablature and conical roof being entirely of white marble. The fact that the columns imitate those of the Erechtheion may indicate that the temple was built by the same architect who repaired the Erechtheion after it was damaged by fire.

Old temple of Athena

View of ancient temple remains. At the background, Lycabetus hill is sighted The earliest temple to Athena Polias on the Acropolis, called 'the Old temple' in ancient literary sources, was located between the Erechtheion and the Parthenon. It was probably built in the third quarter of the sixth century BC, on the site of an earlier, Geometric temple and of the even earlier Mycenaean palace. The Old temple was damaged by the Persians in 480 BC, but was repaired soon after; parts of its entablature were incorporated in the Acropolis fortification wall. The temple was damaged again in 406 BC after the completion of the Erechtheion and was never rebuilt. Traces of the temple's altar to Athena are visible on the bedrock, east of the building.

The Old temple was a Doric, peripteral structure with six columns on the short sides and twelve on the long sides. The interior arrangement was quite unusual. The east part of the temple consisted of a distyle pronaos with antae and a naos divided into three naves by two rows of columns. Inside the naos was the wooden cult statue (xoanon) of the goddess Athena. The east part of the temple consisted of three rooms, each dedicated to the worship of Poseidon-Erechtheus, Hephaistus and Boutes. The marble pediments of the Gigantomachy, displayed in the Acropolis Museum, and a sime with lion and ram's heads probably belonged to this temple. The metopes, cornices and roof tiles were also of marble, while the rest of the temple was built of limestone.

The temple was unearthed in 1885 and W. D?rpfeld was the first to identify it. Only the foundations of its south side, towards the Erechtheion, are visible today, along with two stone column bases from the Geometric temple.

Aerial Photo of Acropolis Rock Erechtheum1 acropolis night

SEE ALSO :



Netherland - Land of Most Beautiful Flowers and Windmills

The Netherlands, on the coast of the North Sea, is twice the size of New Jersey. Part of the great plain of north and west Europe, the Netherlands has maximum dimensions of 190 by 160 mi (360 by 257 km) and is low and flat except in Limburg in the southeast, where some hills rise up to 322 m (1056 ft). About half the country's area is below sea level, making the famous Dutch dikes a requisite for the use of much of the land. Reclamation of land from the sea through dikes has continued through recent times. All drainage reaches the North Sea, and the principal rivers—Rhine, Maas (Meuse), and Schelde—have their sources outside the country.

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After centuries of foreign rules by the Romans, Franks, Burgunds, Habsburgs, and Spaniards in 1648 the Dutch Republic became a free and sovereign state. During the 17th century, also called the 'Golden Age', the Republic became increasingly prosperous and a major colonial power, thanks largely to the Dutch East India Company (VOC). In 1815, the northern and southern Netherlands – today's Netherlands and Belgium – were combined to form the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I but was invaded in World War II by Germany in May 1940 and occupied for five years.Today the Netherlands is a modern, industrialized nation and the third largest exporter of food. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EU, and participated in the introduction of the Euro in 1999

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Prague travel



by: Mansi gupta


Prague is a well- known old city of Europe that is a host to many tourists all round the year. The aura of the place speaks for itself. Prague is the capital of Czech Republic whose traditional and archaic European ambience is too appealing than ever imagined. Czech is deemed to be the heart of Europe and ahs a population of more than ten million people out of
which 1.3 million are nestled peacefully in the city of Prague.

The Sites Worth Gazing


The Charles Bridge at Prague is a host to many visitors all round the year. This bridge was completed and made public in 1400. It displays grotesque architecture and river views that keep the visitors engaged especially during the summer season. There is also the eminent Wenceslas Square hat is deemed to be the heart of Prague and that grounds some of
the most wonderful restaurants, shops and pubs in Prague. The Old Town center is also a place worth visiting in Prague. The center has on parade some of the marvelous historical sites like the Old town Hall and the Astronomical clock where the visitors get to see the land from the 60 meter elevated tower.


Getting around in Prague is quite simple and convenient. Besides the natural beauty that the place is blessed with, the human technology does not score less. There are trams, metros and buses to explore the charismatic place.

Prague is the land of wonderful museums. There is the National Technical Museum, which puts to display old cars, bikes, planes, trains, cameras, watches and so forth. The best part is the museum itself that is a historical building of 1930's. The Mozart Museum is worth appreciating. The music lovers can have a gala time here for the place offers historical music scores, letters and musical instruments that are exclusive and great to enjoy. Specifically for the artists is meant the Museum of Decorative Arts that presents Czech porcelain, crystal and wood -carvings. Not to overlook is the Wax Museum that has proved its worth across the globe. Apart from these there are many good museums and art galleries that are evenly spread across the city.

Pargue also has some of the magnificent
castles like the Karlstejn Castle that was redesigned in 19th century and which is one of the most photogenic castles known so far. Close to the castle place, are sold exotic Bohemia crystals that the tourists often love to take back home. The Konopiste Castle is known for its French style architecture from 13th century. It is located about 44 kilometers southeast of Prague and is thrown open for visitors from May to August. The Krivolat is a 13th century castle that boasts a prison, torture chambers and one of the biggest non-church Gothic Halls in the Czech Republic. Prague is an ideal place for all the music devotees for they can relish the classical concerts at the Sate Opera and at the Rudolfinum or the Municipal House. The Prague Autumn Festival is a big music event that offers lots of classical concerts and music. The Prague Spring festival is famous all over Europe. It is a liked cultural event that goes on from 12th May to 3rd of June every year.

The nightlife of Prague is thrilling and active with music in the air and loads of pubs, discos and bars cuddled in the city. Besides these there are many other attractions that make Prague a perfect holiday destination.

About the Author
Mansi gupta writes about prague travel topics.


Venice, Italy

clip_image004Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in northern Italy, the capital of the region Veneto, and has a population of 271,251 (census estimate January 1, 2004). Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area (population 1,600,000). Venice has been known as the "La Dominante", "Serenissima", "Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Bridges", and "The City of Light". It is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world.



The city stretches across 118 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The saltwater lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po (south) and the Piave (north) Rivers. The population estimate of 272,000 inhabitants includes the population of the whole Comune of Venezia; around 62,000 in the historic city of Venice (Centro storico); 176,000 in Terraferma (the Mainland), mostly in the large frazione of Mestre and Marghera; and 31,000 live on other islands in the lagoon.

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High water in Venice

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Venice and surroundings in false color, from TERRA satellite. The picture is oriented with North at the top

The Venetian Republic was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and a staging area for the Crusades and the Battle of Lepanto, as well as a very important center of commerce (especially silk, grain and spice trade) and art in the 13th century up to the end of the 17th century.

Venice and its Lagoon* UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Origins and history

While there are no historical records that deal directly with the origins of Venice, the available evidence has led several historians to agree that the original population of Venice comprised refugees from Roman cities such as Padua, Aquileia, Altino and Concordia (modern Portogruaro) who were fleeing successive waves of Germanic invasions and Huns.[2] Some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incola lacunae (lagoon dwellers).

Beginning in 166-168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the main center in the area, the current Oderzo. The Roman defenses were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, by the Huns led by Attila. The last and most enduring inruption was that of the Lombards in 568. This left the Eastern Roman Empire a small strip of coast in current Veneto, and the main administrative and religious entities were therefore transferred to this remaining dominion. New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon.

The Byzantine domination of central and northern Italy was subsequently largely eliminated by the conquest of the Exarchate of Ravenna in 751 by Aistulf. During this period, the seat of the local Byzantine governor (the "duke/doux", later "doge") was situated in Malamocco. Settlement across the islands in the lagoon probably increased in correspondence with the Lombard conquest of the Byzantine territories.

In 775-776, the bishopric seat of Olivolo (Helipolis) was created. During the reign of duke Agnello Particiaco (811-827) the ducal seat was moved from Malamocco to the highly protected Rialto (Rivoalto, "High Shore") island, the current location of Venice. The monastery of St. Zachary and the first ducal palace and basilica of St. Mark, as well as a walled defense (civitatis murus) between Olivolo and Rialto were subsequently built here.

In 828, the new city's prestige was raised by the theft of the relics of St. Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria, which were placed in the new basilica. The patriarchal seat was also moved to Rialto. As the community continued to develop and as Byzantine power waned, it led to the growth of autonomy and eventual independence.

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Piazza San Marco in Venice.

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These Horses of Saint Mark are a replica of the Triumphal Quadriga captured in Constantinople in 1204 and carried to Venice as a trophy

Transportation

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The Ponte dei Sospiri, the Bridge of Sighs

Venice is world-famous for its canals. It is built on an archipelago of 118 islands formed by about 150 canals in a shallow lagoon. The islands on which the city is built are connected by about 400 bridges. In the old center, the canals serve the function of roads, and every form of transport is on water or on foot. In the 19th century a causeway to the mainland brought a railway station to Venice, and an automobile causeway and parking lot was added in the 20th century. Beyond these land entrances at the northern edge of the city, transportation within the city remains, as it was in centuries past, entirely on water or on foot. Venice is Europe's largest urban car free area, unique in Europe in remaining a sizable functioning city in the 21st century entirely without motorcars or trucks.

Waterways

The classical Venetian boat is the gondola, although it is now mostly used for tourists, or for weddings, funerals, or other ceremonies. Most Venetians now travel by motorised waterbuses (vaporetti) which ply regular routes along the major canals and between the city's islands. The city also has many private boats. The only gondolas still in common use by Venetians are the traghetti, foot passenger ferries crossing the Grand Canal at certain points without bridges. Visitors can also take the watertaxis between areas of the city.

Public transportation

Azienda Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano (ACTV) is the name of the public transport system in Venice. It combines both land transportation, with buses, and canal travel, with water buses (vaporetti). In total, there are 25 routes which connect the city.

Airports

Venice is served by the newly rebuilt Marco Polo International Airport, or Aeroporto di Venezia Marco Polo, named in honor of its famous citizen. The airport is on the mainland and was rebuilt away from the coast; however, the water taxis or Alilaguna waterbuses to Venice are only a seven-minute walk from the terminals.

Some airlines market Treviso Airport in Treviso, 20km from Venice, as a Venice gateway. Some simply advertise flights to "Venice" without naming the actual airport except in the small print.[10]

Car

Venice is practically a no car zone, being built on the water. Cars can reach the car/bus terminal via the bridge (Ponte della Liberta) (SR11). It comes in from the West from Mestre. There are two parking lots which serve the city: Tronchetto and Piazzale Roma. Cars can be parked there 24hrs/7days a week for around 25 euros per day. From Tronchetto parking lot leaves a ferry to Lido. Tronchetto is served by vaporetti and buses of the public transportation. Currently, a people mover linking Tronchetto to Piazzale Roma is under construction. Expected time of opening is unknown.

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View of Venice from St Mark's Campanile

Landmarks

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Grand Canal A small canal in Venice (Rio della Verona)

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A winter sunset across the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge

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Piazza San Marco and its famous pigeons

Sestieri

The sestieri are the primary traditional divisions of Venice. The city is divided into the six districts of Cannaregio, San Polo, Dorsoduro (including the Giudecca), Santa Croce, San Marco (including San Giorgio Maggiore), and Castello (including San Pietro di Castello and Sant'Elena). At the front of the Gondolas that work in the city there is a large piece of metal intended as a likeness of the Doge's hat. On this sit six notches pointing forwards and one pointing backwards. Each of these represent one of the Sestieri (the one which points backwards represents the Giudecca).

Museums

  • Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana
  • Casa Goldoni a Palazzo Centano
  • Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca' d'Oro
  • Galleria Internazionale d'Arte Moderna
  • Gallerie dell'Accademia
  • Galleria di Palazzo Cini
  • Museo Correr
  • Museo d'Arte Erotica
  • Museo d'Arte Orientale
  • Museo del Ghetto
  • Museo del Merletto di Burano
  • Museo del Settecento veneziano (Ca' Rezzonico)
  • Museo del Vetro di Murano
  • Museo dell'Istituto Ellenico
  • Museo della Fondazione Querini Stampalia
  • Museo della Scuola Dalmata dei SS. Giorgio e Trifone
  • Museo di Storia Naturale
  • Museo di Torcello
  • Museo Diocesano di Arte sacra
  • Museo Ebraico
  • Museo Marciano
  • Museo parrocchiale San Pietro Martire
  • Museo Storico Navale
  • Palazzo Fortuny
  • Palazzo Ducale
  • Palazzo Grassi
  • Peggy Guggenheim Collection
  • Pinacoteca e Museo di S. Lazzaro degli Armeni
  • Pinacoteca Manfrediniana
  • Scuola Grande dei Carmini
  • Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista
  • Scuola Grande di San Marco
  • Scuola Grande di San Rocco

Piazzas and campi

Palaces and palazzi

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Venice, by Bolognino Zaltieri, 1565

Churches

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St Mark's Basilica Facade of St Mark's Basilica

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Two gondolas in a narrow Venetian canal

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Florians coffee bar in St. Mark's Square, a famous landmark in Venice

Other buildings

Bridges

Surroundings

Venetian Villas

Main article: Palladian Villas of the Veneto

The villas of the Veneto, rural residences for nobles during the Republic, are one of the most interesting aspects of Venetian countryside. They are surrounded by elegant gardens, suitable for fashionable parties of high society. Most of these villas were designed by Palladio, and are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to the architects, water around the villas was a very important architectural element because it added more brilliance to the façade.