Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Venice Today
Look around: all those splendid palaces, paintings and churches were dreamed up by
a handful of Venetians. In the city's 1000-year history, there have only been about
three million Venetians who could claim grandparents from Venice. Luckily, Venice
attracted global talents and international admirers. Resting on past glories would be
easy and topping them seems impossible, but, as usual, Venetians are opting for the
impossible.
Best on Film
Pane e Tulipani (Bread & Tulips)
(2000) An AWOL housewife starts life anew in Venice.
Casanova
(1976) Fellini's take on Venice's seducer with Donald Sutherland tops Lasse Halstrom's with Heath
Ledger.
Don't Look Now
(1973) A couple's demons follow them to Venice in Nicolas Roeg's taut thriller.
Casino Royale
(2006) James Bond hits the Grand Canal (don't worry, that palace survived).
Best in Print
Watermark
(1992) Nobel Laureate Joseph Brodsky's 17-year fascination with Venice spills onto every page.
Invisible Cities
(1972) Italo Calvino imagines Marco Polo recounting his travels to Kublai Khan - yet every city
he describes is Venice.
Stabat Mater
(2009) Tiziano Scarpa won Italy's top literary prize for this tale based on the true story of Antonio
Vivaldi's orphan-girl orchestra.
Shakespeare in Venice
(2007) Venetian historian Alberto Toso Fei unravels local legends intertwined with
Shakespearean dramas.
Changing Demographics
With 59,000 official residents outnumbered by visitors most days, Venetians may seem as
rare as unicorns in their own city. The population has halved since 1848, and a quarter of
the city's population is retired. But local universities attract over 26,000 students, keeping
the city young and full of ideas.
Living by Its Wits
Since the fall of its shipping empire, Venice has lived by its wits. The city's extraordinary
support for opera, orphan orchestras and theatre kept Monteverdi, Vivaldi and Goldoni
