Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
onemarkedbyaclassylow-keygreen-and-blacksign.Asapublicservice,allgondoliersare
obliged to row the
traghetto
a few days a month. Make a point to use them. At €2 a ride,
traghetti
offerthecheapestgondolarideinVenice(butatthispricedon'texpectthemtosing
to you).
MercatoRialto:
Thisstopwasopenedin2007toservethebusymarket(boatsonlystop
here between 8:00 and 20:00). The long and officious-looking building at this stop is the
Venice courthouse. Straight ahead in the distance, rising above the huge post office, is the
tip of the Campanile (bell tower), crowned by its golden angel at St. Mark's Square, where
this tour will end. The
German Exchange
(100 yards directly ahead, on left side) was the
tradingcenterforGermanmetalmerchantsintheearly1500s(onceapostoffice,itwillsoon
be a shopping center).
You'll cruise by some trendy and beautifully situated wine bars on the right, but look
ahead as you round the corner and see the impressive Rialto Bridge come into view.
A major landmark of Venice, the
Rialto Bridge
is lined with shops and tourists. Con-
structed in 1588, it's the third bridge built on this spot. Until the 1850s, this was the only
bridgecrossingtheGrandCanal.Withaspanof160feetandfoundationsstretching650feet
oneitherside,theRialtowasanimpressiveengineeringfeatinitsday.EarlierRialtoBridges
could open to let big ships in, but not this one. When this new bridge was completed, much
of the Grand Canal was closed to shipping and became a canal of palaces.
When gondoliers pass underthe fat arch ofthe Rialto Bridge, they take full advantage of
its acoustics:
“Volare, oh, oh...”
Rialto:
Rialto, a separate town in the early days of Venice, has always been the com-
mercial district, while San Marco was the religious and governmental center. Today, a wind-
ing street called the Mercerie connects the two, providing travelers with human traffic jams
and a mesmerizing gauntlet of shopping temptations. This is the only stretch of the historic
Grand Canal with landings upon which you can walk. They unloaded the city's basic neces-
sities here: oil, wine, charcoal, iron. Today, the quay is lined with tourist-trap restaurants.
Venice's sleek, black, graceful
gondolas
are a symbol of the city (for more on gondolas,
congestion onthe Grand Canal. Pay attention—this is where most ofthe gondola and vapor-
ettoaccidentstakeplace.WhiletheRialtoisthehighlightofmanygondolarides,gondoliers
understandably prefer the quieter small canals. Watch your vaporetto driver curse the better-
paid gondoliers.
Ahead 100 yards on the left, two gray-colored
palaces
stand side by side (the City Hall
and the mayor's office). Their horseshoe-shaped, arched windows are similar and their stor-
ies are the same height, lining up to create the effect of one long balcony.
San Silvestro:
We now enter a long stretch of important
merchants' palaces,
each with
proud and different facades. Because ships couldn't navigate beyond the Rialto Bridge, the
