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Venice is located in the middle of a lagoon in northern Italy and is the capital of the Veneto region. The City of Venice covers 413 sq km, of which 253 sq km is water. Today, the historical ‘city on water’ (including the island of the Giudecca) counts approximately 59,375 inhabitants. The modern ‘city of land’ ¬ Mestre, Marghera and its surroundings reach a total of 181,544 residents, while the estuary (including Lido, Murano, Burano and the other islands) have 29,839 inhabitants: a total population of 270,758 (May, 30th, 2011).

Venice is built on an archipelago of 117 islands connected by 409 bridges and divided in two by the Grand Canal, the main waterway. The city has always been threatened by flood tides pushing in from the Adriatic and the current form of the lagoon is the result of constant interaction of Venetians with their environment (for example, river diversions and flood protection barriers).

The city was the capital of the Venetian Republic and was known as La Dominante, or La Serenissima. The Republic of Venice was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, as well as one of Europe’s most important centres of commerce especially for the silk, grain, and spice trades, and – from the 13th to 17th centuries – for art. For most of its history this trade made Venice a wealthy city.

The city is divided into six areas or sestiere: Cannaregio, San Polo, Dorsoduro, Santa Croce, San Marco and Castello. Other islands of the Venetian Lagoon, such as Murano and Burano, do not form part of any of the sestieri, having historically enjoyed a considerable degree of autonomy.

In the historic centre the canals function as roads, so people get around the city either by boat or on foot. In the 19th century a causeway to the mainland brought the Venezia Santa Lucia railway station to Venice, and the Ponte della Libertà road causeway and parking facilities were built during in the twentieth century. But transportation within the city remains entirely on water or on foot, being Venice Europe's largest urban car-free area. The Venice area is also connected to the rest of the world by the Marco Polo International Airport, the third largest in Italy.

Today, Venice's economy is mainly based on tourism, shipbuilding (in the neighbouring city of Porto Marghera), port facilities, cruise business, services, trade and industrial exports. Glass production in Murano and lace production in Burano are also still important to the economy.

Being a major centre of artistic and architectural heritage Venice is one of the most important tourist destinations in the world attracting an average of over 22 millions tourists a year. It holds international events, such as the Venice Biennale, the Carnival and the Venice Film Festival. However, the increasing number of tourists is causing problems for the city and its residents, and a new balance must be found between the needs of its visitors and its permanent population, as well as between conservation and innovation.

 

For more information, visit www.comune.venezia.it - www.port.venice.it