Venice is known as the “City of Canals” because waterways cross much of its historic centre.
Venice occupies a group of islands in a lagoon on Italy’s northeastern Adriatic coast. Its historic core is connected by hundreds of bridges and divided by canals, with the Grand Canal forming its principal waterway. Boats, including traditional gondolas and public vaporetti, are an essential part of the city’s transport heritage.
The city grew into a powerful medieval maritime republic. Venetian merchants and fleets connected the Adriatic, the eastern Mediterranean, and wider trade networks. Its wealth supported distinctive architecture, painting, glassmaking, and music. St Mark’s Basilica, the Doge’s Palace, and the Rialto Bridge are among its best-known landmarks.
Venice faces continuing pressures from flooding, subsidence, erosion, tourism, and population decline in the historic centre. The surrounding lagoon and the city’s monuments form a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognized for their cultural and environmental relationship.