The Grand Canal is located in Venice, Italy. Here you can find one of the most important water transport corridors in the city.
One end of the canal enters the lagoon near Santa Lucia train station and the other end enters the Basin of San Marco. Meanwhile, it runs in a large inverted S shape through the center of Venice. It is 3.8 km long, 30-90 meters wide, and has an average depth of 5 meters.
About the Grand Canal of Venice
One end of the canal enters the lagoon near Santa Lucia train station and the other end enters the Basin of San Marco. Meanwhile, it runs in a large inverted S shape through the center of Venice. It is 3.8 km long, 30-90 meters wide, and has an average depth of 5 meters.
Until the 19th century, there was only one bridge across the canal, the Rialto Bridge, as most traffic in the city traveled along the canal rather than across it. Today, his three other bridges, the Scalzi Bridge, the Accademia Bridge, and his controversial 2008 Santiago Calatrava-designed Costituzione Bridge, connect the train station with Piazzale Roma.
He is one of the few places in Venice where buses and cars go back and forth. You can enter. As was common in the past, you can stand on the deck of a simple gondola called a target and take a cross-strait ferry at some point, but this service wasn’t as common as it was a decade ago. not targeted.
Most palaces emerge from the water without plaster. Therefore, the only way to pass the facades of the buildings along the Grand Canal is by boat.
History of the grand canal in Venice
The first settlements
The Grand Canal probably follows the course of an ancient river that empties into the lagoon. Adriatic and Venetian groups have already lived in the former “Rio Buscinacus” since before Roman times.
They lived in houses on stilts and depended on fishing and trade. Under Roman and later Byzantine rule, the lagoon became a populated and important place, and in the early 9th century the governors moved from Malamocco to the safer “Rivoartus”.
Fondaco” houses
Along the canal, a growing number of buildings “fondacos” combined warehouses and merchants’ dwellings.A portico covers the embankment and facilitates the unloading of ships. From the portico, a corridor surrounded by storerooms leads to the backyard.
Similarly, on the first floor, a loggia about the size of a portico illuminates the room leading to the merchant’s room. This divides the façade into an airy central part and into two solid side parts. A low mezzanine with offices separates the two floors.
Fondaco houses were often flanked by defensive towers, such as the Fondaco dei Turchi. The German warehouse Fondaco dei Tedeschi reflected the large number of foreign merchants operating in Venice, and the Republic provided them with warehouses and accommodation while controlling their trading activities.
Other public buildings were also constructed along the Rialto Canal. The Palace of the Commercial and Financial Banks and the Mint. In 1181 Nicolò his Barattieri built a pontoon bridge connecting the Rialto and Mersuri districts, later replaced by a wooden bridge with shops. Flour and salt warehouses were located on the outskirts.
The Venetian-Byzantine style
The Byzantine Empire brought sculptures, friezes, columns, capitals, and other products to decorate the fondaco homes of aristocratic families. Byzantine art merged with earlier elements to create the Venetian Byzantine style. The architecture featured large loggias with round or long arches and an abundance of polychrome marble.
Cafarcetti, Calredan, and Cada his mosts along the Grand Canal have these elements well preserved, all from the 12th or 13th century. During this period, Rialto underwent intense architectural development that determined the shape of the canal and its surrounding area. In fact, Venetian building materials are precious and foundations are usually preserved.
Subsequent restorations reuse existing elements and mix the Venetian-Byzantine style with the new. The use of polychrome, tripartite façades, loggias, diffused openings, and spatial divisions formed a special architectural taste that will continue into the future.
Venetian Gothic
In the early 15th century, Renaissance architectural motifs appeared in buildings such as the Palazzo Dario and Palazzo Corner Spinelli. The latter was designed in Venice by Mauro Codussi, a pioneer of this style. Another one of his projects, his Ca’ Vendramin Calergi, reveals a complete transition.
The numerous wide-open marble windows are semi-circular and have columns of the classical three orders. Classical architecture is more prominent in Jacopo’s Sansovino project, which arrived in Rome in 1527. He designed Palazzo Corner and Palazzo Dolphin his main on the canal. It is famous for its grandeur, the horizontal arrangement of its white façade, and the development around the central courtyard.
Other Renaissance buildings include Palazzo Papadopoli and Palazzo Grimani di San Luca. Several palaces from this period had frescoed façades by painters such as Il Pordenone, Tintoretto, and Paolo Veronese, all of which are unfortunately lost. Of particular note are the frescoes by Veronese and Zelotti in the Capello Caña overlooking the Grand Canal at its confluence with the Rio de Sampolo River.
Renaissance
In the early 15th century, Renaissance architectural motifs appeared in buildings such as Dario’s Palace and Corner Spinelli Palace. The latter was designed in Venice by Mauro Codussi, a pioneer of this style. Another of his projects, Ca’ Vendramin Calergi, has revealed a complete transition.
The numerous wide-open marble windows are semi-circular and have columns of the classical three orders.
Venetian Baroque
In 1582, Alessandro Vittoria began the construction of Palazzo Balbi, featuring Baroque elements. Molded cornices, broken pediments, and decorative motifs. The most important Baroque architect in Venice is Baldassare Longhena.
In 1631 he began construction of the magnificent Cathedral of Santa Maria della Salute, one of the most attractive churches in Venice and a symbol of the Grand Canal. The classical plan of the façade shows ornamentation and numerous statues, the latter also crowning a sophisticated spiral around the main dome.
Neoclassical architecture
The neoclassical architecture along the canal dates back to the 18th century. In the first half, San Simeone Piccolo was built. It features an impressive Corinthian portico, central plan, and high copper roof dome that ends in a temple-shaped dome. It dates back to the second half of Palazzo Grassi in Massari.
Modern era
After the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797, construction of many palaces in Venice ceased, as evidenced by the unfinished Palazzo San Marcuola and Palazzo Venie dei Leoni (which houses the Peggy Guggenheim Collection). Stripped of their hereditary roles in government and sometimes persecuted by revolutionary forces, aristocratic families sought alternative housing.
Several historic palaces have been demolished, but many have been found for other uses, and some restorations have preserved his 18th-century appearance. By the end of the 20th century, most of the well-known palaces were owned by cities, states, or public institutions.
Events Grand Canal of Venice
Historical Regatta
On the first Sunday in September, it hosts a historic regatta, a race between Venetian boats, watched by thousands from the shore and water bleachers. The competition will be preceded by a historic procession commemorating the admission of Catherine Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus after her abdication in 1489.
A costumed gondolier rides in his typical 16th-century vessel, past the Bucentaurus, the governor’s state galley.
The Feast-day of the Madonna della Salute
On November 21st, Venetians make a pilgrimage to Santa Maria della Salute to thank the Virgin Mary for saving them from the plague of 1630-1638. Pilgrims cross the Grand Canal on a makeshift pontoon bridge from Campo Santa Maria del Giglio and enjoy street food and traditional cuisine
