Venice 101: Fascinating Facts about Venice

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Become a quick "Renaissance Man" on Venice

Venice's Urban Routes are Canals
The Christian Reference Behind Venice’s Symbol of the Winged Lion
The Relics of St. Mark Are Located in Venice
Venice is Sinking Slowly
Venice Has Its Own Dialect
Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice
Famous Hollywood Films Shot in Venice
The Story Behind Venice’s Famous Masks
Venice as One of the Key Cities of the Renaissance
Churches Built in Gratitude After Plague Outbreaks in Venice
The Popes of Venice

1. Venice's Urban Routes are Canals

Venice is one of the few cities in the world where cars, buses, and even bicycles are completely banned from the urban center. Its unique layout, composed of over 100 small islands connected by more than 400 bridges, makes traditional roadways impossible. Instead of roads, Venice has canals—most notably the Grand Canal, which functions as the city’s main route.

Public transportation is handled by a system of water buses called vaporetti, along with water taxis and private boats. For smaller or more scenic journeys, traditional gondolas are used, though today they are mostly for tourists. Navigating Venice requires walking, often over many bridges and through twisting alleyways, which adds to its charm but can also be disorienting for first-time visitors.

2. The Christian Reference Behind Venice’s Symbol of the Winged Lion

One of the most famous symbols in Venice is the winged lion, which you’ll see on buildings, flags, and statues all around the city. This creature represents St. Mark the Evangelist, the city’s patron saint. The lion usually has wings and rests one paw on a book, which sometimes contains the words "Peace to you, Mark, my Evangelist." It may also be shown holding a sword. The lion stands for courage, strength, and wisdom, while the wings and book represent St. Mark’s role in spreading the message of the Gospel. Over time, the winged lion became the official symbol of the Venetian Republic.

Just around the corner from where the winged lion statue stands in St. Mark’s Square, there’s another interesting sculpture worth noticing: the Tetrarchs. This statue, embedded in the corner of St. Mark's Basilica, shows four Roman emperors standing close together, holding each other in a gesture of unity. The figures are believed to represent the rulers from a period in the late Roman Empire, when Emperor Diocletian introduced a system in which power was shared by four emperors to help govern the vast empire more effectively.

3. The Relics of St. Mark Are Located in Venice

Venice claims Saint Mark as its patron saint, largely because of the presence of his relics in the city. According to tradition, in the 9th century, Venetian merchants smuggled the remains of Saint Mark from Alexandria to Venice. Saint Mark is traditionally recognized as the author of the Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels in the New Testament. Mark is believed to have been a companion of both Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and his gospel is considered by many the earliest written account of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

Today, the relics of Saint Mark are enshrined in the St. Mark’s Basilica. Visitors to Venice can see the altar where the relics rest and admire numerous artistic representations of the winged lion—Saint Mark’s symbol—throughout the basilica and across the city, reinforcing the legacy of the evangelist in Venetian culture.

4. Venice is Sinking Slowly

Venice has long battled a natural phenomenon known as acqua alta, or “high water,” which causes temporary flooding in parts of the city, especially low-lying areas like Piazza San Marco. These floods are caused by a combination of factors: rising sea levels, tide patterns, heavy rains, and the fact that the city itself is slowly sinking.

Tourists visiting during the autumn and winter months, especially from October to December, are most likely to encounter acqua alta. During this season, elevated tides can flood streets, squares, and even the outdoor terraces of restaurants and cafés. It’s not uncommon to see tables and chairs standing in water while diners either wait for the tide to recede or move indoors. In anticipation of floods, the city sets up elevated wooden walkways to help pedestrians navigate across submerged areas, and many shops and hotels keep water barriers at their entrances.

5. Venice Has Its Own Dialect

Although standard Italian is the official language of Venice, many locals continue to speak Venetian in everyday life. Venetian is a distinct Romance language with Latin roots, and it has developed its own grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, dating back to the time of the Venetian Republic.

For example, “good morning” becomes “bon dì” instead of buongiorno, “how are you?” is “come xe ti?”instead of come stai?, and “thank you” becomes “gràssie” instead of grazie. These differences were shaped by centuries of international trade, political independence, and interaction with Eastern and Northern European merchants.

While younger generations tend to speak more Italian, many Venetians are proud of their linguistic heritage and see the dialect as a symbol of local identity. You might hear it in marketplaces, family-run shops, or local taverns known as “bacari.”

6. Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice

Antonio Vivaldi, one of the most famous composers of the Baroque era, was born in Venice in 1678. He was baptized shortly after birth at the Church of San Giovanni in Bragora, located in the Castello district of the city. This modest yet historically important church still stands today and is a meaningful stop for music enthusiasts visiting Venice.

Vivaldi later became a Catholic priest. Although he was ordained in the early 1700s, health issues prevented him from regularly performing Mass. That same year, he began working at the Ospedale della Pietà, a church-run orphanage and music school. There, he served as a violin teacher, composer, and conductor.

Over the nearly thirty years he spent at the Pietà, Vivaldi composed an enormous number of works, often tailored to the skills of the students he taught. His most celebrated piece, The Four Seasons, is a set of violin concertos that musically depict the changes in nature throughout the year.

7. Famous Hollywood Films Shot in Venice

Venice has served as a stunning backdrop for many films, from the romantic glamour of The Tourist (2010) to the eerie mystery of A Haunting in Venice (2023). But perhaps the most iconic appearance is in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).

In the film, Indiana arrives in Venice in search of clues to the Holy Grail. He visits a grand library that secretly hides an underground crypt—this memorable scene was actually filmed at the Church of San Barnaba. In real life, the church doesn’t have catacombs and is no longer used for worship. Today, it functions as a cultural venue hosting exhibitions. Still, the square and church exterior remain popular spots for fans of the film.

8. The Story Behind Venice’s Famous Masks

As you walk through Venice, you’ll notice many colourful and mysterious masks in shop windows or worn during festivals. These Venetian masks aren’t just beautiful decorations—they have a long history and once played an important role in social events.

Masks were especially popular during Carnevale, the festival leading up to Lent, a 40-day period in the Catholic calendar when people traditionally gave up meat. In fact, the word Carnevale comes from the Latin phrase “carne levare,” meaning “to remove meat.” Originating from Christian traditions, Carnival became a time of celebration and indulgence before the restrictions of Lent began. While it’s now celebrated around the world, its roots are closely tied to Rome and Venice.

In Venice, Carnevale became a chance for people to hide their identities behind masks and enjoy greater freedom in public. With a mask on, social boundaries blurred—nobles, merchants, and common citizens could mix, dance, and joke together without worrying about class or reputation. Different types of masks served different purposes. The Bauta covered the entire face and was worn with a cloak and three-cornered hat, offering full anonymity. The Colombina, a half-mask often decorated with gold and feathers, was popular in theatre and among the upper class. The Plague Doctor mask was originally designed for doctors during outbreaks, but later became one of the most iconic Carnival masks.

9. Venice as One of the Key Cities of the Renaissance

During the Italian Renaissance, Venice emerged as one of the most important cultural centers in Europe, alongside Florence and Rome. What set Venice apart was its wealth, independence, and exposure to international trade and ideas. As a powerful maritime republic, it had access not only to classical learning from ancient Greece and Rome but also to influences from the Byzantine and Islamic worlds.

Venice produced and attracted some of the greatest artists of the Renaissance. Artists such as Giovanni Bellini, Tintoretto, and Paolo Veronese gave the city a visual identity defined by richness, vibrant color, and emotional depth—qualities that stood in contrast to the more structured and linear art style in Florence.

Venice also played a key role in the spread of Renaissance humanism. Venetian scholars helped shape Italian literary style and encouraged the study of ancient texts. In addition, the city’s thriving printing industry made both classical and contemporary works more widely available than ever before.

10. Churches Built in Gratitude After Plague Outbreaks in Venice

Throughout its history, Venice was repeatedly struck by devastating outbreaks of plague that claimed thousands of lives. In response, the city's leaders and citizens often turned to faith, praying for divine intervention and promising acts of devotion in return for protection or relief. One of the most powerful expressions of this faith was the construction of churches as thank-offerings to God or the saints when the city emerged from the worst of these epidemics.

The most famous example is the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, built in 1631 after a deadly outbreak in 1630 that wiped out nearly a third of Venice’s population. In desperation, the Venetian leaders vowed to build a magnificent church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, under the title Our Lady of Health (Santa Maria della Salute), if she would deliver the city from the plague. When the epidemic ended, they fulfilled their vow, and the church was erected at the entrance to the Grand Canal as a lasting symbol of gratitude and faith.

Other churches in Venice were also built as a result of similar vows. The Church of Most Holy Redeemer was commissioned in 1577 after a plague claimed around 50,000 lives. Likewise, the Church of San Sebastiano became associated with the plague due to its dedication to Saint Sebastian, a protector against the disease, and grew into a popular place of devotion during outbreaks.

11. The Popes of Venice

St. Pius X, born Giuseppe Sarto in 1835 in the village of Riese (near Treviso in the Veneto region), had strong ties to Venice. In 1893, he was made Patriarch of Venice by Pope Leo XIII. He resided in the Palazzo Patriarcale near St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. In 1903, Cardinal Sarto was elected Pope Pius X, becoming one of the few popes to rise from modest, humble origins.

As pope, he became known for significant reforms: he lowered the age for First Holy Communion via the decree Quam Singulari in 1910, promoted more frequent reception of the Eucharist, and initiated the first comprehensive codification of Canon Law. He is also known for strongly opposing modernist theological trends, which he believed threatened the traditional teachings of the Church, making him a popular figure in traditional Catholicism.

Remarkably, two other future popes also served as Patriarchs of Venice: St. John XXIII (Angelo Roncalli) from 1953 to 1958, and Pope John Paul I (Albino Luciani) from 1969 to 1978.