Venice

[bednobs]

how does it work? i gather the structure of it is built on "islands" (from wiki) and that the buildings are piled. does this mean its essentially floating? these islands - are they permanent land masses?
for people who live there - are there ANY pavements - can yu walk to the shops? or do you have to get in a boat as soon as you exit your residence?
what sort of ordinary people live there?
what would be an equivalent sized city/town here?
does it just blend into the land mass of italy as you get closer to the main land?

[wolf63]

There are pavements - https://quickvenice.com/transportation/walking.htm

[bednobs]

so what are the pavements built on?

[Buenchico]

See here:
https://venezialines.com/blog/venices-canals-built-city-built-water/

[Ellipsis]

Fantastic city, I recommend a visit. I've never walked more around a city than on my first trip to Venice ...

[tonyav]

It is a lovely medieval place, however when I went it was very smelly and very expensive.

[maggiebee]

Monty Don of Gardener's World's show was from Venice tonight. Obviously exploring some fabulous gardens and their history. Well worth a look on catch up. Apparently Venice consists of 118 islands?

[New Judge]

//It is a lovely medieval place, however when I went it was very smelly and very expensive.//

Strange you should mention the smell, tony. I went there once (never again) and it stunk appallingly. Whenever I mention this to anybody they say I don't know what I'm talking about. But it definitely did stink.

I don't really understand why a city ever evolved there. It is the most unsuitable place imaginable to build a city. It also suffers from a phenomenon that many things Italian do - unjustified hype and praise (think of their cooking, their wine, their racing cars).

[ToraToraTora]

well it penned when I went their years ago, they may have improved it since but they used to use the canals as a sewer. Bucket and chuck it etc.

[douglas9401]

It's not just one overpowering guff but subtly different from place to place.

To help the Venetian blind navigate, apparently.

[Zacs-Master]

Groan.

[lady-janine]

A very seductive place. It does pong sometimes more than others. Back street little local cafes give best value for money. Fantastic place.

[jno]

they basically built up areas that were low-lying but just above the water and dredged the bits between, usually to about 6 feet. Buildings then rest on wooden poles sunk into the ground that have hardened till they're more or less stone, and have actual stone platforms placed on top of them There are plenty of pavements and little bridges everywhere, so it's easily walkable and not very big. The islands are fixed, they don't float. You can hop around in the little vaporetti (water ferries), I believe the only public transport in Europe that costs more than London's.

The population keeps shrinking because the large number of tourists push the prices up. Lots go and live in Mestre, on the shores of the lagoon - there's a railway line across from there to Venice itself. It doesn't blend into the mainland though. People first moved there centuries ago because, surrounded by water, it was easy to defend. But the huge cruise ships coming there ever day are churning up the water badly. They keep talking about closing off the lagoon (it has three entrances) with something like the Thames Barrier to control water levels but they haven't actually done anything.

Can't say I've ever noticed a smell.

It's about 250,000, the same as Wolverhampton.

[Peter Pedant]

piled like Amsterdam
you get a telegraph pole ( lots of them) and drive them vertically into the lagoon and then build on them
and a lot of the time the buildings stay above water

[Peter Pedant]

summer - mozzies as well
go now

[tomus42]

The first and only time I went there was in about 1987. I never noticed a smell.

It's basically built on marshland, so not floating as such, just sitting on piles as has been described above.

[Canary42]

Piles can smell awful.

[pastafreak]

// It also suffers from a phenomenon that many things Italian do - unjustified hype and praise (think of their cooking, their wine, their racing cars). //

Guess you're not a fan of anything Italian...

[DTCwordfan]

stinks rotten, esp in summer...walkable, but get off the beaten track as Lady J and others have suggested already.....much cheaper and more 'colourful'.....helps if you have some basic Italian or make the effort!

[david small]

My wife and loved it. No pongs except for the tourist.
Too hot when we went and far too crowded. Side street cafes are the best. Gondola prices are ridiculous.

[New Judge]

//I believe the only public transport in Europe that costs more than London's.//

There are plenty of places in Europe (and indeed in England) where public transport is dearer than London. In London you can travel by tube from Epping to West Ruislip (which, at more than 33 miles is the longest you can travel on a single train) for £3.30, Off Peak. If you’re prepared to make a few changes to avoid Zone 1, you can do it for £1.70. You can travel on any number of buses for any distance within one hour and it costs £1.55. By contrast, I often take a bus journey from a village seven miles outside Oxford to the City Centre and it costs £7 return. And don’t even start me on the Isle of Wight ferry!

//Guess you're not a fan of anything Italian...//

I wouldn't say not of anything. It's just that it seems they go to great lengths to extol the virtues of lots of stuff that is, well, just not that great. I don't criticise them too much for that; you've got to talk your stuff up as much as you can (unlike in the UK where the history, heritage and achievements of the country are often likened to dropping a sack full of kittens into the canal). Just so long as they understand that many people do not accept their unwavering praise.

But I still don't get why they would have gone to the trouble of building a city on what is essentially marshy bog land. Italy has stacks of land and if they wanted a settlement near the sea there are plenty of places where that could have been achieved without draining bogs, sinking piles and all the other aggro that went with it. It strikes me that they simply like to make life difficult - spaghetti is a perfect example of that. Why make a food in three foot lengths, requiring special instructions (which invariably don't work) on how to eat it? It is clearly unfit for purpose and should be manufactured, cooked and served in lengths of no more than one inch. If I am ever unfortunate enough to be served the stuff I immediately chop it up into a manageable size before starting to eat it. All this faffing about winding it round a fork and spoon is simply ridiculous. It makes as much sense as building a city on a bog.