Grand Canal (Venice)

The Grand Canal ( Canal Grande is a common misnomer ) in the Venetian Canalazzo is the nearly four kilometer long, between 30 and 70 meters wide and five meters deep main waterway in the lagoon city of Venice. The first bend of the S -shaped channel is referred to as di volta Canal.

He is the last piece of the northern arm of the Brenta River, which runs through the lagoon, which is why the water in contrast to the other Venetian canals is always flowing here. About 45 smaller channels (it. rii ) open into the Grand Canal.

Location

The Grand Canal divides the city sixth ( Sestieri ) San Marco, Cannaregio and Castello of the located on the right channel side neighborhoods of Dorsoduro, San Polo and Santa Croce.

Bridges and gondolas

Currently, four bridges span the canal, the oldest of the Rialto bridge. It is a place of a wooden bridge built in the late 16th century covered bridge in limestone.

Until the establishment of the Scalzi Bridge and the Accademia Bridge in the 19th century (both rebuilt in the 20th century) was the Rialto Bridge, the only fixed link across the Channel.

In the summer of 2007 began the construction of a fourth bridge designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. On 11 August 2007, the centerpiece of the supporting structure was used. To this end, the Grand Canal was closed for several hours. On 11 September 2008, the bridge as the " Constitution Bridge " was inaugurated. The 94 -meter-long bridge connects Piazzale Roma to the train station and thus enables commuters and bus passengers, without going out of the parking and the bus terminus of Piazzale Roma to the S. Lucia train station to arrive.

In addition to the bridges and the city's water buses ( vaporetto it. ) allow gondolas (it. traghetti ) at eight positions to translate across the Grand Canal. The gondolas operate exclusively during the day.

Loss of historic buildings, including the church of S. Lucia, had to be recorded in the 19th century by the construction of the station at the western end of the channel. In memory of the demolished church of S. Lucia train station Stazione Ferroviaria was called.

The Grand Canal is a punishable by a fine armored ban on swimming, which is strictly enforced.

Rialto Bridge

Ponte dell ' Accademia

Palaces

The Grand Canal is lined with more than 200 magnificent palaces of the nobility. In Venice, the height of the palaces of many provisions of the city-state was defined and each accepted das. Again there was compared to other Italian cities, a strong common spirit, the superimposed individual interests. The counter-example are the towers in other cities, with which the individual families sought to outdo each other.

After the great Fourth Crusade of 1204, during which the Venetians had made rich prey that formerly wooden houses were initially replaced by stone structures in the Byzantine style. From the 15th century they were gradually replaced by magnificent palaces - in the style of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods. Byzantine elements were preserved in a few buildings, however, are still in the tracery of Gothic windows to see.

The distance of the palaces to the Grand Canal was in the early and high Middle Ages partly larger. Only in the 13th century, they began to expand the buildings which were built on many small islands towards the channel and to relocate the yard to the rear. At the same time the main facade was moved towards the water, which had previously on the land side. Contrary to widespread opinion, the palaces of the most famous families were not on the Grand Canal, but at larger and smaller spaces or on side channels.

The stones for these palaces were mainly transported from the mainland brought about, especially from Verona ( red marble ) and Istria (white Kalkmarmor ). All building material, bricks for walls and roofs, as well as vast quantities of wood needed from outside, sometimes over hundreds of miles, to be brought, there was nothing naturally present in Venice.

The palaces are indeed in their size, often very different, but all follow the same design principle - a dominant center part and side subordinate wings - created. The open through large window facade and the preference of the light in front of the solid construction also arises from the need to unsafe, often sandy foundation to build any houses too heavy middle of the water of the lagoon. So all the buildings of Venice are on a scaffold from thousands of oak piles, which were driven many meters deep into the ground, built. The internal layout of the premises is usually read on the facade. This reflects the centuries- long experience of the builder that the fundamental element of Venice, the water, the light reflections inside should reflect in the rooms.

The lower level, the water level, was therefore open to accommodate the goods may have been brought from the ships. This whole floor, which was piantereno, also since the 14th century reserved on the courtyard side of the trade, so the economic and financial basis of most Venetian families who inhabited those palaces. Here set them before the portal to the boats were unloaded and the goods stored directly in the adjoining rooms and magazines and be -. In front of the palaces are the famous Pali, the colorful piles to tie the ships. They call with their individual colors and the respective host.

The first floor, the piano nobile, and often still another was the family reserved. Here was the great hall, the portego that occupied the entire depth of the house in the middle. This middle section was usually surrounded on both sides by smaller spaces. The servants lived at the top of the mezzanine. The kitchens also were mostly below the roofs - and for good reason. If there was a fire here, the whole house was not affected.

Courtyards are almost always missing. For every palace had its own well in the open back yard. The less wealthy got their water from public tanks that were on the campuses. Above each cistern fountain was set up.

The water for the tanks came in part from the rooftops. Around the roof was namely the so -called Gorns, a stone gutter, which was connected through a vertical drain pipes to the tanks. The roofs of the palaces are relatively flat, and that - according to legend - because the Venetians were able to let their hair as long as bleach from the sun, until they had reached that shade of golden reddish Blonds, for which they were already famous Titian times. Only the hair has been bleached, tanned skin. This was considered vulgar. Brown skin had only the people who had to work outdoors. The roofs of the Venetian palaces, however, were contrary to widespread opinion rarely really accessible, though, there have been numerous in Venice gazebos, wooden, balcony-like structures on the roofs.

Many palaces were despite its light and airy construction inside very dark, especially in the rear area when the house as usually in Venice, wedged stood between neighboring buildings, often with little or no room for a courtyard. Especially the stairwells and ground floors were light and air to be desired. That's why it came in the 16th century to an appreciation of these areas.

Churches

Direct the Grand Canal facing, separated only by small squares or cobbled shore area of him are also some churches of Santa Maria di Nazareth ( Scalzi ), San Simeone Piccolo, San Geremia, San Marcuola, San Stae, San Samuele and Santa Maria della Salute. As part of the Accademia, the largest museum of Venetian art, is also the nave of the former church of Santa Maria della Carita to see. For the construction of the station at the northwest end of the Grand Canal in the 19th century, the church of Santa Lucia had been canceled.

Orientation plan

The following lists the orientation plan located on both channel sides on the Grand Canal buildings and piers, if one follows the natural flow.