| For a millennium, Venice has provided inspiration for | | | | the restoration of natural sandbanks have all |
| artists and writers. This coveted city is made up of 118 | | | | contributed to the cause. |
| islands linked by 453 bridges. Each corner of town | | | | The first settlers of Venice were those fleeing the |
| exhibits individual architectural magnificence, the city | | | | Barbarians around 400 AD. To create solid |
| combining as one to form a spectacular theatrical | | | | foundations for their buildings they drove timber into the |
| stage set. | | | | mud and began creating a community for their people. |
| Beautiful churches adorn the banks of the Grand | | | | The city's emblem, the winged lion, derived from Saint |
| Canal as she snakes her way through the city. This | | | | Mark the Evangelist. The first significant church of |
| main artery is at the centre of a myriad of canals | | | | Venice was built in the ninth century to house the relics |
| running throughout the town. | | | | of Saint Mark, and his emblem was soon adopted. |
| The lifeblood of Venice is its tourism, a magnet for | | | | Venice?s trade brought great wealth and prosperity to |
| over 12 million visitors a year. Catering for this influx of | | | | the city and for many centuries it continued to grow. |
| visitors, the cities population of 70,000 people continue | | | | The city thrived on its colonies and invested its riches |
| their daily lives, working the bars, cafes and | | | | wisely. Churches and palaces became commonplace, |
| restaurants. | | | | as were museums to house many newly acquired |
| Despite all this however, it seems that Venice is slowly | | | | works of art. |
| sinking at the rate of approximately 2 inches every | | | | For the past couple of centuries however, the obvious |
| century. Terrible floods in 1966 caused much doom | | | | lack of development space meant the city found it |
| mongering and many people feared that Venice was | | | | difficult to advance further. Wars with Turkey were a |
| about to be taken off the map. | | | | drain on the resources and so Venice was content to |
| The threat to remove funding for vital restoration | | | | consolidate. |
| projects gave serious cause for concern and | | | | Despite this, Venice does not rest on its laurels. Every |
| prompted an urgent response to save the city. It was | | | | visit offers something new, a fresh experience to take |
| feared imminent flooding could completely destroy the | | | | home. Each region of the city has an individual charm, |
| city; preventative measures were high priority. | | | | giving the sense there is always something special |
| The efforts of the past two decades have had | | | | around each corner. |
| considerable success. Reduced pollution, shipping and | | | | |