VENICE, ITALY

LOCATION :  Venice is a city in northeastern Italy sited on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges. It is located in the marshy Venetian Lagoon which stretches along the shoreline, between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Venice is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks.The city in its entirety is listed as a World Heritage Site,along with its lagoon.

 
DESCRIPTION : The buildings of Venice are constructed on closely spaced wooden piles. Most of these piles are still intact after centuries of submersion. The foundations rest on the piles, and buildings of brick or stone sit above these footings. The piles penetrate a softer layer of sand and mud until they reach a much harder layer of compressed clay.

 Venice is one of the most important tourist destinations in the world for its celebrated art and architecture.The city has an average of 50,000 tourists a day (2007 estimate). In 2006, it was the world's 28th most internationally visited city, with 2.927 million international arrivals that year. It is regarded as one of the world's most beautiful cities.

 Tourism has been a major sector of Venetian industry since the 18th century, when it was a major center for the Grand Tour with its beautiful cityscape, uniqueness, and rich musical and artistic cultural heritage. In the 19th century, it became a fashionable centre for the rich and famous, often staying or dining at luxury establishments such as the Danieli Hotel and the Caffe' Florian. It continued being a fashionable city in vogue right into the early 20th century.

In the 1980s, the Carnival of Venice was revived and the city has become a major centre of international conferences and festivals which attract visitors from all over the world for their theatrical, cultural, cinematic, artistic, and musical productions