​Venice is one of the most famous cities in the world. For those who get to visit Italy, this is another of the cities on every traveler’s must-see list (along with Rome and Florence). Here are some interesting facts about this ancient gem of Italy!

For those who speak English, traveling is easy with current opportunities. You can see the greatest cities of Italy including Venice, by applying to be an au pair with an Italian family through Rome Abroad.

1. The ancient city has over 170 canals.

2. There are about 170 bell towers in Venice.

3. Over 18 million tourists visit the small city each year.​

​That’s about 50,000 visitors each day!

4. Venice has a TON of nicknames.​

“Queen of the Adriatic”, “City of Bridges”, “City of Masks”, “City of Water”,”City of Canals” and “The Floating City,” just to name a few.

5. During November and December, ‘Acqua Alta’ (the Venetian term for ‘high water’) occurs.​

​Tidal activity is the cause of this annoying problem for Venetians. Today, Venice has ‘Mose,’ a unique engineering project which keeps the water from flooding too much.

6. Venice has over 116 islands in its region.​

7. From the 1300s until the 1500s, Venice’s Republic was the most powerful force in the Mediterranean region.​

8. Venice’s city structure came out of necessity.

In order to defend themselves from barbarian invasions, the ancient inhabitants saw the large archipelago as prime time real estate with a built-in defense (it was hard for invaders to attack a city both on water and land). Talk about the perfect place to live.

9. The buildings aren’t actually built on land.​

​Although the city was built on an existing archipelago, the city’s architecture is supported on series of wooden platforms which are secured in the sea. Venetians did this because the small islands themselves were not strong enough to support regular-sized buildings.

10. Venice is sinking at the rate of 1-2 millimeters a year.

11. Surprisingly, 2010 was the first year Venice had a female gondolier.​

12. There are over 400 gondoliers in the city.

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