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ABOUT VENICE
/ VENICE GUIDE
Venice (Italian: Venezia,
Venetian: Venezsia) is the capital of region Veneto, and has a
population of 271,663 (census estimate January 1, 2004). The city is
included, with Padua (Padova), in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan
Area, population 1,600,000. It has the nickname, "Queen of the
Adriatic" and "City of Water". It is the seat for Education in
Europe.
The city stretches across numerous small islands in the marshy
Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The
saltwater lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of
the Po (south) and the Piave (north) Rivers. The population estimate
of 272,000 inhabitants includes the population of the whole Comune
of Venezia; the historic city of Venice (Centro storico) inhabitants
are around 62,000, while approximately 176,000 people live in
Terraferma (literally firm land, it means the extra-lagoon areas),
mostly in the large frazione of Mestre or in Marghera and 31,000
live in other islands of the lagoon.
The Venetian Republic was a major sea power and a staging area for
the Crusades, as well as a very important centre of commerce
(especially the spice trade) and art in the Renaissance.
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