Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital of the region Veneto, a population of 271,251 (census estimate January 1, 2004). Venice has been known as the "La Dominante", "Serenissima", "Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Bridges", and "The City of Light". It is often cited as one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

The city stretches across 118 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; around 62,000 in the historic city of Venice (Centro storico); 176,000 in Terraferma (the Mainland), mostly in the large frazione of Mestre and Marghera; and 31,000 live on other islands in the lagoon.

The Venetian Republic was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and a staging area for the Crusades and the Battle of Lepanto, as well as a very important center of commerce (especially silk, grain and spice trade) and art in the 13th century up to the end of the 17th century.

Main sights

• Santa Maria della Salute.
• Grand Canal.
• A small canal in Venice (Rio della Verona).
• A winter sunset across the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge.
• Piazza San Marco and its famous pigeons.
• Rialto Bridge seen from a waterbus.
• Sestieri

The sestieri are the primary traditional divisions of Venice. The city is divided into the six districts of Cannaregio, San Polo, Dorsoduro (including the Giudecca), Santa Croce, San Marco (including San Giorgio Maggiore), and Castello (including San Pietro di Castello and Sant'Elena). At the front of the Gondolas that work in the city there is a large piece of metal intended as a likeness of the Doge's hat. On this sit six notches pointing forwards and one pointing backwards. Each of these represent one of the Sestieri (the one which points backwards represents the Giudecca).

Museums

• Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana
• Casa Goldoni a Palazzo Centano
• Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca' d'Oro
• Galleria Internazionale d'Arte Moderna
• Gallerie dell'Accademia
• Galleria di Palazzo Cini
• Museo Correr
• Museo d'Arte Erotica
• Museo d'Arte Orientale
• Museo del Ghetto
• Museo del Merletto di Burano
• Museo del Settecento veneziano (Ca' Rezzonico)
• Museo del Vetro di Murano
• Museo dell'Istituto Ellenico
• Museo della Fondazione Querini Stampalia
• Museo della Scuola Dalmata dei SS. Giorgio e Trifone
• Museo di Storia Naturale
• Museo di Torcello
• Museo Diocesano di Arte sacra
• Museo Ebraico
• Museo Marciano
• Museo parrocchiale San Pietro Martire
• Museo Wagner (Ca' Vendramin Calergi)
• Museo Storico Navale
• Palazzo Fortuny
• Palazzo Ducale
• Palazzo Grassi
• Peggy Guggenheim Collection
• Pinacoteca e Museo di S. Lazzaro degli Armeni
• Pinacoteca Manfrediniana
• Scuola Grande dei Carmini
• Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista
• Scuola Grande di San Marco
• Scuola Grande di San Rocco
• Piazzas and campi
• St Mark's Square
• Campo San Polo

Palaces and palazzi

• Doge's Palace
• Palazzo Grassi
• Ca' d'Oro
• Ca' Rezzonico
• Ca' Vendramin Calergi
• Peggy Guggenheim Collection
• Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo
• Fondaco dei Turchi
• Palazzo Labia
• Scuola Grande di San Marco
• Palazzo Malipiero
• Palazzo Foscari

Churches

• Basilica di San Marco
• Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute
• Other churches