Breathtaking Photos of Venice Guaranteed to Captivate

Venice is one of my favorite places in Italy, a city that entices me to return again and again. It’s a place where a photo opportunity emerges around every corner. I can never resist stopping to capture the beauty of the moment here. I hope you enjoy these special photographic moments as much as I do.

Venice holds a special place in my heart. It’s not a city I can easily forget, nor do I want to. The appeal of this floating city, built on stilts in a lagoon, is real, and Venice remains a place always beckoning me to return

These are typical morning scenes of the local workers carting away trash by boat, the only mode of transportation for deliveries.

 

I love this overhead view of the smaller canals where locals dock their boats behind their homes.

Shop owners near San Marco sweep water out of their shops and clean up after the previous evening’s high water, or acqua alta,  that flooded this area. A pretty young woman working in her jewelry shop demonstrates how high the water reached inside by pointing to a mark on the leg of a counter. Dealing with the rising water is a way of life for these resilient Venetians, and her genial attitude, despite the extra cleanup work, says a lot. We offer our apologies and thank her for taking time to talk with us before we move on.

 

The sixteenth-century Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, designed by the famous architect Palladio is a beautiful sight. Inside are two beautiful paintings by Tintoretto, something few tourists ever see.

It’s not uncommon to come across an artist painting in Venice, and this female artist caught my eye. With her canvas on an easel  set up on the lower steps of a footbridge, her studio is in plein air.

The narrowest walkway in Venice is a tapered alley called Calle Varisco. At its most narrow section, it is only 53 centimeters wide (just a little more than 20 inches). At one point I can go no farther, and the alley dead-ends into a small canal. Laughing to myself, I wonder if anyone ever fell into the water while wandering around here drunk. I can’t imagine doing this at night.

 

Hidden on an obscure, dead-end calle in the San Marco sestiere of Venice is Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, The climb up the 133 steps requires one to be physically fit, and the remarkable view from the belvedere at the top is a worthy reward for the effort. The tower is 85 feet tall but appears higher as I look up from below. Thanks to the architect making the arches on the top level only half the size of those on the ground floor, this illusion is effective, and the tower appears larger than it is.

 

A look behind the scenes uncovers a glimpse into the life of Venetians. Naturally, the typical sight of laundry hanging on lines beneath the windows piques my interest, necessitating more shooting of photos, since each scene is different.

I caught this gondolier taking a smoke break while he waits for his next passengers.

Deliveries at the Rialto Market are a common sight on the Grand Canal in Venice if you’re up early enough. A boat with a crane attached transports two men and a shipment of goods. With the Rialto market alongside the canal northwest of the bridge, boats overloaded with crates of produce make their way to deliver the day’s fresh fruits and vegetables. Such a fascinating way of life in this unique destination.

A stroll along the Riva degli Schiavoni, the busy promenade along the waterfront, rewards me with this view of gondolas moored, against the backdrop of the beautiful San Giorgio island. The campanile of that church rises high in the sky and makes for a memorable portrait of Venice.

 

If you’d like to read more about Venice, I invite you to purchase

my award-winning book,

THE VENICE I KNOW.

The Venice I Know is available in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions.
Click here to purchase

 

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