After such a wet intro to Venice the following patchy weather day was a big improvement and we could roam the streets checking out shops and some of the sights without being drenched. Yes we did get lost, alot, but it's easy to find yourself again once you know the ropes and have a map on hand.
We visited the Doge's palace (Doge more or less means 'duke' in the old Venetian language) and learned a little about the fascinating history of Venice, and why it came to exist at all in such an odd and difficult place. It is built on 118 low lying marshy islands in a lagoon, with the buildings including some very large ones supported on a forest of tree trunk piles driven into the mud. The original settlers came from the adjacent mainland after being repeatedly pushed out of their homes by invading barbarians. They brought all the boats across with them so were relatively safe from the hordes.
After that inauspicious start Venice grew into an independent state and even an empire in its own right for about 11 centuries, relying on commerce to become extremely wealthy. One of the most interesting things to learn was that it was governed not by a monarchy with absolute power like most around it, but by a system that tried to carefully balance power amongst a large number and provide checks and balances to keep things 'fair'. However they were not shy about their wealth, decorating the Doge's palace with gold - heaps of it on the walls and ceilings. St Mark's church is another example of a spectacular wealth, the decorations inside are amazing.
The famous 'bridge of sighs' goes from the Doge's palace direct to the prison. If you were found guilty in the Doge's court you had quick under cover access to the prison - it is said that guilty prisoners could be heard sighing as they walked across knowing there was no appeal against their sentence.
Today Venice seems to be entirely a tourist trap, albeit a fascinating one. There is history at every corner, and the streets are just full of tourist focussed businesses - cafes, restaurants, markets, hawkers, souvenirs, the famous Murano glass, masks, fashion, leather and on and on. We walked to the Rialto Bridge area which is packed with all the above.
They row here too, on the canals. Both traditional Venetian style, standing up and rowing forwards
and what appear to be rowing training sessions, although it is pretty hard to get a decent run on the congested canals!
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