The architecture of Venice

by Victor Grigore, Webphoto.ro

The centuries old landmark buildings of Venice are a part of this city’s appeal, just as the water channels are. Cathedrals have the richest history behind and were crucial in developing the representative local style – the Venetian Gothic. In this style traces of foreign influences from the Byzantine Empire and Islamic art of the centuries of Moorish Spain can be found. It stands out as a richly decorated style, in which each stonemason could exhibit his inventiveness, with fine colors and geometric shapes combined with floral elements. The walls of red brick act as a background against which the balconies and columns of white marble stand out.

Standing out in the central public square of the city is Saint Mark’s Cathedral, a reverence that the Venetians did to the Byzantine heritage. Though it does not have the same artistic value as the golden interiors or the cathedral, another element is just as easily recognizable: the campanile, or the bell tower with a square base and a pyramid on top.

But Venice is far from being associated with a place of pilgrimage, rather a place of romantic evenings and luxury. A lot of lavish palaces have employed the local style, that took off in the 14 and 15 century. The most famous of all is Doge’s Palace, the headquarter of the supreme institution in the Venetian Republic. The palace impresses through its rows of sculpted columns, the pointed arches and the pattern of two colors on the facade. The bridges over the channels are also part of Venice’s architecture, the most famous of them being the Rialto Bridge, with its roof that creates a market place under. Smaller but just as famous is the Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri), on which passed those taken to the court.