Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are linked by over 400 bridges. The islands are in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay lying between the mouths of the Po and the Piave rivers (more exactly between the Brenta and the Sile).
Venice has been known as “La Dominante”, “La Serenissima”, “Queen of the Adriatic”, “City of Water”, “City of Masks”, “City of Bridges”, “The Floating City”, and “City of Canals”. The lagoon and the historic parts of the city within the lagoon were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, covering an area of 70,176.4 hectares (173,410 acres).
In the 21st century, Venice remains a very popular tourist destination, a major cultural centre, and has been ranked many times the most beautiful city in the world. The city faces challenges including an excessive number of tourists in the centro storico as well as problems caused by pollution, tide peaks and cruise ships sailing too close to buildings. It has been described by The Times as one of Europe’s most romantic cities and by The New York Times as “undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man”.
These beautiful photos were taken by Kent Clark that show street scenes of Venice in the 1970s.
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