The Roaming BoomersTravel Photo: Canal in Venice, Italy
Did you know that Venice, Italy is built on 117 small islands with 177 interconnecting canals all glued together by 409 footbridges?
There are absolutely no cars or trucks in the city of Venice.
If you need a taxi, you will be transported in a boat. If you need an ambulance, they will come by boat. And if you want to sing a famous Italian love song to your bride, it will most likely be done in one of Venice’s famous gondolas.
Now, here’s a little Venetian travel tip for you: don’t ask your gondolier to sing O Solo Mio. Well, go ahead and ask, but understand that there is a quite a bit of controversy of the subject of gondoliers singing that song.
You see, a big ruckus took place a few years ago when the tourist commissioner put forth a directive to get the gondoliers to change their tune. O Solo Mio is a Neapolitan song and the commissioner wanted to hear the canals of Venice filled with Venetian music instead.
Now don’t worry, the nearly 400 gondoliers ignored the directive and the canals of Venice are filled with the sounds of O Solo Mio to the delight of tourists worldwide.
However, don’t push your luck and ask them to sing Dean Martin’s That’s Amore. You may suddenly find yourself swimming in one of the back canals of Venice. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! 🙂
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1 Comments on “Travel Photo: Canal in Venice, Italy”
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Let’s hope mass tourism won’t ruin Venice. I saw huge cruise ships passing by, bringing thousands of visitors.
It was almost impossible to stand on Rialto Bridge, it was so jam-packed with tourists.