No. 17 – The Grand Canal Venice

Grand Canal Venice Illustration by Jonathan Chapman

No.17 of my 2018 world series challenge is the Grand Canal Venice.

The city of Venice (Venezia) is situated across a group of 118 small islands in northeastern Italy. Separated by canals and linked by 400 bridges the islands are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave rivers. Parts of Venice are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and renowned for it’s architecture and artwork.

The Grand Canal forms one of the major water-traffic corridors in the city. Public transport is provided by water buses (Vaporetti), private water taxis and by gondola (Traghetti). The banks of the Grand Canal are lined with more than 170 buildings, most of which date from the 13th to the 18th century. The churches along the canal include the basilica of Santa Maria della Salute. Until the 19th century only the Rialto Bridge crossed the canal (there are now three more) and most of the palaces emerge from water without pavement.

Here’s an idealistic view of Venice with the dome of the Salute looming over the beautiful mixed architecture of the Grand Canal. Maybe one day we’ll take a tour past the fronts of these buildings by boat… sketching by Gondola, now there’s a glorious romantic idea of what an artist should do! Painted with acrylic and ink on specialist acrylic paper.

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Next up: No.18 – The Washington Monument

One response to “No. 17 – The Grand Canal Venice”

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