traveldk.com

This quiet courtyard took its name from the anatomy theatre which existed here as of 1368. In 1671, a College of Anatomy was also established over the bridge in Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio, now an isolated building with a pretty vine-covered trellis.

The odd tourist miscalculates the distance between the quayside and a waiting water taxi and takes the plunge – inevitably saved by timely intervention from a bystander. Be wary of moss-covered steps when taking a photograph or a rest and, of course, don’t let young children out of your sight near water.

By law dogs in Venice must be muzzled, kept on a leash and cleaned up after at all times.

Incredibly, a runaway elephant from an 1819 circus took refuge in a church, and cannon fire was needed to dispatch it.

Once ridden around town by the Venetian nobility, even up the Campanile via a ramp.

At its maximum, 15 m (49 ft) in the navigable channels dredged for shipping and marked by bricole poles. Concern about the danger of silting and obstruction of the city’s lifeline waterways has always been high – one preventitive measure was to reroute two rivers into the Adriatic Sea away from the lagoon. The Brenta was gradually modified between 1400–1600 to have it flow out after Chioggia, and the Sile was redirected towards Jesolo in the 1600s.

The 1997 census states 68,600, meaning figures have more than halved since the 1950s. Moreover, this includes Italy’s highest percentage of senior citizens. Venice’s permanent population is experiencing a slow but inexorable decline as young couples prefer to move to the mainland with the convenience of a car, not to mention lower house prices, cheaper shopping and fewer tourists.

Yes. Periodic controls for bacterial counts are carried out and the upper Adriatic normally emerges with a clean slate. Venice’s closest beach is at the Lido, where the city’s families go en masse during the steamy summer months (see Lido: beach side).