The Complexity and Intricacy of Venice's Canals

Venice is one of the most unique cities in the world. How has it impressed you as you've experienced it, and why? Please be specific in your reply.

    During our travels throughout Europe, my class had the wonderful opportunity to visit Venice, Italy. To be completely honest, once I stepped off the coach that carried us from Vienna to Venice I was a little apprehensive about navigating the waterways of Venice. While completing the poster presentation during our study abroad preparatory class this past Fall, I learned that Venice is very difficult to navigate due to the lack of maps online. However, this apprehension quickly faded once we stepped off the water taxi into the heart of Venice. From that point on, I was continually impressed by the inherent complexity and intricacy of Venice. As some friends and I went on a gondola ride throughout the city, I was deeply impressed by the complexity of Venice's waterways. While on the gondola, I noticed that the canals in Venice are essentially the same as roads on land; however, instead of cars, there are primarily boats and gondolas. I was deeply impressed by Venice's canals and how they're uniquely connected to each other. A lot of regular business and day-to-day activities occur throughout the waterways such as trash pickup. Instead of a truck coming to each block and picking up trash, a boat would stop at every canal in Venice to pick up trash. I was thoroughly impressed by the inherent reliance on Venice waterways, especially when contrasting it to my experiences of growing up in Dallas, Texas. In Dallas, many people rely on motor transportation to navigate the city. All life in Dallas revolves around motor transportation due to the city being so big and primarily consisting of large plots of land. However, Venice is different from any other city I have ever had the opportunity to visit. I was so impressed by the intricacy of the waterways not only because they're unique, but also because they're relied on in the same way that roads are in the United States.

My friends Erin, Becca, and I went on a gondola ride during our second day in Venice. We were asked by the gondolier whether we would like to be dropped off closer to our hotel since we started off the ride at the main pier of Venice near Piazza San Marco, which was further from our hotel. When he asked this question I thought back to how I was overwhelmed at the start of the trip regarding navigating the waterways. However, my trepidation quickly transformed into astonishment once I realized how Venice's canals are essentially roads but just on water. After this realization, I felt very comfortable telling the gondolier where to drop us off because I recognized the buildings/landmarks near our hotel.

While walking throughout the city of Venice, Jenn pointed out a boat that picks up trash by navigating the canals of Venice. I was so impressed by Venice's waterways after seeing that the canals are not only used for joy rides on gondolas but are actually relied on by Venetians for the purposes of everyday life. Unfortunately, I was unable to take a picture of the waste management boat as we were traveling in a large group and I didn't have time to stop for a picture. Therefore, this photo was taken from Google and the proper citation is below.

Citation: "Boat collecting garbage in the canal, Veneto, Venice, Italia" by Eric Lafforgue, https://www.flickr.com/photos/mytripsmypics/46511868375.