Piazza San Marcos

Piazza San Marcos is the principal public square in the city, where it is generally know as “La Piazza” (square). Most other urban spaces are called “campi” (fields). The Piazzetta is an extension of the piazza towards the lagoon in its south east corner. The two spaces together form the social, religious, and political center of Venice. Napoleon called Piazza San Marcos the living room of Europe.

The rest of my time in Venice was spent exploring the “streets” (actually sometimes no wider than 4 to 5 feet wide!), but which allowed not only for almost unlimited ways to criss-cross the city, but also serve as the location of front doors of residences, and sometimes hotels. Architecturally, the neighborhood scenes vary very little, but still maintain an eclectic mix of style and detail, color and patina, and individual expression. The following slide show includes examples of this wide variety of the public and private Venice.

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