Italiam quaero patriam . . .

My quest is for Italy! (Aeneid 1. 308)

I returned to Venice. My hotel was not far from San Marco Square, which is the main entry to the city. Venice was once a bunch of little marshy islands. When people came to settle there, they had to bring in tall piles (wooden poles) and drive them deep into the mud. The mud preserved the wood so that it would not rot, and the wood eventually petrified. Then they were able to put planks down, and built their homes on those planks. All the little islands are connected by bridges. There are over 100 islands in Venice, and each bridge connects two separate islands.

Nearly all the islands have their own church, and you can find them in the smallest, strangest places. They were all beautiful though, and there are church bells that ring each hour, echoing each other across the city. San Marco cathedral is in the main square. It was beautiful inside, but we were not allowed to take pictures since the church is still used. There are mosaics all over the huge ceilings. They used small tiles to make pictures of the Old and New Testament stories. Most amazing is that all of the pictures were on a background of gold tiles, actually glass with a little gold leafing inside. You can see some of the gold in my picture, but imagine a huge tall ceiling with it all over. It was truly amazing to see.
There are no cars or roads, just canals and boats. They have motor boats, and gondolas. Even the police, ambulance, and fire-engines are boats. There were thousands of tourists in Venice, it was hard to imagine living there with so many visitors all the time. The city is actually sinking 4 cm each year, and it will cost millions to help correct the problems that Venice faces. I learned so many interesting things about the founding and history of Venice. Our tour guides were wonderful to explain the details, instead of just giving the basics. I could tell they love and are proud of their city.