Venice - Unforgettable Journey through the City of Bridges

Mystical, romantic, luxuriant and unique, Venice lives hiding behind a mask.

Meet Venice, a beauty among the cities of north-eastern Italy. Discover why she is called the Queen of the Adriatic and why many consider it not only the most romantic, but also the most beautiful city in the world.

Venice and her lagoon consist of 118 small islands separated by numerous canals and connected by hundreds of bridges. Enjoy masterpieces of architecture and art, grand elegant squares, romantic nights out, and sunsets on the bridges of Venice, or an unforgettable boat ride along its canals.

Venice is one of the best known and most frequently visited destinations for tourists from around the world. We would also add that his is completely justified, as this city and its lagoon, as part of the World Heritage, are under UNESCO protection.

The heart of Venice, its main landmark and site for its central events is St. Mark's Square, attracting visitors like a magnet. See why Napoleon called this square the most beautiful salon of Europe and head out to further explore the city through the narrow Venetian streets.

St. Mark’s Basilica is a lavish and magnificent work of Byzantine architecture, important from an historic and religious standpoint, representing the largest religious edifice in Venice and one of the most beautiful buildings in Italy.

Another symbol of Venice, after St. Mark’s Basilica, is the Doge’s Palace. Built in a Gothic-Venetian style, this palace has been the seat of Venetian rulers and the centre of power of the Republic of Venice for centuries.

Used throughout history as a bell tower, lighthouse and watchtower, St. Mark's Campanile remains one of the main landmarks of Venice to this day. Built in the ninth century, at 98 metres tall, the Campanile holds not only historical secrets, but also five preserved church bells, and rewards its visitors with a stunning and unforgettable view of Venice.

The Santa Maria della Salute church is a fairy-tale building and landmark, photographed as a memento by the greatest number of visitors. With its magnificent exterior and interior, it provided lots of inspiration for painters, as well as the Serbian writer and poet Laza Kostić, who named one of his poems after this edifice.

Since Venice has no roads or any typical urban traffic, it can boast of many bridges that contribute to its unique nature and lend her another sobriquet - The City of Bridges. We present a few of its 400 bridges, and suggest you visit:

• Rialto Bridge (Ponte di Rialto) - the main pedestrian crossing over the Grand Canal and the most important bridge in Venice. Initially made of wood, it is one of the greatest landmarks of Venice, so expect it to be as crowded as it was in olden times when it was the centre of commerce and activity in the city.
• Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri) - legend has it that couples that pass under this bridge in a gondola will remain together forever. However, its true function is far from romantic - the bridge was built during the early 17th century to connect the old prison in the Doge’s Palace with the new one, across the Rio di Palazzo canal. Its structure is fully enclosed to prevent prisoners from escaping, and it was named after the sighs the prisoners would allegedly let out when looking out over the Venetian Lagoon.
• Scalzi Bridge (Ponte degli Scalzi) - it dates back to 1934 and it is one of the four bridges across the Grand Canal that connect the districts Cannaregio and Santa Croce. They also call it the Bridge of the Barefoot, because of the beggars that used to live next to it.
• Accademia Bridge (Ponte dell Accademia) - the latest of the bridges across the Grand Canal, it connects the San Marco area with the galleries of the academy of arts.
• Freedom Bridge (Ponte della Liberta) -  the only bridge across the Venetian Lagoon with car traffic. It is 3.85 kilometres long and connects the Piazzale Roma square with the town of Mestre.

Venice could be called a large open-air museum. This city carefully guards from oblivion heritage of cultural and historical importance for the whole world. Get to know its best known museums.

An imposing and luxurious work of baroque architecture dating back to the 18th century, today it is a museum guarding a rich collection of artworks and antiquities characteristic of this epoch. The palace is owned by the Rezzonico family, who hired the most renowned painters of the time to decorate its rooms with frescoes.

A renaissance architectural creation, mainly of gothic architecture, it is the home of the former Doge Antonio Grimani and dates back to the second half of the 16th century. This palace guards an important collection of antique Greek and Roman artefacts, the work of Venetian master painters Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese, as well as modern art exhibits.

Formerly owned by Count Vittorio Cini, a renowned art collector, this palace holds masterpieces of fine art, along with items made of porcelain, rare ivory and furniture from historic times.

A Gothic building from the 15th century, it used to be the home of the renowned Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni. Today, it is a museum where the visitors can see a collection of souvenirs, collections of essays, portraits, costumes and documents from the time when this artist was active.

The gallery holds a collection of modernist artworks from the late 19th and early 20th century. Get to know the works of great painters, such as Wassily Kandinsky, Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, Gustav Klimt, and many others.

Carnevale di Venezia is an event that has been held since the 12th century, during late February or early March, in line with the start of the Catholic Great Lent.

The main attraction of the carnival are the masks, one of the symbols of Italian culture and art. Created in antique times, they symbolize equality - all are the same under masks, regardless of their economic or any other status.

Get to know the diversity of Venetian masks:

• Bauta - the most popular mask with a simple form, covering only the top of the face - the forehead and eyes. Bauta masks were most frequently worn by men.
• Columbina - a typical women’s mask, very authentic, decorated with many ornaments and crystals, often colourful.
• Moretta - an oval-shaped women's mask, characteristic for not having an opening for the mouth, showing only the eyes.
• Mask with a white beak - the Medico della peste was initially used as protection, only to later turn into a carnival mask.
• Larva is the traditional Venetian mask, covering the entire face, completely white and with no specific details..

To fully enjoy your trip to Venice and arrive there well rested, Air Serbia offers you Belgrade - Venice flights that you can book online. For all those wishing to keep up with news and information about flights in our offer we provide a newsletter. We wish you a pleasant flight and an enjoyable stay in the city of bridges!