Venice, the Magical Floating City

In the movie Sabrina, Audrey Hepburn (or Julia Ormand if you prefer the newer version) says “Paris is always a good idea”. I would also add to that quote that ‘Venice is always a good idea too”. We used Venice as our entry point to a trip down the Adriatic through Croatia, Montenegro and Albania and Venice was definitely a good idea and a great starting point.

Now if you’ve suffered the crowds and heat or smells of Venice in the summer or experienced the “Acqua Alta” (high water) then maybe you wouldn’t agree, but if you’ve been lucky enough to catch a few good days in the spring or fall then you know that Venice is a magical city unlike any other. It is easily in my top ten of favorite cities to photograph. Here are a few images from our trip accompanied by some quotes regarding the magical floating city of Venice.

“Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go.” – Truman Capote – American novelist and screenwriter

Gondolas in the early morning awaiting their gondoliers.

“Venice is unlike any other city simply because you travel primarily by boat. Time warps, and I love the feeling of it slowing down.” – Stacy Martin – French actress

The Exterior Facade of Palazzo Barbarigo

“Venice never quite seems real, but rather an ornate film set suspended on the water.” – Frida Giannini – Italian fashion designer

“If I were not King of France, I would choose to be a citizen of Venice.” – Henry III of France

Some of the incredible opulence of the Doges Palace

“There is something so different in Venice from any other place in the world that you leave at once all accustomed habits and everyday sights to enter an enchanted garden.” – Mary Shelley -Novelist

“Venice, its temples and palaces did seem like fabrics of enchantment piled to heaven.” – Percy Shelley – British writer

“No one forgets the first glimpse of Venice. … The extraordinary beauty of Venice only adds to its improbability. How does such a city exist?” – Thomas F. Madden – American historian

“To go out in a gondola at night is to reconstruct in one’s imagination the true Venice, the Venice of the past alive with romance, elopements, abductions, revenged passions, intrigues, adulteries, denouncements, unaccountable deaths, gambling, lute-playing and singing.” – Peggy Guggenheim – American art collector

“Venice is eternity itself.” – Joseph Brodsky – American poet and essayist

The island of Burano

“If you read a lot, nothing is as great as you’ve imagined. Venice is – Venice is better.” – Fran Lebowitz – American author

“When I went to Venice, I discovered that my dream had become – incredibly, but quite simply – my address.” – Marcel Proust – French Writer

“Italy will never be a normal country. Because Italy is Italy. If we were a normal country, we wouldn’t have Rome. We wouldn’t have Florence. We wouldn’t have the marvel that is Venice.” – Matteo Renzi – Senator of the Italian Republic

The Bridge of Sighs – As prisoners crossed it to their cell they would look out the window on the bridge and sigh as they caught their last glimpse of Venice.

“Is it worthwhile to observe that there are no Venetian blinds in Venice?” – William Dean Howells – American novelist

When the prisoners looked out the window from the Bridge of Sighs this was what they saw.

“Venice is incredible. Although you may have seen it in pictures, you can’t grasp how beautiful it is until you visit.” – Gino D’Acampo – Italian celebrity chef

“A realist, in Venice, would become a romantic by mere faithfulness to what he saw before him.” – Arthur Symons – British poet

“Venice, the most touristy place in the world, is still just completely magic to me.” – Frances Mayes -American writer

“When I seek another word for ‘music’, I never find any other word than ‘Venice.” – Friedrich Nietzsche – Philosopher

“This was Venice, the flattering and suspect beauty this city, half fairytale and half tourist trap, in whose insalubrious air the arts once rankly and voluptuously blossomed, where composers have been inspired to lulling tones of somniferous eroticism.” – Thomas Mann – German novelist

“It’s so easy for me to get caught up in the feeling of a city like Venice, where Everything is just beautiful colour and gorgeous buildings that are so peaceful. You can roam around and get lost in the labyrinth.” – Nanette Lepore – American fashion designer

“Venice is the most romantic place in the world but it’s even better when there is no one around.” – Woody Allen

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