Often called “The most beautiful road in the world”, the Grand Canal is the only place for a Gondola serenade, a steady tradition in an immutable city. Indeed, Venice is unique because unlike other cities, which require leaps of imagination to envision their past, it remains just like it was a thousand years ago, with the its palaces, squares and canals almost unchanged. If you look around, what you will see is almost exactly what a nobleman in the 18th century might have looked upon, and before him a Renaissance courtesan and before him a merchant in the Middle Ages. The Grand Canal twists through the city like a serpent for 3 and a half kilometres, lined with palaces of extreme beauty, belonging to the most important families of note in Venice. However much the palazzi were a display of a family’s wealth to the world, they were first and foremost solid commercial enterprises. Indeed, the entrance from the Canal would lead to the building’s magazzino, a large
hall to store the goods being shipped in and out. Afterall Venice is always the perfect fusion of beauty and practicality.
