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Views from Across the Pond

Venice, Where Water IS the Landscape

Article and photos by Trevor Cole

Click here for slideshow.

Just as people travel to the Redwood Forest to see the giant Sequoias, tourists go to Venice to see the water landscape. The canals of Venice create the most unique, large-scale water garden you could ever imagine.

This was our second summer to visit Venice and explore the maze of canals. Situated at the north end of the Adriatic Sea, Venice was built on wooden pilings set among 118 tiny islands in a lagoon.

Because it was built in the sea, Venice is a pedestrian city where the ‘streets’ actually are canals. Buildings front directly on the canals and appear to float on the water. Instead of owning cars, they own boats. In fact, boats or feet are the only means of transportation along narrow pathways lining some of the canals. More than 400 arched bridges span the canals, allowing pedestrians to weave through the labyrinth.

The only way in to and out of Venice is by water. The Venetians primarily use private water taxis or public water buses called vaporetto to get around, however we promised our 7-year old daughter Olivia a ride in a gondola. The gondola ride was a relaxing way to soak up some of the Venice atmosphere and appreciate the city's layout. By 900-year-old tradition, all gondoliers must be male and Venetian by birth. Business licenses are limited to no more than 455 rowers. 

Millions of tourists flock to Venice each year. They come to see the water landscape and the unusual setting. The New York Times once described Venice as "undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man.” I agree.

Sitting at one of the many bistros along the canals, I soaked in the vibrant colors and sounds of a cloistered life on the canals. Because there is little terra firma outside the stone buildings, there is very little soil in which to grow grass, trees or shrubs. What Venice lacks in greenery, however, it makes up for with window-box flowers and kaleidoscopic reflections from the lagoon's water surface.

There’s something unique about the way the light plays off the water. This urban landscape, dominated in every way by the presence of water, is an exquisite piece of art, constantly changing with the time of day. What can we, as water gardeners, learn from it?

Many of us consider water to be a secondary feature to the landscape. Venice shows us that people can and will be drawn to water as a primary attraction. Water is the landscape!

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