VENICE, a city in the north-east of Italy, is built on from 60 to 138 small islands near the northern extremity of the Adriatic Sea or Gulf of Venice. The town is separated from the main land by a marshy lake five Italian miles broad, and from three to six feet deep. The city is said to be a little more than two miles long, one and a half broad, and six in circumference. It is divided into two nearly equal parts by a great canal about 1200 yards long, and IGO feet wide, which winds through it, and is crossed by the celebrated bridge of the Rialto, of a single arch. Many other canals intersect the city, and these are crossed by from 450 to 500 bridges, most of which are of stone. The inhabitants are conveyed through the city in gondolas, and by means of small boats. Merchandize is deposited at the very doors of the warehouse. The quarter north of the great canal is divided into three, name ly, the Sestiere de Castello, the Sestiere de San Marco, and the Sestiere de Canareggio. The quar ter to the south of the great canal is divided into the Sestiere de St. Paolo, de St. Croce, and de Dorso Duro.
The streets in Venice are in general only from four to six feet wide, with the exception of that of Mer ceiria, which contains shops of every kind, and which is from 12 to 20 feet wide. The only square in Venice is the Piazzi de San Marco, an irregular quadrangle, 280 feet long and 100 broad, and con taining several handsome buildings. The south range of buildings called the Procuralie iVuovo, was begun in the year 1587, and occupied by the Prom& ralore di San Marco, officers next in dignity to the doge. It is now the residence of the Austrian gov ernor, and contains some of the public offices. The west side was built by the French after the revolu tion, and contains the grand entrance of state and ball room, erected on the site of the church of St. Genevieve, which Bonaparte ordered to he pulled down for that purpose. The north side of the square, called the Procuralie Vecchie, is older than the rest, and is inhabited by private individuals. A continued arcade runs round three sides of the square, containing coffee-houses and all kinds of shops. The principal entrance to the square is on the north side under the Clock Tower. This tower
has a fine astronomical clock, and is terminated with a bell and two colossal bronze figures, which strike the hours and quarters. The east side of the square is terminated by the celebrated church of St. Mark, and a small square called the Place of Flowers. The pavement of this square is elevated in the centre to protect a well for supplying the city with rain water. In front are two lions sculp tured in beautiful red marble from the island of Zea, and placed here in commemoration of a plot to de stroy the Republic. The conspirators met in this square, and a woman running hastily to the win dow to see what was going on, overturned a flower pot which struck the ringleader Tripolo on the head and killed him on the spot. Regarding this as an act of divine vengeance the conspirators fled.
Opposite the church of St. Mark are three lofty flag-staffs raised on finely wrought bronze vases. They were placed there to commemorate the con quest of the Morea, Epirus and Candia, and the flags of these countries were in the days of the re public hoisted upon them during the public festi vals. The Piazella is an open space extending from St. Marks to the sea. On the east side of it is the ducal palace, or that of the doge, an exten sive Gothic building, with many splendid apart ments and fine paintings. The offices of police are in this building, and the Austrian main-guard is stationed in that part of it called the Broglio. Op posite to the ducal palace is the public library, an elegant building of one story, elevated upon an ar cade, and ornamented with white marble statues on the parapet. Behind this building is the Zecca or mint, which fronts the water. The two grand columns at the end of the Piazetta, next the sea, are of Egyptian granite, and were brought from Greece about 1206. A third fell into the water and was lost. On one column stands a winged lion in bronze, and on the other a bronze statue of St. Theodore standing upon a crocodile. The lion was removed by the French and placed upon the Hotel des Invalides at Paris, but it was restored to Venice at the general peace. In the time of the republic criminals were executed between these pil• Lars.