The banks of the Canal Grande are lined with splendid marble mansions of the nobility, whose historical family names have in many instances outlived the fortunes of their former possessors. Some of them are used as government offices, others are let to foreign consuls and other strangers. Several of the Venetian palaces possess valuable paintings and sculptures. In the Ilanfrini palace is a rich gallery, containing among others the painting of the ' Three Portraits' by Giorgione, which Byron in his ' Beppo ' has so highly extolled. The Academy of the Fine Arts, of which the patriotic Count Cicognara was the originator, has been the means of saving many masterpieces of the Venetian school which otherwise would have been lost to Venice. Many of them belonged to the suppressed monasteries; others were restored from Paris in 1815 ; some, such as the famous Assumption by Titian, were discovered in a corner of a church, where they lay forgotten, covered with dust and filth. A painting by Gentile Bellini represents a procession passing through the square of St. Mark in the 15th century, with the costumes and localities of that age. ' Tho Slave Emancipated by St. Mark' is a masterpiece of Tintoretto. The academy has altogether about 400 paintings, besides models of the Elgin and tEgina marbles, and of other masterpieces of sculpture ; and a collection of original drawings of Leonardo da Vinci, Michel Angelo, and Raffaele.
The arsenal or dockyard of Venice, begun In 1304, celebrated in Dante's ' Inferno' (canto xxi.), long the main instrument of the power of the republic, formerly employed 16,000 workmen, a number which was reduced in the last century to 1500. The arsenal is situated at the eastern extremity of the town, is surrounded by a high wall, and occupies en area of about three miles in circumference. It has been recently fortified by the Austrian government. The arsenal of Venice is now the dockyard for the Austrian navy. A naval college is established at Venice. A body of artillery and a battalion of marine infantry are attached to the service of the navy. Tho arsenal contains • number of docks and basins, foundries for cannon, forges, a rope-walk above 1000 feet long, a vast timber-yard, and an armoury. There is also a monument to the memory of Angelo Emo, great admiral of Venice, who died in 1792, and was the last who caused the Venetian flag to be respected in the Mediterranean. This monument to Emo was one of the first works of Canova. At the land entrance of the arsenal, which is a gate adorned with several statues, are two marble lions, brought from Athens by Morosini in the latter part of the 17th century.
Venice has several theatres; that of La Venice is one of the largest in Italy. The Venetians aro fond of music; and the songs in their dialect, set to music by native composers, are very pretty. Tho Carnival at Venice is still very long; hub masks are not used now except by the lower orders. The people are naturally lively and lighthearted : their festivals and public rejoicings, however noisy, are unattended by quarrels or disorderly conduct. The educated classes have a social affability and case of manners which are very fascinating.
Venice has a gymnasium, a lyceum for scientific instruction, a patri archal seminary for clerical students, two colleges for female education under the direction of nuns, an athenmum of sciences and literature, and the academy of the fine arts already mentioned. Besides the library of St. Mark there are libraries belonging to the different colleges and academies, as well as to several convents and palaces of the nobility. The printing-press of Veuico is still active.
The charitable institutions are numerous, but not more so than what is absolutely required by the decayed condition of Venice. When the French evacuated the town in 1814, nearly one-half of the population was in want of charitable assistance. The Austrian administration after the reatoration applied itself to alleviate the distress of Venice.
Pecuniary assistance from the treasury of the kingdom, a better administration of the communal revenue, a great diminution of local taxation, the establishment of a free port, and important public works undertaken at the expense of the government, in great measure answered the intended purpose. Out of the treasury of Austrian Italy above two millions sterling were spent for the relief of the city of Venice. The mercantile shipping of Venice assumed a new activity ; sad traded all over the Mediterranean. In consequence of its rebellion against Austria In 1843-9 (when the city was long besieged by the Austrians by sea and land, and at last capitulated), the returning prosperity of the city received a new check ; It lost its privileges as a free port, and the entrepot of foreign commerce was confined to the Island of San Giorgio; but In 1851 the freedom of the port was restored. Since that time railways have been completed nearly to Milan in one direction, and to beyond Pordenone, on the way to Udine and Trieste, in another, but the stream of commerce that so long flowed late the lagoons of Venice has turned away into other channels, and no change of government could restore Venice to its former prosperity.
Among the island towns in the neighbourhood of Venice the follow ing deserve notice :—l. Marano, about a mile N. from Venice, is a town of about 6000 Inhabitants, and has manufactories of glass and Plato glass, and also of mock pearls and beads. The principal ohurchos are those of San Michele and San Donato. Tho latter, which is called the Domo di Murano, is of Byzantine architecture of the 12th cen tury, with mosaics and colnmns of Greek marble. The church of St. Peter and St. Paul is rich with paintings. 2. Torcello, farther dis tant to the north-east, is remarkable for its ancient and splendid church, built A.D. 1008 by the bishop Orseolo; it is covered with mosaics, and adorned with marble, a testimonial of the wealth of Venice In that remote age. The neighbouring church of Santa Fosca, of the 9th century, is built with remains of structures of the Roman times. These Islands were peopled with the fugitive inhabitants of the neighbouring towns of Altinum and Julia Concordia, on the main land, which were devastated by the northern barbarians. Martial (iv. 35) speaks of the shores of Altinum as rivalling in his time those of Baize in attractions. 3. Sant' Elena, with a church dedicated to the mother of Constantine, whose remains were carried thither from Constantin ople in the 12th century. 4. La=aretto Nuevo and Vecchio with the quarantine establishment 5. Malantocco, the residence of the do se a in the early ages of the republic : it gives its name to the port of Malamocco, one of the principal entrances from the sea into the lagoons. G. San Lasaro, an island south of Venice, with a cele brated monastery of Armenian monks, who are in communion with Rome and acknowledge the supremacy of the pope. They have a library of 10,000 volumes, and about 400 manuscripts, mostly in the Armenian language, a printing-press for works in the same language, and a colle?e for clerical students. 7. San Andrea del Lido, with a fortress which is considered a masterwork of the architect and engineer San Michell, and which commands the entrance into the lagoons on that side. 8. a small town south of Malamocco, on the Littorale. Near it are the Mnrazzi,' or breakwater, made of large blocks of marble laid on piles driven into the sand : it rises ten feet above high water. 9. Chioggia, a well-built town and a bishop's see, situated at the southern entrance of tho lagoons, has a good harbour, a fine cathedral, a theatre, and about 16,000 inhabitants. Tho salt pans in the neighbourhood are very productive. To the south of ChiaL.Tia is the port of Brondo/o, at the mouth of the Adige.