Planning for the Arsenale, and the Communities of Jews and Greeks in Venice - Essay Example

Contemporary city planning has to take into consideration a number of factors to satisfy many interests, respond to changed situations, and strive to contain deterioration if not achieve higher desirable outcomes. Nonetheless, such planning is necessary if Venice is to be saved, and its communities preserved so long as Venice does not sink into the sea to become another legendary Atlantis.

Venice (in Italian, Venezia) is an architecturally unique city founded (according to a local legend) on March 25, 1421 A.D. It is famous for its canals and gondolas. For this reason, it has been variously described as the ‘City of Water’, ‘City of Bridges’ and ‘City of Canals’, and in classical times as the Serenissima (the serene one) alluding to its intimate connection with the sea. Venice is known to have 150 canals and more than 400 bridges. It is widely perceived as a magical and romantic city, and gondolas have become symbolic and romantic icons in this regard. It is also a popular place for artwork and poetry.

The city is located in Italy’s northeast region of Veneto and stretches along the mouths of the rivers Po and Piave leading into the Adriatic Sea (aboutvenice.org). The 255 square-mile area on which Venice stands is actually a crescent-shaped saltwater lagoon comprising of numerous (118) small islands formed by low-lying mudbanks (Keahey, 2002: 15-16). The population of Venice is estimated at over 270,000 (based on the 2004 census), out of which 62,000 live in the historic city center. There is also rich marine and bird life in Venice.

The channels, both natural and man-made, provide the main means of navigation in the city. In fact, the only transportation options are by foot, boats such as the gondola, vaporetti (waterbus), or water taxi. Thus, many buildings have waterfront entrances. The foundations of stone and brick buildings in Venice rest upon compactly placed wooden piles, which sink into the soft layer of silt and rest on the harder layer of clay beneath.