CITY OF CANALS

CITY OF CANALS

In Venice, Italy, the streets are canals. So in­stead of seeing cars, you
can see flat-bottomed boats called gondolas.

Venice is built on a cluster of small mud is­lands. The canals twist
around the islands. The biggest canal, called the Grand Canal, winds
through the center of the city and separates the islands into two main
groups.

People didn’t have to build the Grand Canal. It was already there. But
they did have to find a way over it. So they built beautiful bridges
across the Grand Canal. These bridges connect the island groups. Houses,
palaces, and churches line the canal. And posts that look like giant
peppermint sticks are used to keep gondolas from floating away when
they’re not in use.

At one time, Venice was a major Italian trad­ing port. Now, much of the
trade goes to other ports. But Venice is still famous for its beauty and
romance, its canals and gondolas.

People in Venice, Italy, travel through canals in boats called gondolas.