PALAZZO VENDRAMIN-CALERGI
Richard Wagner, the composer, died in this house in 1883.
Each structure has its interest. Each bend of the canal reveals new beauties. Across the beautiful waterway are three bridges—the name of one is familiar the world over.
THE BRIDGE OF THE RIALTO
For many years this was the only bridge across the Grand Canal, and it stands for much of the past glory of Venice. It is made of marble, and is over 150 feet long. It was built between the years 1588 and 1592, and is today, as it was in early times, a place of shops. Here Shylocks have bargained and Bassanios have met their friends these many years. More literally speaking, it was not the Bridge of the Rialto that Shylock refers to in Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice,” but the district nearby.
It is difficult for anyone who has visited Venice to select single points for comment or description. The city appeals to him as a whole, and each object of beauty in it is a part of the wonderful whole. The essence of Venice is a dreamy, poetic charm,—a charm of light, color, and form, not of sound. Mrs. Oliphant writes:
“Venice has long borne in the imagination of the world a distinctive position, something of the character of a great enchantress, a magician of the seas.… She is all wonder, enchantment, the brightness and glory of a dream.”
THE GRAND CANAL
Looking across the canal we see here an example of the beautiful palaces which line this famous thoroughfare.