Venice for children and the treasure hunt between St. Mark’s Basilica and Rialto Bridge

If the winged lion had his book, he would draw the Grand Canal, which divides the city in two creating a shape that looks like a snake. The canal is 3800 meters long, 50 to 70 meters wide and 5 to 12 meters deep depending on where you are. Perhaps the book is hiding in one of the buildings overlooking the river, some of the most beautiful in the city. We will look for it on one of the four bridges that cross the Grand Canal: the Constitution Bridge, the most modern, the Rialto Bridge, the most famous, the Scalzi Bridge in Istrian stone and the Accademia Bridge, built in iron and wood.

As a first stop, we will check if the book is hiding on Rialto Bridge, one of the most important bridges in Venice. Its construction was commissioned by Antonio Da Ponte in 1589, who, competing with other great artists, won the competition and obtained the work. The construction works went on for a long time, a legend even tells that it was the devil who delayed the works. Perhaps the book is taking note of this story: it is said that in order to unlock the works, the devil demanded to be given the soul of the person who first crossed the bridge. Antonio tried to scam the devil by planning to have a chicken cross the bridge, but the devil was not fooled and after getting what he wanted he finally unlocked the work.

How big is this square? Almost two football fields could fit! St.Mark's Square is the only true square in Venice, because all the others are called Campi. It will be difficult to find the book here: being very curious, it will be informing himself about all the legends and stories of this wonderful place. For example, a legend tells the two columns overlooking the lagoon were three in the beginning and were transported from the east on three different ships. On arrival, however, one of the columns sank into the water and was never found. There is also the legend of the bell skeleton, who every day at midnight climbs the St. Mark's bell tower to ring the largest bell. Given its enormous size, the skeleton was kept in a display case, with the bell in hand. Nobody imagined that he would go up and ring the bells! Finally, there is also the legend of the golden shoe worn by the Madonna inside the Basilica. It is said that the other shoe was given by Our Lady to a woman who had fallen into poverty and had come to ask her for help.

Looking for the book in this building will be like looking for the needle in a haystack! Doge's Palace is one of the most beautiful and prestigious buildings in Venice, with many rooms to be discovered. It actually looks like a soft cake to eat! Until 1500 it was the seat of government and housed prisons. The palace was also the home of the Doge, the most important person in Venice, who decided the rules and enforced the laws. On the first floor you can see two red columns between which sentences were read for people who had committed crimes. If one of the condemned wanted to escape from prison he could try to climb around another column without falling. If he had succeeded he would have been acquitted!

The lion would almost hide in a gondola and wait to see his book go by! These particular boats were the main means of getting around Venice before the arrival of the engines. The gondolas are handmade and it takes almost two years to make one, using about 250 pieces of 8 different types of wood. They are about 11 meters long and weigh around 380 kg, practically like two lions!

The Bridge of Sighs was built to connect the Doge's Palace to the building of the new prisons, so the prisoners and those who had to judge them could pass from one palace to another in a quick and protected way. The bridge is not open to avoid any escapes. The name of the bridge derives from the great sighs that the prisoners made while crossing it, thinking about the bad deeds they had committed and the beauty of Venice, which they could no longer admire! Now this bridge has become one of the most romantic places in the city!

The islands of Venice Lagoon are 62! If the lion does not find the book in Venice, he will have to look for it island by island! Divided between major and minor islands, Venice Lagoon is a small archipelago to be discovered by boat. Some of the islands are very famous, such as Murano, the island where world-famous glass objects are produced, and Burano, with its colorful houses, and Giudecca, the island in the shape of a fishbone. Your adventure to discover Venice is now coming to an end ... tell us now, did you manage to find the book?