Green Venice

Venice is a cosmopolitan city, every day it receives thousands of visitors from all over the world; it is the third Italian airport hub after Rome and Milan and an important cruise centre for the Adriatic; the nearby Port of Marghera has a large industrial area; yet the Serenissima, a UNESCO site since 1987 along with the lagoon, is certainly also a city that is very attentive to the beauty of its own particular natural environment, as well as of the immense cultural heritage for which it is celebrated the world over.

Surrounded by the blue of the lagoon, Venice is a surprisingly green city: here and there in the historic city centre there are both parks open to the public - such as the Napoleonic or Biennale Gardens, the Royal Gardens and the Papadopoli Gardens - and historic plots and gardens belonging to Venetian families, a real secret treasure, part of which may be visited. The lagoon city is surrounded by an archipelago of about forty small islands; more than half of these, like Burano, Torcello and Sant’Erasmo, are located in a remarkable nature park, in the northern part of the lagoon.

You might never imagine it, but not far from the crowded Saint Mark’s Square you can find splendid natural oases such as Ca' Roman at Pellestrina and Alberoni on the island of Lido, two environments of considerable ecological and natural interest.

If you decide to cross the Ponte della Libertà, the bridge that links Venice to the mainland, you can choose to spend a quiet day in the open air in the Park of San Giuliano, an area of 700 hectares, among fields, woods, canals and lagoon, or in the Park of Albanese at Bissuola, with facilities for families with children.