Venice Trivia Quiz

Answer: Venezia

It's always useful to know the names of places in the local language (or languages).

Answer: True

They're not only banned - there are practically no roads. The only means of communication in the older parts of Venice is by canals, footpaths and bridges. (Three cities in Northern Europe built round and on canals are sometimes referred to as 'The Venice of the North' - Amsterdam, Stockholm and Bruges).

Answer: St Mark

The Basilica and St Mark's Square are at the very heart of the city. Like St Mark, Venice has traditionally been associated with lions. The square has been altered many times but still has a harmonious appearance and has been given all kinds of descriptions, such as 'the finest open air drawing-room in Europe'.

Answer: Gothic

More generally in Venice, Gothic in the Northern European sense is largely confined to facades and doesn't form an integral part of the structure of buildings. In other words, the Gothic detail tends to appear essentially ornamental rather than structural.

Answer: The Adriatic

Economically, Venice faced eastwards, as it were, to the eastern Mediterranean and beyond, to the Black Sea and Asia.

Answer: Canal Grande

This canal is about two miles long and has an average width of about 75 feet. The richest and most influential Venetians built their palaces and mansions along this canal. It has only three bridges. (Incidentally, in Venice, 'rio' refers to a small canal, not river).

Answer: Rialto

This bridge across the Canal Grande has small shops and boutiques on it.

Answer: Tourism

Tourism of various kinds has been very important for a long time. Venice was one of the key places on the traditional Grand Tour, and even before that a visit to Venice was considered important for those aspiring to be 'Renaissance men or women'. In the 1990s the number of tourists reached levels where they constituted an environmental problem.

Some of the paths were made one-way only, for example, as the sheer number of tourists led to severe congestion in some parts of the city in the summer. Glassware, handmade to a very quality indeed, has been an important industry for many centuries, too. Venice has also been home to many painters, both native and from other parts of Italy and the world. The city also hosts the Biennale, which is one of the leading international festivals for the arts and includes the Venice Film Festival.

Answer: True

The Venetian Empire was based on trade, with key ports, bases and islands - not on the rule over any vast areas of land. The following places belonged to Venice at various times: Split, Dubrovnik, Dürres (Durazzo), the Ionian Islands, parts of the Morea (on the Greek mainland), Crete and Cyprus. Venetian trade extended beyond Suez to the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa, but here the Venetians found themselves fighting the Portuguese, and the latter succeeded in taking over much of Venice's trade in this region. Venice also traded with ports in the Black Sea and had settlements there.

Answer: Venice suffered a sharp economic decline after about 1680

Sharp economic decline is probably the most common reason for the good preservation of towns and cities. After about 1600 there was a decisive shift in key trade routes in Europe from the eastern Mediterranean and Central Europe to the Atlantic and the western sea-board. This shift accelerated in the course of the 17th century.

Since the 1960s Venice again became very prosperous.