Venice (Venezia in Italian) is a town in northern Italy and capital of Veneto autonomous region. The population of the town is 268.993 inhabitants (data from 2007). The area of Venice is 412 sq. km. The town includes 118 small islands that form the Venice lagoon in Adriatic Sea. Saltwater lagoon stretches between the estuaries of Po and Piave rivers. The town is divided by smaller parts called sestieri. Their names are Kanaredzho, Dorsoduro, San Polo, Santa Kroche San Marco and Castello. Venice is also known as "queen of Adriatic", "water city", "city of bridges" and "city of light".
Venice is world famous for its 150 canals. The biggest and widest is called the Grand Canal. Along this channel only there are about 170 beautiful buildings dating from XIII to XVIII century. Noble Venetian families spent a lot of money to build their own palace on the channel. Some of these palaces are Palazzi Barbaro, Ca 'Rezzonico, Ca' d'Oro, Palazzo Dario, Ca 'Foscari, Palazzo Barbarigo. The Santa Maria della Salute basilica is also located there. There are many museums and sights.
Venice is included in UNESCO list of historical and cultural heritage. There are about 400 bridges. The town transport includes classical Venetian boats – gondola. It is used mainly by tourists or for special occasions as weddings. Most Venetians use motorized water buses (vaporetti), which run by schedule.