Venice, Italy is built on islands with countless canals and charming tiny bridges. No place in the world can equal its unique character. Rowing boats called gondolas are used here to transport people. They are necessity for local residents because this is a city of water. Even public transport is organized here as a network of water buses.
Venice has a rich and long history. It has been the capital of the republic for centuries. The most famous is the Basilica of San Marco, which houses the relics of St. Mark. The evangelist's ashes were transferred here from Egypt in 836.
Venice made profits from the slave trade. From the 12th century, the market next to the famous Rialto Bridge, was a hub for human trafficking. It was the era of "castration houses" scattered all over Venice, because the most valuable at that time were eunuchs sold mainly in the eastern Mediterranean.
It was the Venetians who invented the ghetto. In 1516, the Senate of the Venetian Republic ordered all Jews to live together in a district known as the ghetto. In order to prevent the free movement of Jews, the gates were closed at night and guarded by Christians.
