Experience in Venice, Italy by Carlotta

What is it like to live in Venice? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

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The city of Venice is for sure a special and unusual city where to live. It is always wet, humid and full of tourists which walk around so slow, as they were looking at an open museum. That is sometimes nerving, but you get used to it in the end. Personally I loved the city and thinking about it now I feel very sad thinking of not living there anymore. It is a complicated city, not easy at all to live and it takes time to like it. But after a while, if you really like it, it's gonna be necessary for you. Venice gives you slowly and takes from you really fast, till you fill empty every time you walk on that streets, as you couldn't ever have enough.

What is the student lifestyle like in Venice?

The students in Venice are a lot. Not all of theme live in the city and some travel everyday by train from their home. But the students who live in Venice can enjoy the experience of living a small sweet city where, we say, it's impossible not to meet a person for the second time. It's a kind of a small world where the students have their places, bars, favorite coffee, library, etc. In the evening, just after leaving university, is really typical to stop in Campo Santa Margherita, where a lot of students entertain themselves with a glass of wine or spritz before going home.

How much does it cost to live in Venice?

The life in Venice could seem very expansive for a tourist, but living there you learn where to go, where the things are good and where they are expensive. The only really expansive things are the rents and the public transportation, which personally I never used much because the time you take is the same and the water buses are always really full.

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Venice? Is there any advice you can give?

To find an accommodation is not that easy but it also depends from the economical possibilities. There are some students dorms, some are on the island of Giudecca, next to Venice, where a student can find a room without paying a lot. But the most of the students live in shared flats with other students. I don't know anyone who lives on his own because the rents are way too expansive and dividing the expenses is always better.

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

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In Venice there is a tradition of fish dishes, like different kinds of pasta with capesante, swordfish, shellfish, etc. The typical fish is Baccalà, that they cook and prepare in different ways: like a cream, to serve on bread, mixed with onion and tomato sauce, etc. Other typical dishes are "Sarde in Saor" (Sardines in flavor), Fried small fishes and sea fruits, Riso al nero (rice with the black ink of cuttlefish).

There are good wines, first of all Prosecco, which comes from Valdobbiadene, a small village in Veneto; then red wines, like Merlot, Cabernet, Pinot and Raboso; and white ones like Pinot grigio.

Really typical in Venice is the Aperitivo, the moment before lunch or dinner, when Venetians like to drink an "Ombra" (small glass of wine) or a Spritz (Prosecco-Aperol-Soda, served with ice, a green olive and a slice of orange), eating a "cicchetto" (small starters served on bread), a tramezzino or a meat ball.

After dinner is usual to have some sweet wine or liqueur with biscuits typical from the little island of Burano.

What places would you recommend visiting in Venice?

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In Venice there is always a lot to do. A part from the typical touristic places, like Piazza San Marco, Ponte di Rialto, Ponte dei Sospiri, Riva degli Schiavoni, Ponte dell'Accademia, etc., I would recommend:

• The small tiny streets around the area of Castello, where the famous Library Querini and the Hospital of Venice are situated
• The fish market of Rialto, opened just in the morning
• Zattere, the waterfront facing the island of Giudecca
• The Jewish Ghetto in Cannaregio, near the station, with its Synagogues
• Campo Santa Margherita, for a nice Aperitivo around 7 p. m
• The island of Giudecca, really suggestive and quite
• The small islands near Venice, from the most famous Murano, till the smaller ones Burano and Torcello. The island of Lido hosts every year the Cinema Exhibition and the area of Giardini and Arsenale host the Biennale of Arts and Architecture



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Is it good to eat out in Venice? Can you tell us your favourite spots?

Good places for eating are:

• For an aperitivo or small snack during the day, Caffè Rosso in Campo Santa Margherita, or Caffè dei Frari in Campo dei Frari. In 303, also very near to Campo Santa Margherita. Just after Campo San Pantalon going towards Piazzale Roma, you will find really good Polpette (meatballs) and Crocchette, their speciality!
• In Strada Nova, next to Ca' D'Oro, there is La Vedova, the place where you can eat the best Polpette in all Venice, enjoying them standing at the desk drinking a glass of good wine
• For a glass of wine or Aperitivo with really good typical products, the places are Il Paradiso Perduto and Il Timon, both in Cannaregio, just behind the Ghetto, in Fondamenta della Misericordia, which becomes Fondamenta degli Ormesini going a bit further. The first one is famous also for the very good fish dishes they serve and because of the concerts they host, even with the small space they have. The second one has a boat just floating in front of it where you can seat on a wooden platform the mounted on it and drink your wine, eating a Tagliere of typical ham and cheese
• Nice Bacari, little places where they serve wine and small starters, are in the square just down Rialto, called Erbaria
• For higher expectations, or a nice dinner, go to L'antico Calice, ex La Botte, a bit hidden in Campo San Bartolomeo, where they have really good pasta dishes and grilled fish and good wines. Also Il Paradiso Perduto is a good place for having dinner. In the same Fondamenta della Misericordia there are three places, really typical and always full and with not such high prices: I 40 Ladroni, L'anice stellato and I mori

Is the nightlife good in Venice? Where is good to go?

At night, places like Il Paradiso Perduto and Il Timon, as all the places in Campo Santa Margherita are always full, but they are allowed to stay open just till 2. 00 a. m. because of the noises. Others nice bars are all in the area around Rialto. The night life in Venice goes especially around these areas but for those who want something special there are always nice events on the island of Lido, where in summer is possible to dance on the beach and at Morion an occupied center which always has good live music and entertainment for young people. Sometimes there are some parties in Giardini, always music events. For the night life, after 2 a. m. you have to move to the inland, Mestre or Marghera where discos and other bars are. Personally I always preferred the life in Venice but sometimes is fun to see also what's outside and meet people from everywhere.

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What advice would you give future students headed to Venice?

Venice is a beautiful city but don't see the experience of living there as the visit to a work of art. It is also a real and authentic city where interesting people live and where is possible to meet real pieces of all the world. Venice gives a lot and asks a lot but if you'll get to love it you'll never get enough of it and it will always stay in you as a piece of your person.

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