The streets and canals of Venice on Google Street View

VENICE. In zoos, under the oceans, in the biggest airplane in the world and on the highest peaks: Street View, a Google Maps service that permits exploring places from street level with a panoramic view, has also immortalized an icon like Venice. After Big G’s strange backpack-mounted camera was spotted along the Venetian cobblestone alleyways last summer, the portrait of this car-free city is finally online.

“Trekker”, the only camera able to move among the bell towers and canals, travelled 430 kilometers on foot and 185 by boat. «It was difficult for us to think about collecting images of one of the most picturesque cities in Italy, with its winding canals and narrow streets, by just using a car or a “trike” - explains Google -. But our team wasn’t intimidated and succeeded in capturing Venice’s characteristic architecture». With Trekker on their backs the Mountain View team did not only walk along the streets, it also got on gondolas and explored the canals by boat. So now a real trip can be planned by admiring, from your computer, St. Mark’s Square, the Marciana Library, the Clock Tower, but also hidden gems such as the Synagogue in the first Jewish Ghetto or the Ponte del Diavolo on the island of Torcello. Now that the city’s Museo Correr, Museo del Vetro and Ca 'Pesaro International Gallery of Modern Art have become partners of the Google Cultural Institute, virtual visitors can also immerse themselves in their art collections for a trip through the history of Venice. Google has created a mini site that compares Venice today with paintings of the same places by Carpaccio and Cesare Vecellio.

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