Everybody knows what Venice looks like. There are no trees, no greenery. Only narrow pavements, palazzi, churches, St. Mark's Square and the Basilica.

This picture is backed up by some reasonableness. Due to the fact that Venice was founded on a few hundred of rather tiny islands there has not been enough dirt to support tree roots below its pavements. The Venetian Lagoon surrounds the city and seawater is not useful for trees. There are no sources of fresh water either.

All the above is true. However, it's not the whole truth. Actually, it is achievable to seed and raise trees in Venice as you can observe in some examples below.

We'll show you another face of Venice, quite different from that seen by most visitors. It's not secret, not hidden but it's a little uncommon view of La Serenissima.

If you start at St. Mark's Square and move by the Canale di San Marco heading for Castello sestiere then you will pass less and less crowded parts of La Serenissima. You can do it on foot but it's a rather long stroll. There is an alternative. You can take a vaporetto at San Zaccharia stop next to St. Mark's Square, pass by Arsenale and leave it at Giardini stop. Venice seen from the water is at least so beautiful as seen from the mainland. The trip by vaporetto is a great opportunity to admire it.

After leaving the vaporetto you will face a garden (as you might have expected from the name of the final stop). Its name in Italian is Giardni Pubblici.

Giardni Pubblici is, as the name suggests, a public park. It was founded by Napoleon I. A quarter of the buildings was demolished and some marshland was reclaimed during its creation. Initially created as Italian gardens, they were changed into English gardens in the 19th century.

Starting from the end of the 19th century buildings of the Biennale were founded in one part of the garden.

Parco delle Rimembranze (Park of Remembrance) is located on the Sant Elena island. To reach it one has to go from Giardini Pubblici along the Viale dei Gardini Pubblici and cross the bridge on Rio dei Giardini. Or use a vaporetto and leave it at Sant Elena stop.

You can enjoy a great view at the Venice centre here while sitting on a bench situated in the shadow of tall trees and enjoying a light breeze from the lagoon. It makes a big difference compared to heavily crowded parts of Venice.

It's worth leaving well trodden and crowded paths of St. Mark's Square and Rialto Bridge.

More about the treeless Venice (photos included) at places-to-visit.info/places/show/venice_parks

More about a little different views of some places to visit at places-to-visit.info