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Italy · 45.4375°, 12.3358°

Venice Map Poster: The Grand Canal and the Lagoon

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Map poster of Venice (Italy): streets, water and parks drawn from OpenStreetMap

Why this city works as a poster

Venice is the only city whose map reads first through water: the lagoon surrounds everything, and the Grand Canal crosses the city in a reversed S almost four kilometres long. The historic centre has the shape of a fish lying on the lagoon, the Giudecca stretches to the south like a long band, and the Ponte della Libertà runs dead straight to the mainland. The streets are so fine that they form a weave, almost a texture, around the canals.

Recommended framing

About 5 km across to hold the whole "fish", the Giudecca and the start of the bridge: the lagoon then frames the city on every side. At 1.5 km around the Rialto, the Grand Canal and its bridges become the subject.

Which theme to pick

A theme that draws pedestrian paths, or the "Paths" option switched on when the theme offers it: in Venice almost every street is pedestrian, and without them the city shrinks to its canals. The water, which covers half the poster, needs a strong colour.

Where to centre the map

Grand Canal
The reversed S crossing the whole city: the poster's master line.
Rialto
In the middle of the Grand Canal, the oldest of its bridges and the densest district.
Giudecca
The long island to the south, separated from the city by a wide canal: it closes the composition.

How its streets are oriented

Street orientation in Venice: orientation order 0.02, organic pattern0° (N) – 180° (S): 4.7% of street length10° (N) – 190° (S): 6.2% of street length20° (NNE) – 200° (SSW): 8.6% of street length30° (NNE) – 210° (SSW): 6.8% of street length40° (NE) – 220° (SW): 5.7% of street length50° (NE) – 230° (SW): 3.8% of street length60° (ENE) – 240° (WSW): 4.5% of street length70° (ENE) – 250° (WSW): 5.2% of street length80° (E) – 260° (W): 4.3% of street length90° (E) – 270° (W): 4.5% of street length100° (E) – 280° (W): 5.8% of street length110° (ESE) – 290° (WNW): 8.1% of street length120° (ESE) – 300° (WNW): 5.4% of street length130° (SE) – 310° (NW): 6.9% of street length140° (SE) – 320° (NW): 4.6% of street length150° (SSE) – 330° (NNW): 4.1% of street length160° (SSE) – 340° (NNW): 4.6% of street length170° (S) – 350° (N): 6.2% of street length180° (S) – 0° (N): 4.7% of street length190° (S) – 10° (N): 6.2% of street length200° (SSW) – 20° (NNE): 8.6% of street length210° (SSW) – 30° (NNE): 6.8% of street length220° (SW) – 40° (NE): 5.7% of street length230° (SW) – 50° (NE): 3.8% of street length240° (WSW) – 60° (ENE): 4.5% of street length250° (WSW) – 70° (ENE): 5.2% of street length260° (W) – 80° (E): 4.3% of street length270° (W) – 90° (E): 4.5% of street length280° (W) – 100° (E): 5.8% of street length290° (WNW) – 110° (ESE): 8.1% of street length300° (WNW) – 120° (ESE): 5.4% of street length310° (NW) – 130° (SE): 6.9% of street length320° (NW) – 140° (SE): 4.6% of street length330° (NNW) – 150° (SSE): 4.1% of street length340° (NNW) – 160° (SSE): 4.6% of street length350° (N) – 170° (S): 6.2% of street lengthNESW

Within 3 km of the centre, we measured the orientation of 185 km of streets. Its orientation order is 0.02 out of 1: Venice ranks 58th of the 64 cities in the study.

The streets run in almost every direction: no axis dominates, the pattern is organic.

See the full study: street orientation in 64 cities

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