Friday, 26 October 2012

Geography


The city is divided into six areas or "sestiere". These are Cannaregio, San Polo, Dorsoduro, Santa Croce, San Marco and Castello Each sestiere was administered by a procurator and his staff.

These districts consist of parishes – initially seventy in 1033, but reduced under Napoleon and now numbering just thirty-eight. These parishes predate the sestieri, which were created in about 1170.

Other islands of the Venetian Lagoon do not form part of any of the sestieri, having historically enjoyed a considerable degree of autonomy.

Each sestiere has its own house numbering system. Each house has a unique number in the district, from one to several thousand, generally numbered from one corner of the area to another, but not usually in a readily understandable manner.

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