The whole world knows that Venezia has a serious issue of rising tides brought on by melting glaciers and global warming. Venezia/ Venice is a unique and beautiful city which has had to adjust and live with this inconvenience of frequent flooding which now affects everyday life for the 55,000 or so who live there full time.

Out of the countless reasons to visit Venice, here is yet another to add to the list: La Biennale.  Occurring every two years, this contemporary art show transforms the city into an art lover’s paradise. Running from May 13th to November 26, this year’s show “Viva Arte Viva,” marked the 57th exhibition.

Fashion lovers rejoice. The highly anticipated transformation of Venice’s Fondaco dei Tedeschi building into a luxury department store is finally complete. The project was commissioned by Edizione S.r.l., the Benetton family's holding company, in 2009. Led by Dutch architect firm OMA, the landmark building has been redesigned to become a luxury shopping mall. Under a recently signed leasing agreement with Hong Kong based company DFS, the conversion into high end retail space is nearly complete.

This weekend, the city of Venice kicked off Carnival season with Il Volo dell’Angelo or “Flight of the Angel.” The spectacle, witnessed by hundreds of thousands of onlookers, was held in St. Mark’s Square, the central and most historic area of the city.