The Grand Canal snakes through the city creating 6 districts (San Marco, S. Polo, Castello, S. Croce, Dorsoduro and Cannaregio), and the splendid facades of the palaces that crown its banks testify to the city's history of immense wealth. Although their external decorations vary, the palaces share the same basic structure: the most decorated floors, the grand floor, housed luxurious salons used to entertain visitors; on the ground floor were stored the goods of the rich merchant families, and the upper floor housed the family during the winter. They were built with impermeable stone supported by timber pile that do not rot in the water lagged subsoil because there is no free oxygen that causes decay.Covering the Grand Canal by boat you can re-lived the enchanting of the old Lady, observing the lavish façades and their different styles. The influence of the Byzantine world is identifiable by their ground-floor arcades and horseshoe-shaped arched open galleries of the first floor and by their roundels with leaves or palm trees motifs. Gothic palaces are numerous in Venice: this style was characterized by the use of pointed ogee arches and carved window heads, trefoil and quatrefoil patterns (the most famous example is the Doge's Palace). During the Renaissance houses were often built in sandstone rather than traditional brick: lavish stone carving, a rounded central arch flanked by narrower side openings and bold projecting roof cornices are a features of this age. The exuberance show the influence of Baroque style: revelling in bold ornamentation that leaves no surface un-carved, cherubs and grotesque masks animate the main façade of buildings; recessed windows and massive blocks with deep ridges give solidity to the lower walls.
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