A Venezia!

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First Day in Venice

After out first night in our Venetian apartments, today was the first day we were able to explore the unbelievably beautiful city of Venice as a group.

We met at the center of the Venetian Italian Jewish community located in the Ghetto Nuovo (which is where our classroom is) for our program orientation. The classroom lies just off the Campo di ghetto nuovo (the site where Jews had to live when they settled in the city in 1516) before setting off on a walking tour. We saw all the most famous sights — starting in the Ghetto's district of Cannaregio. We walked to the Rialto (that Shylock talks about in The Merchant of Veniceand crossed over the famous marble Rialto Bridge and walked to the world-renowned Piazza San Marco. Once we got our Vaporetto (the water bus) passes, we all went to a delicious lunch and then had time to ourselves to explore and take in all that Venice had to offer!

—Keren Cohen

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