Larnaca seals the twinning deal with Venice!

Greetings from the waterways of Venice where a top delegation of Larnaka Municipal visitors and enthusiasts are in town to wave the flag of Cyprus in the capacity of Official Guest at the “Festa de la Sensa” Festival. On behalf of the city, the Mayor will receive the “Ring of the Doge” as a symbol of the 'twinning' agreement, in recognition of the historical links between these two great cities. 

During the Venetian reign of Cyprus, the port of Larnaca was the most strategic  on the island, as the Salt originating from the Salk Lake located by the new airport helped to preserve the food of the Venetian empire in the wider sense. Venice itself was founded more than 1,500 years ago on 117 different islands, which are connected by a series of over 150 canals, 400 bridges and a network of ancient pavements. The quintessential historic city center of Venice is divided into 6 quarters (sestieri) - Cannaregio, Castello, Dorsoduro, San Marco, San Polo and Santa Croce. An interesting construction feature is that all  buildings in Venice are supported on slender oak and pine piles (cylindrical posts), which are erected deep into the ground to create a solid foundation. As the soil is waterlogged, with no free oxygen, the piles gain strength and do not decay.

The waterways, Gondola's, historic architecture, romantic ambiance and artistic impressions  certainly make Venice a desirable place to be for the Larnaca Municipality delegation. Clearly this is a significant development and powerful association for the city of Larnaca, as Venice attracts over 20 million tourists annually and apart from being one of the worlds most popular city destinations, it is simply stunning and completely unique. This fascinating development, will do much to support Italian Tourism to Larnaca and the Island of Love as a whole. 

The key sponsors of the event are the Cyprus Tourism Organization, Progress Cyprus Tourism & Business Services Ltd through their unique "Leisure & Lifestyle" program and Blue Air, the Low cost airline from Romania that re-routed one of its planes from Larnaca - Venice to accommodate the delegation.  

The delegation will be in Venice for the next 5 days and there is a schedule of events featuring joint activities between the two cities. Even the great Choir of Larnaca is present to air their melodic tones. At some point a delegation from Venice will visit Larnaca, as we understand they plan to donate two replica Lions that feature in St Marks Square.