The Canal Grande snakes through the city of Venice in a large S shape, traveling from the Saint Mark Basin on one end to a lagoon near the Santa Lucia rail station on the other. This ancient waterway measures 3,800 meters (2.36 miles) long and ranges from 30 to 90 meters (about 100-300 feet) wide. In most places, the canal is approximately 5 meters (16 feet) deep. The canal is an ancient waterway, lined with buildings - about 170 in all - that were mostly built from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Most were constructed by wealthy Venetian families