One of the many charms of the city of Venice, setting for my romantic novel The Echoes of Love, is its unique map: this is a city of waterways cutting among myriad winding streets that form something of a daunting labyrinth for the tourist. Not in Venice will you find the easy-to-navigate, logical approach to city planning employed by the Romans; streets in this city of islands evolved over time to fit need and geography, and most were only ever designed for pedestrians and horses, hence they are some of the narrowest thoroughfares in Europe.

Getting around is either a lot of fun or somewhat stressful, depending on your perspective. Some streets take you on a logical path from A to B; some lead you on a bewildering circuitous route from A to B; some take you from A straight to a dead end. And as for the canals – well, the street may lead you to one of the many bridges over which you can continue your journey or simply to the canalside (best to concentrate as you walk to avoid inadvertently plunging in!). No wonder the Venetian street map has been compared to a tangled bowl of spaghetti.

Walking several miles in an afternoon and finding oneself lost several times in that period is all part of the experience of visitors to Venice. Of course, you can use the street signs to help. But what do they mean? Here’s a quick tour:

• Bridge: ponte
• Canal: canale or rio
• Street: calle, ruga, ramo or salizada (rioterrà for a street that was once a canal; riva for one facing the lagoon or Canal Grande; merceria for one flanked by shops; sacca for a dead-end street)
• Pavement beside a canal: fondamenta or riva
• Public passageway under a building: sottoportico and sottoportego
• Square: campo, campiello, corte or piazza (piscina for a square that was once a canal)

Venetians traditionally named streets after businesses or establishments nearby. So you have the street of:

• abbazia (abbey)
• avvocati (lawyers)
• botteri (cask maker)
• cafettier(coffee shop)
• forno (oven)
• frezzeria (arrow maker)
• magazen (warehouse)
• piovan (vicar)
• pistor (baker)
• remer) (oar maker
• spadaria (spade maker)
• botteghe (shops)
• teatro (theatre)
• traghetto (gondola crossing)

Beware, though – within the city you’ll find several streets with the same name: you need to know the sestieri (district) of the street you’re looking for.

Personally, I quite enjoy getting lost in Venice. I’ve found some of the most wonderful little boutiques, coffee shops and architectural delights through aimless wandering (see my blog post later this week on Venetian shops). And getting lost is the perfect excuse to practise your Italian as you ask for directions and then try to fathom the response. Here are some phrases you may find helpful:

• Can you tell me how to get to:  lei puòdirmi come arrivare a
• Excuse me: scusi
• I’m lost: mi sonoperso/a
• Please: per favore
• Straight on: sempredritto
• Thank you: grazie
• To the left: a sinistra
• To the right: a destra