In his book on Glasgow, THIS CITY NOW, published in 2005 Ian Mitchell jokes that Maryhill should be known as the "Venice of Scotland."
He notes that it sits "astride the nub of Scotland's central canal system" where the Forth and Clyde canal joins the route to Port Dundas.
He also notes that like Venice it was the centre for the glass industry. Indeed Murano Street in Maryhill is named after the Italian city's main glass manufacturer.
And finally there is the matter of a Cathedral. Venice has St Marks. But after the Disruption of 1843 Free Presbyterians met in a canal side sawmill at Kelvin Dock where they used planks as pews. This was dubbed "Maryhill Cathedral."