Throughout his career as a painter, Edward Cooke travelled extensively in Europe, visiting France, Holland, Italy, Spain, North Africa and Scandinavia. Paintings and drawings resulted from all his travels, but it is evident that the places that provided the strongest fascination for him besides the southern coastline of England were the beaches and estuaries of Holland and the topography of Venice and Italy.

This drawing, taken from a bridge in Ravenna, or possibly from a boat in the canal, shows a view looking down the canal towards the pine forest in the distance. In the foreground are three boats moored in the canal. The artist succeeds in capturing the calm Mediterranean light even in this monochrome drawing. As in other similar works, Cooke has made a note of the location and date of the drawing 1863.