Rough Guide Directions VENICE

Venice

W R I T T E N A N D R E S E A R C H E D B Y

Jonathan Buckley

DIRECTIONS

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ContentsIntroduction 4

Ideas 9The big six ..........................................................................10The main islands ........................................................12Venice viewpoints......................................................14Byzantine Venice ........................................................16Museums and art galleries ............................18Renaissance architecture ................................20Eighteenth-century art ........................................22Shops and markets..................................................24Death in Venice ............................................................26Renaissance painting............................................28On the water ....................................................................30Venetian oddities ........................................................32Multicultural Venice ................................................34Scuole ......................................................................................36Authentic Venice..........................................................38Food and drink ..............................................................40Music in Venice ............................................................42Crime and punishment........................................44Festivals ................................................................................46

Places 49San Marco: the Piazza ........................................51San Marco: North of the Piazza ..............63San Marco: West of the Piazza ................69Dorsoduro ..........................................................................76San Polo and Santa Croce ............................89Cannaregio ....................................................................104Central Castello ........................................................114

Eastern Castello ......................................................124The Canal Grande ..................................................131The northern islands ..........................................140The southern islands..........................................148

Accommodation 155Hotels....................................................................................157Apartments ....................................................................162Hostels ................................................................................163

Essentials 165Arrival....................................................................................167Information ....................................................................167City transport ..............................................................168Museums and monuments ........................171Festivals and special events ....................172Directory............................................................................174

Language 177

Useful Stuff 184

Index 185

Colour MapsVeniceSan MarcoMain Water Bus Services

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Con ten t s I n t r oduc t i on

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Introduction to

VeniceFounded 1500 years ago on a cluster of mudflats inthe centre of the lagoon,Venice rose to becomeEurope’s main trading post between the West and theEast, and at its height controlled an empire thatextended from the Dolomites to Cyprus.Themelancholic air of the place is in part a product of thediscrepancy between the grandeur of its history andwhat the city has become.

Rialto dictated the valueof commodities all overthe continent; in the dock-yards of the Arsenale theworkforce was so vast thata warship could be builtand fitted out in a singleday; and the Piazza SanMarco was thronged withpeople here to set up dealsor report to the Republic’sgovernment. Nowadays it’sno longer a buzzingmetropolis but rather theembodiment of a fabulouspast, dependent for its sur-vival largely on the peoplewho come to marvel at itsrelics.

The monuments whichdraw the largest crowds arethe Basilica di San Marco –the mausoleum of the city’spatron saint – and thePalazzo Ducale or Doge’s

In the heyday of theVenetian Republic, some200,000 people lived inVenice, three times its pres-ent population. Merchantsfrom Europe and westernAsia maintained warehous-es here; transactions in thebanks and bazaars of the


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Palace. Certainly these arethe most imposing struc-tures in the city, but a roll-call of the churches worthvisiting would feature morethan a dozen names. Manyof the city’s treasures remainin the churches for whichthey were created, but asizeable number have beenremoved to one or other ofVenice’s museums, with theAccademia holding thelion’s share.This culturalheritage is a source of end-less fascination, but youshould also discard your

itineraries for a day and justwander – the anonymousparts of Venice reveal asmuch of the city as its well-known attractions.

5�

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annaregio canal view

� The Piazzetta


Venice’s tourist season is very nearly an all-year affair. Peak season, whenhotel rooms are virtually impossible to come by at short notice, is from Aprilto October; try to avoid July and August in particular, when the climatebecomes oppressively hot and clammy. The other two popular spells are theCarnevale (leading up to Lent) and the weeks on each side of Christmas.For the ideal combination of comparative peace and a mild climate, the twoor three weeks immediately preceding Easter is perhaps the best time ofyear. Climatically the months at the end of the high season are somewhatless reliable: some November and December days bring fogs that make itdifficult to see from one bank of the Canal Grande to the other. If you wantto see the city at its quietest, January is the month to go – take plenty ofwarm clothes, though, as the winds of the Adriatic can be savage, and youshould be prepared for floods throughout the winter. This acqua alta, asVenice’s seasonal flooding is called, has been an element of Venetian life forcenturies, but nowadays it’s far more frequent than it used to be: betweenOctober and late February it’s not uncommon for flooding to occur everyday of the week, and it’ll be a long time before the huge flood bar-rier (which was begun in 2003) makes any impact. However,having lived with it for so long, the city is well geared todealing with the nuisance. Shopkeepers in the mostbadly affected areas insert steel shutters into theirdoorways to hold the water at bay, while the localcouncil lays jetties of duck-boards along the majorthoroughfares and between the chief vaporetto stopsand dry land.

When to visit

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�R

eflection of gondolas in the Bacino O

rseolo


VENICE AT A GLANCE

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The historic centre ofVenice is made up of 118islands, tied together bysome 400 bridges to forman amalgamation that’sdivided into six largeadministrative districtsknown as sestieri, three oneach side of the CanalGrande.

San MarcoThe sestiere of San Marco is thehub of the city, being the locationof the two prime monuments – thePalazzo Ducale and the Basilica diSan Marco – and the city’s highestconcentration of shops andhotels.

DorsoduroLying on the opposite side of theCanal Grande from San Marco,and stretching westward to thedocks, Dorsoduro is one of thecity’s smartest quarters, as well asthe home of its university and themain art gallery.

�The S

an Barnaba district

�S

an Pietro di C

astello�

The Basilica di S

an Marco

CastelloSpreading north and east of SanMarco, the sprawling sestiere ofCastello encompasses many ofVenice’s most interestingchurches, its former industrialcentre, and some of its grittierresidential areas.


Northern islandsThe nearest of the northernislands of the lagoon – SanMichele – is the city’s historiccemetery; a little farther out liesthe glassmaking island of Murano,while in the outermost reachesyou’ll find Burano and Torcello,Venice’s predecessor.

Southern islandsSheltered from the Adriatic by theLido and its neighbouringsandbanks, the southern part ofthe lagoon has a scattering ofislands, notably San GiorgioMaggiore and La Giudecca, thefocus of some majorredevelopment projects.

San Polo and Santa CroceAdjoining Dorsoduro to the north,the sestieri of San Polo and SantaCroce are riddled with intricatealleyways and characterful littlesquares – and it’s here that you’llfind the famous Rialto market.

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� S

an Giorgio M

aggiore�

Murano

CannaregioThe train station occupies acorner of Cannaregio, and most ofthe city’s one-star hotels areclustered nearby, but much of thisdistrict is tranquil and unaffectedby the influx of tourists.

�C

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In effect all ofcentral Venice is onecolossal sight, andyou’d have a greattime if you were tospend your dayshere just wanderingthe alleyways atleisure. That said,

there are several specificmonuments and museumsyou really should make apoint of visiting. Here aresix of Venice’s foremostattractions, every one ofwhich is guaranteed toamaze.

The

big

six

The Palazzo DucaleThe home of the doges was the nerve-centre of the entire Venetian empire, andwas decorated by some of the greatestVenetian artists.

� P.54 � SAN MARCO: THE PIAZZA �

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The FrariThe gargantuan edifice of Santa MariaGloriosa dei Frari contains masterpiecesby Titian, Bellini, Donatello and manymore.

� P.96 � SAN POLO & SANTA CROCE �

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San MarcoThe mosaic-encrusted church of Saint Markis the most opulent cathedral in all of Europe.


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The Scuola Grandedi San RoccoRome has the Sistine Chapel, Florence has theBrancacci Chapel, and Venice has the ScuolaGrande di San Rocco, with its overwhelmingcycle of paintings by Jacopo Tintoretto.


Santi Giovanni ePaolo The vast Dominican church ofSanti Giovanni e Paolo is themausoleum of the doges,containing some of the city’sfinest sculpture.

� P.116� CENTRAL CASTELLO �

The AccademiaIn the Accademia’smagnificent galleriesyou can trace thedevelopment of paintingin Venice from thefifteenth century to theeighteenth, the lastgolden age of Venetianart.

� P.77 �DORSODURO �

Con ten t s I deas

The 118 islets of thehistoric centre couldkeep you fullyoccupied for weeks,but even on a shorttrip you should tryto find time for anexpedition to someof the outlyingislands of thelagoon. Go toTorcello and you’llbe standing on the

spot where the history ofVenice began; on Muranoand Burano you’ll get aninsight into crafts that havebeen central to Venetianself-identity for centuries;and an hour on Giudeccawill reveal evidence thatthe city is nowhere near asmoribund as some peoplelike to make out.

MuranoGlass has been the basis of Murano’seconomy for seven hundred years, and thereare still plenty of factories where you canadmire the glassblowers’ amazing skills.

� P.141 � THE NORTHERN ISLANDS �

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BuranoThe brightly painted exteriors of thehouses of Burano give this island anappearance that’s distinct from any othersettlement in the lagoon.


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San MicheleLocated a short distancenorth of the city centre, SanMichele is possibly the mostbeautiful cemetery in theworld.

� P.140 � THE NORTHERNISLANDS �

TorcelloThe majestic cathedral ofTorcello – the oldest buildingin the whole lagoon – marksthe spot where the lagooncity came into existence.

� P.144 � THENORTHERN ISLANDS �

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La GiudeccaOnce one of the city’smain industrial zones, LaGiudecca is nowadays apredominantly residentialarea that retains much ofthe spirit of the city priorto the age of masstourism

� P.150 � THESOUTHERN ISLANDS �

Girdled with water,replete withbeautiful buildings,flanked by the seaand overlooked bythe snow-cappedpeaks of theDolomites, Venice isthe most photogenicof cities. Stand onany bridge andyou’ll have materialfor a dozenphotographs staring

you in the face. For greatpanoramic views of theplace, however, you shouldmake a bee-line for one ormore of these vantagepoints.

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Campanile di San MarcoThe cathedral’s belltower – the talleststructure for miles around – affords grand-stand views of the historic centre.


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The walk to Sant’ElenaA stroll from the Palazzo Ducale toSant’Elena – the eastern limit of the city –gives you an unforgettable and ever-changing panorama.

� P.129 � EASTERN CASTELLO �

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San GiorgioMaggioreThe one thing youcan’t see from theCampanile di SanMarco is theCampanile di SanMarco, which is whythe best of all views tobe had is from thebelltower of SanGiorgio Maggiore,across the water.

� P.148 � THESOUTHERN ISLANDS �

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The boat toBuranoFor a long-rangeperspective on thewhole of the city, take atrip on the #LN boatfrom Fondamente Noveout to Burano.

� P.140 � THENORTHERN ISLANDS �

The ZáttereThe southernwaterfront ofDorsoduro,formerly a busydock, isnowadays aperfect place foran unhurriedstroll and café-stop.


The Venetian lagoonwas first settled inthe fifth century, bypeople fleeing fromthe hordes of Attilathe Hun, and fromits inception theirconfederation of tinysettlements owedallegiance toByzantium. Thecultural influence ofthe capital of the

Eastern Roman Empirecontinued to be felt longafter the Venetiansachieved their politicalindependence. Signs of thiscrucial relationship areevident all over the city,both in its churches and inits palaces.

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Palazzo Loredan The Palazzo Loredan was founded wayback in the thirteenth century; as was theadjacent Palazzo Farsetti; together theynow function as the town hall.

� P.135 � THE CANAL GRANDE �

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Santa FoscaStanding next to Torcello’s cathedral, theplain little church of Santa Fosca clearlyshows its Byzantine heritage.


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Ca’ da MostoDating back to the thirteenth century, thispicturesque Canal Grande palazzo is asuperb example of the distinctive hybrid ofVeneto-Byzantine architecture.


Museo Dipinti Sacri BizantiniThe city’s Greek community kept alive thetradition of Byzantine icon painting forcenturies, as you’ll see in this museum.

� P.121 � CENTRAL CASTELLO �

San Giacomo di RialtoTraditionally regarded as the oldest church incentral Venice, San Giacomo di Rialto isByzantine in design and adorned by columnsof ancient Greek marble.


The Pala d’OroThe mosaics of San Marco owe much to thestyle of Byzantium, and Byzantine goldsmithsand jewellers were responsible for much ofthe handiwork on the astounding Pala d’Oro.


Con ten t s I deas

The Accademiapacks a biggerpunch than anyother of the city’smuseums andgalleries, so if youhave time for onlyone collection thechoice is prettystraightforward. Butit would be a shamenot to sample theother offerings,which includecomprehensivesurveys of Venetianpolitical, social andmaritime history, asuperb overview ofeighteenth-century

art, and an assembly ofsome of the key figures ofmodern art.

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Museo Storico NavaleAs you’d expect from a city whose wealthand power was founded on shipping, thenaval museum offers a comprehensiveoverview of maritime history and technology.


The GuggenheimFor a break from the Renaissance, spendan hour or two with the Guggenheim’s finearray of twentieth-century art.

� P.79 � DORSODURO �

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Ca’ d’OroOnce the mostextravagant house onthe Canal Grande, theCa’ d’Oro today ishome to an engaginglymiscellaneous artcollection.

� P.110 �CANNAREGIO �

Ca’ RezzonicoDevoted to the visualand applied arts of theeighteenth century, theCa’ Rezzonico containsseveral wonderfulpaintings and somefrankly bizarre furniture.


Museo CorrerNow joined to theLibreria Sansovinianaand the archeologicalmuseum, the Correr is amuseum of Venetianhistory with an excellentart gallery upstairs.

� P.59 � SAN MARCO:THE PIAZZA �

An enduring tastefor colourful surfacedecoration andintricate stone-carving is inevidence in Veniceright to the end ofthe fifteenth century,long after therigorous classicalprecepts ofRenaissancearchitecture hadgained currencyelsewhere in Italy.By the end of thefollowing century,however, the moresevere style of the

Padua-born architectAndrea Palladio – whosebuildings have become anintrinsic part of the imageof Venice – had becomethe model for churchdesign throughout Europe.

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Palazzo GrimaniIt took nearly twenty years to build thePalazzo Grimani, the most intimidatingpalace on the Canal Grande.


The Redentore Overlooking the city from the centre ofthe Giudecca waterfront, the Redentore isthe greatest of Palladio’s Venetianchurches.

� P.150 � SOUTHERN ISLANDS �

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San SalvadorOutside it doesn’t look terribly impressive,but the interior of San Salvador is an impos-ing example of Renaissance orderliness.

� P.64 � SAN MARCO:NORTH OF THE PIAZZA �

San Michele in IsolaDesigned by Mauro Codussi, this beguilinglittle church was one of the firstRenaissance buildings in Venice.


The Procuratie VecchieThe former offices of the administrators ofthe Basilica di San Marco fill one whole sideof the Piazza, contributing to a magnificentarchitectural set-piece.


Con ten t s I deas

The Libreria Sansovinianaand the ZeccaStanding side by side opposite thePalazzo Ducale, the city library and mintwere both designed by JacopoSansovino, the Republic’s principalarchitect in the early sixteenth century.


The eighteenthcentury was theperiod of Venice’sterminal decline asa political andeconomic force –with the coming ofNapoleon, theRepublic was dead.Yet the visual artsunderwent aremarkableresurgence at thistime, with painterssuch as Tiepolo(father and son),Canaletto and the

Guardi brothers at theforefront. First stop for asurvey of eighteenth-century art is theAccademia, then the Ca’Rezzonico. After those,check out some of thefollowing.

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Santa Maria della FavaThe two Giambattistas – Tiepolo andPiazzetta – can be seen together in themodest church of Santa Maria della Fava.


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Palazzo Querini-StampaliaThe gallery’s charmingly clumsy paintings byGabriel Bella provide a fascinating chronicleof daily life in eighteenth-century Venice.


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Angelo Raffaele The organ loft of Angelo Raffaele isdecorated with an enchanting sequenceof pictures depicting scenes from thelife of St Tobias.


The GesuatiAs well as a superb ceiling byGiambattista Tiepolo, the Gesuati hasaltarpieces by two other giants ofeighteenth-century painting,Giambattista Piazzetta and SebastianoRicci.


Palazzo LabiaGiambattista Tiepolo was also thecreator of some seductive secular paint-ings, a superb example being his workin the ballroom of the Palazzo Labia.

� P.106 � CANNAREGIO �

Venice is a smallcity, with apopulation of lessthan 70,000 in thehistoric centre, so itshould be nosurprise to find thatit doesn’t haveshopping streets tocompare with thoseof Milan, Florence orRome. But many ofthe big Italianfashion labels haveoutlets in the

Mercerie and to the westof the Piazza, and thereare several places whereyou can buy somethinguniquely Venetian – andthe Rialto remains one ofEurope’s most characterfulmarketplaces.

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LaceLike Murano in the northern lagoon,Burano has its own specialist handicraft –exquisite lacework.


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Paper Decorative paper is another Venetianspeciality, sold through various smalloutlets, such as Legatoria Piazzesi.

� P.73 � SAN MARCO:WEST OF THE PIAZZA �

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MasksCarnival masks are made year-round in thecity’s numerous workshops, and theirhandiwork is amazingly inventive –MondoNovo is one of the very best.


GlassNo trip to Venice would be complete withouta visit to the furnaces and shops of Murano.


Con ten t s I deas

The RialtoOnce the most celebratedmarket in Europe, theRialto is nowadays amore humble but stillthriving operation,offering a fabulous arrayof fresh food – plusthousands of souvenir T-shirts.

� P.89 � SAN POLO &SANTA CROCE �

The MercerieRunning from the Piazzato within a few metres ofthe Rialto Bridge, theMercerie are the busiestshopping streets inVenice.


Often devastated byplague and alwaysprey to a host ofswamp-bounddiseases, Venicewas inextricablylinked with the ideaof death long beforeThomas Mannwelded the twowords together. Thecemetery island of

San Michele and thechurches of Santi Giovannie Paolo and the Frari areessential sights for tombconnoisseurs, andelsewhere in the citythere’s plenty to interestthe morbidly minded.

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The Lido The beach and the grand hotels of theLido provided the setting for ThomasMann’s great novella Death in Venice andVisconti’s film of the book.

� P.151 � THE SOUTHERN ISLANDS �

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Campo San PoloBullfights used to be a regular event onCampo San Polo, which also saw themurder of a member of Florence’s mightyMedici clan.


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PalazzoVendramin-CalergiRichard Wagner diedin the PalazzoVendramin-Calergi inFebruary 1883; thebuilding is now hometo Venice’s casino.

� P.131 � THECANAL GRANDE �

San GiobbeThe church devoted to thelong-suffering Job is hometo one of the city’sweirdest tombs.


Campo Novo The stage-like CampoNovo, close to SantoStefano church, is the lid ofa vast pit for plaguevictims.


Con ten t s I deas

From JacopoBellini and his sons(Giovanni andGentile), throughGiorgione andCarpaccio, to themighty triumvirateof Titian, PaoloVeronese andTintoretto, Venicenurtured some ofthe titanic figures ofRenaissance art. Tosee some of thebest of that era’spaintings you should

first visit the Accademiaand Correr museums, thePalazzo Ducale and theFrari, then the scuole ofSan Rocco and San Giorgiodegli Schiavoni. You’re stillfar from finished, though,because many of Venice’schurches retain thepaintings theycommissioned centuriesago.

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San Sebastiano The parish church of Paolo Veronese is atreasure-house of pictures by the artist,begun before he had turned thirty.


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Madonna dell’Orto Jacopo Tintoretto worshipped here, isburied here, and provided the church witha trio of mighty pictures.


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Santa Maria Formosa A powerful image of Saint Barbara – amasterpiece by Palma il Vecchio – enhancesa chapel in the church of Santa MariaFormosa.


San Zaccaria A large and lustrous altarpiece by GiovanniBellini is the highlight inside this wonderfulbuilding.


San Giorgio MaggioreTintoretto left his mark on San GiorgioMaggiore too – the chancel contains a pairof famous paintings created specifically forthe place where they still hang.


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A lot of people cometo Venice thinkingthat the only way toget around is byboat, and aresurprised to findthat they spendmost of their time –if not all of it –walking from place

to place, map in hand. Butwater is the lifeblood ofVenice, and to appreciatethe city properly you needto spend some time on thecanals – and to take alook at the Arsenale, thegargantuan dockyard thatwas the foundation of theRepublic’s maritime power.

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Gondolas Once an everyday means of transportround the lagoon, gondolas remain thequintessential Venetian trademark.


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Boat passesThe moment you arrive in Venice, buy oneof the various travel passes that are onoffer, for unlimited use of the waterbusnetwork.

� P.169 � ESSENTIALS �

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The ArsenaleThe powerhouse of theVenetian economy andthe basis of its navalsupremacy, theArsenale was in effecta city within the city.Today it’s mostlydisused, but stillredolent of formerglories.

� P.127 � EASTERNCASTELLO �

TraghettiCan’t afford a jaunt on agondola? Never mind – hopacross the Canal Grande in astand-up traghetto gondolainstead.


The Canal Grande Get on board the #1 vaporettofor an unhurried survey of theaquatic high street of Venice.


Maze-like, car-freeand dilapidatedlydurable, Venice in itsentirety is a verystrange place, andno matter howmany times youreturn to the city itwill never lose itsaura of extremepeculiarity. Somedetails of thetownscape are

stranger than others,though. Here are a fewoffbeat features that arebound to stick in thememory.

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The Scala del Bovolo The spiralling Scala del Bovolo features onthousands of postcards, but few visitors tothe city ever manage to find it.

� P.66 � SAN MARCO: NORTH OF THEPIAZZA

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Venetian dialect signs The Venetian habit of slurring words anddropping syllables can produce somebaffling names, none more so than SanZandegolà, or San Giovanni Decollato –Saint John the Beheaded.


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Leaning towers In a city built on mud it’s inevitable thatsome of the taller structures – such as thecampanile of Santo Stefano – should lurch afew degrees off the perpendicular.

� P.72 � SAN MARCO: WEST OFTHE PIAZZA �

GesuitiAt first sight the walls of the Gesuiti seem tobe hung with damask; look again, and you’llsee they’re made of something quitedifferent.


The Ospedaletto From the grotesque decoration of its facadeyou might never guess that the Ospedalettois actually a church.


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Santa Maria del Giglio The church of Saint Mary of the Lily is amonument to the glory of the people whopaid for it rather than to the glory of God.

� P.71 � SAN MARCO: WEST OFTHE PIAZZA �

As a thrustinglymercantile city,situated on the edgeof theMediterranean atthe crossroads ofEurope and Asia,Venice was always aplace where amultitude of culturesmingled and didbusiness. Manyoutsiders put downroots here and grewinto significant

communities; others haveleft fascinating evidence oftheir temporary residence.

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Fondaco dei TurchiHQ of the city’s Turkish traders, theFondaco dei Turchi is now occupied by thenatural history museum.


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Scuola degli AlbanesiSome lovely pieces of sculpture identifythis tiny building as the former hub ofVenice’s Albanian community.


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San Giorgio dei GreciA precariously tilting tower marks out thechurch that for centuries was the spiritualcentre of Venice’s sizeable Greek population.


San Lazzaro degli ArmeniThe Armenian island of San Lazzaro offersone of the lagoon’s most intriguing guidedtours, given by the monastery’s multilingualresidents.


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The Fondaco deiTedeschiOnce bustling with Germanmerchants, the Fondaco deiTedeschi is today the city’s mainpost office.


The GhettoThe world’s original ghetto is hometo but a fraction of its former popu-lation, but it’s still the centre ofJewish life in Venice.


The religiousconfraternitiesknown as scuoleare distinctivelyVenetian institutions– dating back

hundreds of years, someare still in existence today.All of them were formed toprovide material andspiritual assistance to theirmembers, but some wereconsiderably wealthier thanothers, as you can seefrom the profusion ofartworks that embellish theheadquarters of the so-called Scuole Grande. TheScuola Grande di SanRocco is the mostspectacular of them, butothers repay a visit too.

Scuo

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Scuola Grande dei CarminiThe scuola of the Carmelites is notable foryet another bravura ceiling byGiambattista Tiepolo.


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Scuola di Battioro e Tiraoro Looking something like an overgrowncabinet, the tiny scuola of Venice’s gold-smiths is tucked alongside the church ofSan Stae, right on the Canal Grande.


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Scuola di SanGiorgio degliSchiavoniThe Slavs’ scuolafeatures on manyvisitors’ lists offavourite places inVenice, on account ofCarpaccio’s dazzlingsequence of paintingsin the lower hall.

� P.126 � EASTERNCASTELLO �

Scuola Grande di San RoccoStill functioning today, the Scuola Grande diSan Rocco is the wealthiest and most lavishof all the scuole.


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Scuola di San GiovanniEvangelistaThe forecourt of the scuola of John theBaptist is one of the most alluring episodesin the Venetian cityscape.


Scuola Grandedi San MarcoNow Venice’s hospital,the Scuola Grande diSan Marco is a master-piece of the earlyRenaissance, featuringcarvings by Tullio andAntonio Lombardo, twoof the major figures ofthe period.

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Around fifteenmillion people comehere each year, andon a summer’s daythe influx of touristsexceeds the city’spopulation. Most ofthese incomers seenothing but thePiazza, and if younever stray far fromthe precincts of theBasilica di San

Marco it can seem thatVenice has lost much of itssoul to the depredations ofmodern tourism. Wanderjust a little further afield,however, and you’ll findplentiful signs of thesurvival of a moreauthentic Venice.

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San Niccolò dei MendicoliMeander down to the western edge ofDorsoduro and you’ll come to this quietand ancient church, one of the most char-acterful in Venice.


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Campo Santa MariaMater DominiWith its parish church, crumbling oldhouses, workadays bars and artisan’sworkshop, Campo Santa Maria MaterDomini is like a snapshot of an earlierage.


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San Pietro di CastelloMarooned on the edge of the city, the formercathedral presides over a district whereboat-maintenance is the main business.


Campo San Giacomodell’OrioThe area around the church of San Giacomodell’Orio is spacious and underpopulated, asit lies off the beaten track for the majority ofvisitors.


Northern CannaregioOn any day of the year, residents faroutnumber tourists on the long canalsidepavements of northern Cannaregio.


More than anywhereelse in Italy, thedivision betweenbars and restaurantsis often difficult todraw in Venice.Almost every barserves sandwichesat least, while adistinctive aspect ofthe Venetian socialscene is the

bacarò, which isessentially a bar thatserves a range of snackscalled cicheti, plussometimes moresubstantial meals.Conversely, manyrestaurants are fronted bya bar, which may stayopen long after the kitchenhas shut down for thenight.

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Wine barsThe Veneto produces more DOC(Denominazione di origine controllata) winethan any other region of Italy, so it’s nosurprise that it’s bursting with bars inwhich you can sample Valpolicella,Bardolino, Soave and Prosecco, the last alight, champagne-like wine from the areaaround Conegliano. Al Volto has the city’swidest selection.

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SeafoodVenice has dozens of restaurants, somevery good, some very bad, some veryexpensive, many not, but almost all ofthem have one thing in common: seafooddominates the menu. Visit the Rialto fishmarket for an overview of what’s on offer.


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CafésEurope’s first café opened in Venice in 1683,and within a few decades Goldoni hadcreated a play in which the hero, a caféowner, declared “my profession is necessaryto the glory of the city”. Coffee culture is stillcrucial to Venetian life, with every parishhaving its busy café-cum-social-centre.


Gelati Every Italian city has its makers of sinfulhomemade ice cream, and Venice has someof the best. Don’t go home without samplingthe products of Paolin, or Nico, or Causin.


Cicheti and sandwichesVirtually all bars will have a selection of plumptramezzini (sandwiches) at lunchtime, and inmany – such as the Osteria alle Botteghe –you’ll find an enticing array of cicheti, typicallyincluding polpette (small beef and garlicmeatballs), carciofini (artichoke hearts) andpolipi (baby octopus or squid).


PasticcerieVenetian pastries are as delicious as any inItaly. Look out for the Antichi PasticceriVenexiani sign: membership of this groupsignifies high standards and top-qualityingredients. No standards – or prices – arehigher than those at the famous Marchini.


The music writtenand performed inSan Marco wasimitated bycomposers all overEurope, and for along time Venicewas the world’sgreatest centre foropera – around fivehundred worksreceived their first

performances here in thefirst half of the eighteenthcentury. And Venice washome to the composer ofthe Four Seasons, themost frequently recorded ofall classical pieces. As youmight expect in a city witha dearth of nativeteenagers, the live musicscene isn’t too exciting, butthe university populationensures the presence of afew lively bars, some ofwhich double up as livemusic venues.

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MonteverdiThe greatest of all Venetian composerswrote sacred music for San Marco andoperas for the San Cassian opera house,and is buried in the Frari.


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Palazzo PisaniVenice’s conservatory of music is nowhoused in the vast Palazzo Pisani, theostentatious home of the grotesquelywealthy Pisani family.


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Palazzi GiustinianThe double palace of thePalazzi Giustinian was for awhile the home of RichardWagner, who wrote part ofTristan und Isolde here.

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Paradiso PerdutoNightlife in Venice is prettytame, but the buzzingParadiso Perduto – one ofVenice’s liveliest bars – oftenhas live music and DJs.


The PietàVivaldi wrote some of his finest music for theorphanage of the Pietà, where he was violin-master and choirmaster.


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Teatro MalibranClosed for decades, the historic Malibran isnow restored and back in business as thecity’s main concert hall.


It may not haveproduced monstersto compare with theBorgias and theother murderousclans ofRenaissance Italy,but Venice’sreputation was farfrom spotless: theCouncil of Ten (ineffect thedepartment of statesecurity) was onceregarded with thesame sort of dreadas Stalin’s secret

police, and the city’sprisons were notorious farbeyond the city’sboundaries. Various sitesaround the city have darkassociations.

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The Piazzetta columnsMany a felon’s life came to an end on theexecutioner’s block between the twincolumns of the Piazzetta, a place whosegrisly aura lives on in Venetian superstition.


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The Gobbo di RialtoMisbehaving Venetians were sometimes toldto report to the Gobbo di Rialto for a partic-ularly embarrassing form of punishment.


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Paolo SarpiBrilliant scientist and dauntless defender ofVenice’s independence from papal inter-ference, Father Sarpi fell foul of the Vaticanand was targetted by its hired assassins.


The Bridge of SighsTowards the end of your visit to the PalazzoDucale, you cross the bridge by whichprisoners were led to their cells on the otherside of the canal.


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Campo San ZaccariaIn the ninth century a doge was murderedoutside the church of San Zaccaria; threehundred years later another doge sufferedthe same fate.


La FenicePeople went to prison for burning down theopera house in 1996, but many are scepticalthat the real villains have been caught.

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Venice celebratesenthusiastically anumber of specialdays either notobserved elsewherein Italy, or, like theCarnevale,

celebrated to a lesserextent. Although they havegone through variousdegrees of decline andrevival, the form they takenow is still related verystrongly to their traditionalcharacter. In addition tothese, Venice can boasttwo of the continent’s mostprestigious culturalevents: the annual filmfestival and the Biennaleart show, which – as thename says – takes place inalternate years.

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The Film FestivalGlamour and controversy always share topbilling at Venice’s annual film festival.


The Regata StoricaA flotilla of ornate antique boats makes itsway down the Canal Grande to mark thestart of the Regata Storica, the year’s bigevent for Venice’s gondoliers.


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La VogalongaThe “long row” is the most arduous of Venice’snumerous rowing races, inflicting 32 kilo-metres of suffering on the competing crews.


The BiennaleIt’s been going for more than a hundredyears, and the Biennale remains the artworld’s most prestigious jamboree.


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CarnevaleItaly’s wildest fancy-dress party fills the tendays leading to Shrove Tuesday and drawsrevellers from all over the world.


Festa del RedentoreCelebrating the city’s deliverance fromplague, the Redentore festival culminateswith spectacular volleys of fireworks.


Festa della Salute The Salute church is the focal point ofanother festival giving thanks for therestoration of the city’s health (salute) after aterrible pestilence.


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San Marco: the PiazzaThe sestiere of San Marco – a rectangle smaller than1000m by 500m – has been the nucleus of Venice fromthe start of the city’s existence. When its foundersdecamped from the coastal town of Malamocco tosettle on the safer islands of the inner lagoon, the areanow known as the Piazza San Marco was where thefirst rulers built their citadel – the Palazzo Ducale –and it was here that they established their mostimportant church – the Basilica di San Marco. Overthe succeeding centuries the Basilica evolved into themost ostentatiously rich church in Christendom, and thePalazzo Ducale grew to accommodate and celebrate asystem of government that endured for longer than anyother republican regime in Europe. Meanwhile, thesetting for these two great edifices developed into apublic space so dignified that no other square in the citywas thought fit to bear the name “piazza” – all otherVenetian squares are campi or campielli.

Nowadays the Piazza is what keeps the city solvent:the plushest hotels are concentrated in the San Marcosestiere; the most elegant and exorbitant cafés spill outonto the pavement from the Piazza’s arcades; the most

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The Basilica di San MarcoOpen to tourists Mon–Sat9.30am–5.30pm, Sun 2–4pm, thoughthe Loggia dei Cavalli is open Sunmorning. All over Venice you seeimages of the lion of St Markholding a book on which iscarved the text “Pax tibi, Marceevangelista meus. Hic requiescetcorpus tuum” (“Peace be withyou Mark, my Evangelist. Hereshall your body rest”).Thesesupposedly are the words withwhich St Mark was greeted byan angel who appeared to himon the night he took shelter inthe lagoon on his way back toRome. Having thus assuredthemselves of the sacredordination of their city, the firstVenetians duly went aboutfulfilling the angelic prophecy. In828 two merchants stole thebody of St Mark from its tombin Alexandria and brought itback to Venice.Work beganimmediately on a shrine to

house him, and the Basilica diSan Marco was consecrated in832.The amazing church you seetoday is essentially the versionbuilt in 1063–94, embellished inthe succeeding centuries.

The marble-clad exterior isadorned with numerous piecesof ancient stonework, but acouple of features warrant specialattention: the Romanesquecarvings of the arches of thecentral doorway; and the groupof porphyry figures set into thewall on the waterfront side –known as the Tetrarchs, in alllikelihood a fourth-centuryEgyptian work depictingDiocletian and the threecolleagues with whom he ruledthe unravelling Roman Empire.The real horses of San Marcoare inside the church – the fouroutside are modern replicas. Onthe main facade, the only ancientmosaic to survive is The Arrival ofthe Body of St Mark, above the


extravagantly priced seafood is served in this area’srestaurants; and the swankiest shops in Venice line thePiazza and the streets radiating from it.


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With its undulating floor ofpatterned marble, its plates ofeastern stone on the lower walls,and its 4000 square metres ofmosaic covering every otherinch of wall and vaulting, thegolden interior of San Marcoachieves a hypnotic effect.There’s too much to take in atone go: the only way to do itjustice is to call in for at leasthalf an hour at the beginningand end of a couple of days.Simply to list the highlightswould take pages, but be sure tomake time for a good look atthe following mosaics, nearly allof which date from the twelfthand thirteenth centuries: thewest dome, showing Pentecost;the Betrayal of Christ, Crucifixion,Marys at the Tomb, Descent intoLimbo and Incredulity of Thomas,on the arch between west andcentral domes; the central dome,depicting the Ascension, Virginwith Angels and Apostles, Virtuesand Beatitudes, Evangelists, FourAllegories of the Holy Rivers; theeast dome, illustrating TheReligion of Christ Foretold by theProphets; the Four Patron Saints ofVenice, between the windows ofthe apse (created around 1100and thus among the earliestworks in San Marco); and the

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Porta di Sant’Alipio (far left);made around 1260, it featuresthe earliest known image of theBasilica.

Just inside, the intricatelypatterned stonework of thenarthex floor is mostly eleventh-and twelfth-century, while themajority of the mosaics on thedomes and arches constitute aseries of Old Testament scenesdating from the thirteenthcentury.Three doges (see p.55)and one dogaressa have tombs inthe narthex.That of VitaleFalier, the doge whoconsecrated the Basilica in 1094,is the oldest funerarymonument in Venice – it’s at thebase of the first arch.

On the right of the main doorfrom the narthex into the bodyof the church is a steep staircaseup to the Museo Marcianoand the Loggia dei Cavalli(daily: summer 9.45am–5pm;winter 9.30am–4pm; e1.50),home of the fabled horses.Thieved from Constantinople in1204, the horses are almostcertainly Roman works of thesecond century, and are the onlyquadriga (group of four horsesharnessed to a chariot) to havesurvived from the Classicalworld.

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huge Agony in the Garden on thewall of the south aisle.

Officially the remains of SaintMark lie in the sarcophagusunderneath the high altar, at theback of which you can see themost precious of San Marco’streasures, the astonishing Palad’Oro (summer Mon–Sat9.45am–5pm, Sun 2–5pm;winter closes 4pm; e1.50) – the“golden altar screen”.Commissioned in 976 inConstantinople, the Pala wasenlarged, enriched andrearranged by Byzantinegoldsmiths in 1105, then byVenetians in 1209 toincorporate some of the lesscumbersome loot from theFourth Crusade, and again(finally) in 1345.

Tucked into the corner of thesouth transept is the door of thetreasury (summer Mon–Sat9.45am–5pm, Sun 2–5pm;winter closes 4pm; e2).Thisdazzling warehouse of chalices,icons, reliquaries, candelabra andother ecclesiasticalappurtenances is an unsurpassed


Finally,Venice’s most reveredreligious image, the tenth-century Icon of the Madonnaof Nicopeia, stands in thechapel on the east side of thenorth transept; until 1204 it wasone of the most revered icons inConstantinople, where it used tobe carried ceremonially at thehead of the emperor’s army.

The Palazzo DucaleDaily: April–Oct 9am–7pm, last tickets5.30pm; Nov–March 9am–5pm, lasttickets 3.30pm. Entrance with theMuseum Card – see p.171.Architecturally, the PalazzoDucale is a unique mixture: thestyle of its exterior, with itsgeometrically patternedstonework and continuoustracery walls, can only be calledIslamicized Gothic, whereas thecourtyards and much of theinterior are based on Classicalforms – a blending of influencesthat led Ruskin to declare it “thecentral building of the world”.Unquestionably, it is the finestsecular building of its era inEurope, and the central building

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collection ofByzantine silver andgold work.

Back in the mainbody of the Basilica,don’t overlook thepavement – laid outin the twelfth andthirteenth centuries,it’s an intriguingpatchwork ofabstract shapes andreligious symbols.Another marvel isthe rood screen,surmounted bymarble figures ofThe Virgin, St Markand the Apostles(1394) by Jacobelloand Pietro PaoloDalle Masegne.


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From the ticket office you’redirected straight into theMuseo dell’Opera, where theoriginals of most of the superbcapitals from the externalloggias are well displayed. Onthe far side of the courtyard,

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of Venice: it was the residence ofthe doge, the home of all ofVenice’s governing councils, itslaw courts, a sizeable number ofits civil servants and even itsprisons.All power in theVenetian Republic and itsdomains was controlled

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The government of VeniceVirtually from the beginning, the government of Venice was dominated by themerchant class, who in 1297 enacted a measure known as the Serrata delMaggior Consiglio (Closure of the Great Council). From then onwards, any mannot belonging to one of the wealthy families on the list compiled for the Serratawas ineligible to participate in the running of the city. After a while, this list wassucceeded by a register of patrician births and marriages called the Libro d’Oro,upon which all claims to membership of the elite were based. By the seconddecade of the fourteenth century, the constitution of Venice had reached a formthat was to endure until the coming of Napoleon; its civil and criminal code,defined in the early thirteenth century, was equally resistant to change.

What made the political system stable was its web of counterbalancing councilsand committees, and its exclusion of any youngsters. Most patricians entered theMaggior Consiglio at 25 and could not expect a middle-ranking post before 45; fromthe middle ranks to the top was another long haul – the average age of the dogefrom 1400 to 1600 was 72. The doge was elected for life and sat on all the majorcouncils of state, which made him extremely influential in the formation of policy.The dogeship was the monopoly of old men not solely because of the celebratedVenetian respect for the wisdom of the aged, but also because a man in his seven-ties would have fewer opportunities to abuse the unrivalled powers of the dogeship.

within this building.The original doge’s

fortress was founded at thestart of the ninth century,but it was in thefourteenth and fifteenthcenturies that the PalazzoDucale acquired itspresent shape.Theprincipal entrance, thePorta della Carta, wascommissioned in 1438 byDoge Francesco Fóscari,and is one of the mostornate Gothic works inthe city.The passagewayinto the Palazzo endsunder the Arco Fóscari,which you can see onlyafter getting your ticket, astourists are nowadaysdirected in through thearcades on the lagoon side.


sixteenth-century artistsproduced the mechanicallybombastic decoration of thewalls and ceiling. Paolo Veroneseagain appears in the Sala delConsiglio dei Dieci, the roomin which the much-fearedCouncil of Ten discussedmatters relating to state security.The unfortunates who weresummoned before the Ten hadto await their grilling in thenext room, the Sala dellaBussola; in the wall is a Bocca diLeone (Lion’s Mouth), one ofthe boxes into which citizenscould drop denunciations forthe attention of the Ten andother state bodies.

Beyond the armoury, the Scaladei Censori takes you back tothe second floor and the Saladel Maggior Consiglio, theassembly hall of all the Venetianpatricians eligible to participatein the running of the city.Thisstupendous room, with itslavishly ornate ceiling, isdominated by the immenseParadiso, begun at the age of 77by Tintoretto and completed byhis son Domenico.Tintorettowas also commissioned toreplace the room’s frieze ofportraits of the first 76 doges(the series continues in the Saladello Scrutinio), but in theevent Domenico and his

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opposite the entrance, standsthe Arco Fóscari, facing theenormous staircase called theScala dei Giganti. From groundlevel the traffic is directed upthe Scala dei Censori to theupper arcade and thence up thegilded Scala d’Oro, the maininternal staircase of the PalazzoDucale.A subsidiary staircase onthe right leads to the Doge’sApartments (look out forTitian’s small fresco of StChristopher), then the Scalad’Oro continues up to thesecondo piano nobile (see p.137),where you soon enter theAnticollegio.With its picturesby Tintoretto and Veronese, thisis one of the richest rooms inthe Palazzo Ducale, and nodoubt made a suitable impacton the emissaries who waitedhere for admission to the Saladel Collegio, where the dogeand his inner cabinet met.Ruskin maintained that in noother part of the palace couldyou “enter so deeply into theheart of Venice”, though he wasreferring not to the mechanicsof Venetian power but to theluscious cycle of ceilingpaintings by Veronese.

Next door – the Sala delSenato – was where most majorpolicies were determined.Amotley collection of late

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assistants did the work. On thePiazzetta side the sequence isinterrupted by a black veil,marking the place where MarinFalier would have beenhonoured had he not conspiredagainst the state in 1355 and (asthe lettering on the veil says)been beheaded for his crime.

A couple of rooms later, theroute descends to the Magistratoalle Leggi, in which three worksby Hieronymus Bosch aredisplayed: they were left to thePalazzo Ducale in the will ofCardinal Domenico Grimani,whose collection also providedthe foundations of the city’sarcheological museum. TheScala dei Censori leads fromhere to the Ponte dei Sospiri(Bridge of Sighs) and thePrigioni (Prisons). Built in1600, the bridge takes itspopular name from the sighs ofthe prisoners who shuffledthrough its corridor. In reality,though, anyone passing this wayhad been let off pretty lightly.Hard cases were kept either inthe sweltering Piombi (theLeads), under the roof of thePalazzo Ducale, or in the soddengloom of the Pozzi (the Wells)in the bottom two storeys.

If you want to see the Piombi,and the rooms in which theday-to-day administration ofVenice took place, take theItinerari Segreti del PalazzoDucale, a fascinating ninety-minute guided tour through thewarren of offices andpassageways that interlocks withthe building’s public rooms.(Tours in English daily at9.55am, 10.45am & 11.35am;e12.50, e7 with Venice Card,includes entry to rest of palace.Tickets can be booked aminimum of two days inadvance on t041.520.9070; forthe next or same day go inperson to Palazzo Ducale ticketdesk to check availability.)

The Campanile Daily: April to mid-June 9am–7pm;mid-June to mid-Sept 9am–9pm; mid-Sept to March 9am–4pm. e6.TheCampanile began life as acombined lighthouse andbelltower, and was continuallymodified up to 1515, the year inwhich the golden angel wasinstalled on the summit. Each ofits five bells had a distinct

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up through the innards of thetower, to the terrace fromwhich the Moors strike thehour.

The ProcuratieAway to the left of the Torredell’Orologio stretches theProcuratie Vecchie, begunaround 1500, to designs byMauro Codussi, who alsodesigned much of the clocktower. Once the home of theProcurators of San Marco,whose responsibilities includedthe upkeep of the Basilica andthe administration of the othergovernment-owned properties,the block earned substantialrents for the city coffers: theupper floors housed some of thechoicest apartments in town,while the ground floor wasleased to shopkeepers andcraftsmen, as is still the case.

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function: the Marangona, thelargest, tolled the beginning andend of the working day; theTrottiera was a signal formembers of the MaggiorConsiglio to hurry along; theNona rang midday; the MezzaTerza announced a session ofthe Senate; and the smallest, theRenghiera or Maleficio, gavenotice of an execution. But theCampanile’s most dramaticcontribution to the history ofthe city was made on July 14,1902, the day on which, at9.52am, it fell down.The towncouncillors decided thatevening that the Campanileshould be rebuilt “dov’era ecom’era” (where it was andhow it was), and a decade later,on St Mark’s Day 1912, thenew tower was opened, in allbut minor details a replica ofthe original.At 99m, theCampanile is the talleststructure in the city, and fromthe top you can make outvirtually every building, but nota single canal.

The Torre dell’Orologio The other tower in the Piazza,the Torre dell’Orologio (ClockTower), was built between 1496and 1506. Legend relates thatthe makers of the clock slavedaway for three years at theirproject, only to have their eyesput out so that they couldn’trepeat their engineering marvelfor other patrons. In fact thepair received a generouspension – presumably too dullan outcome for the city’sfolklorists.The tower’s roofterrace supports two bronzewild men known as “TheMoors”, because of their darkpatina.A protracted restorationof the Torre dell’Orologio isdrawing to a close; when it’sover, it will be possible to climb

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Within a century or so, theprocurators were moved acrossthe Piazza to new premises, theProcuratie Nuove.WhenNapoleon’s stepson, EugèneBeauharnais, was the Viceroy ofItaly, he appropriated thisbuilding as a royal palace, andthen discovered that theaccommodation lacked aballroom. He duly demolishedthe church of San Geminiano,which had filled part of thethird side of the Piazza, andconnected the Procuratie Nuoveand Vecchie with a new wing,the Ala Napoleonica,containing the essential facility.

The Correr and archeologicalmuseumsDaily: April–Oct 9am–7pm; Nov–March9am–5pm; last tickets 90min beforeclosing. Entrance with Museum Card –see p.171. Many of the rooms inthe Ala Napoleonica and Procu-ratie Nuove are now occupiedby the Museo Correr, the civicmuseum of Venice, which isjoined to the archeologicalmuseum and Sansovino’s superblibrary, the Libreria Sansoviniana(see p.61).

Nobody could make out thatthe immense Correr collectionis consistently fascinating, but itincorporates a picture gallerythat more than makes up for theduller stretches, and its sectionson Venetian society containsome eye-opening exhibits.Thefirst floor starts off with agallery of Homeric reliefs byCanova, whose large self-portrait faces you as you enter;succeeding rooms display hisDaedalus and Icarus (the groupthat made his name at the ageof 21), his faux-modest VenusItalica and some of the roughclay models he created as firstdrafts for his classically poisedsculptures.After that you’re into

the historical collection, whichwill be intermittentlyenlightening if your Italian isgood and you already have apretty wide knowledge ofVenetian history.Then you passthrough an armoury and anexhibition of small bronzesculptures before entering theMuseo Archeologico. It’s asomewhat scrappy anduninspiring museum, but lookout for a head of Athena fromthe fourth century BC, a trio ofwounded Gallic warriors(Roman copies of Hellenisticoriginals) and a phalanx ofRoman emperors.

At the furthest point of thearcheological museum a dooropens into the hall ofSansovino’s library. Back in theCorrer, a staircase beyond thesculpture section leads to theQuadreria, which may be norival for the Accademia’scollection but nonetheless setsout clearly the evolution ofpainting in Venice from thethirteenth century to around1500, and does contain somegems, including Jacopo


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de’Barbari’s astonishing aerialview of Venice, some remarkablepieces by Cosmè Tura andAntonello da Messina, and aroomful of work by the Bellinifamily.The Correr’s best-knownpossession, however, is theCarpaccio painting of twoterminally bored women onceknown as The Courtesans,though in fact it depicts acouple of late fifteenth-centurybourgeois ladies dressed in astyle at which none of theircontemporaries would haveraised an eyebrow. Carpacciowas once thought to be thepainter of the Portrait of a YoungMan in a Red Hat, anothermuch-reproduced image, but it’snow given to an anonymouspainter from Ferrara orBologna.The Correr also has aroom of pictures from Venice’scommunity of Greek artists, animmensely conservative groupthat nurtured the painter wholater became known as El Greco– there’s a picture by him herewhich you’d walk straight past ifit weren’t for the label.

From the Quadreria you’redirected to the Museo del

Risorgimento, which resumesthe history of the city with itsfall to Napoleon, then theitinerary passes through sectionson Venetian festivals, crafts,trades and everyday life. Herethe frivolous items are whatcatch the eye, especially a pair ofeighteen-inch stacked shoes (asworn by the women in theCarpaccio painting), and aneighteenth-century portablehair-care kit that’s the size of asuitcase. Finally you’re steereddown a corridor to theballroom – a showcase forCanova’s Orpheus and Eurydice,created in 1777, when thesculptor was still in his teens.

The Piazzetta For much of the Republic’sexistence, the Piazzetta – theopen space between the Basilicaand the waterfront – was the areawhere the councillors of Venicewould gather to scheme andcurry favour.The Piazzetta wasalso used for public executions:the usual site was the pavementbetween the two granitecolumns on the Molo, as thisstretch of the waterfront is called.


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The last person to be executedhere was one Domenico Storti,condemned to death in 1752 forthe murder of his brother.

One of the columns is toppedby a modern copy of a statue ofSt Theodore, the patron saint ofVenice when it was dependenton Byzantium; the original, nowon show in a corner of one ofthe Palazzo Ducale’s courtyards,was a compilation of a Romantorso, a head of Mithridates theGreat, and miscellaneous bits andpieces carved in Venice in thefourteenth century (the dragonincluded).The winged lion onthe other column is an ancient3000-kilo bronze beast that wasconverted into a lion of St Markby jamming a Bible under itspaws.

The Libreria SansovinianaThe Piazzetta is flanked by theLibreria Sansoviniana (orBiblioteca Marciana).Theimpetus to build the librarycame from the bequest ofCardinal Bessarion, who left hiscelebrated hoard of classical textsto the Republic in 1468.Bessarion’s books andmanuscripts were first housed inSan Marco and then in thePalazzo Ducale, but finally it wasdecided that a special buildingwas needed. Jacopo Sansovinogot the job, but the librarywasn’t finished until 1591, twodecades after his death.Contemporaries regarded theLibreria as one of the supremedesigns of the era, and the mainhall is certainly one of the mostbeautiful rooms in the city:paintings by Veronese,Tintoretto,Andrea Schiavone and otherscover the walls and ceiling.

The Zecca Attached to the Libreria, withits main facade to the lagoon, is

Sansovino’s first major buildingin Venice, the Zecca or Mint.Constructed in stone and ironto make it fireproof (moststonework in Venice is just skin-deep), it was built between1537 and 1545 on the siteoccupied by the mint since thethirteenth century.The roomsof the Mint are now part of thelibrary, but are not open totourists.

The Giardinetti RealiBeyond the Zecca, and behinda barricade of postcard and toy-gondola sellers, is a small publicgarden – the Giardinetti Reali– created by EugèneBeauharnais on the site of thestate granaries. It’s the nearestplace to the centre where you’llfind a bench and the shade of atree, but in summer it’s about aspeaceful as a schoolplayground.The spruced-upbuilding at the foot of thenearby bridge is the Casino daCaffè, another legacy of theNapoleonic era, now the city’smain tourist office.

ShopsJesurum Piazza San Marco 60–61. The finestVenetian lace, at prices that’llmake you blink.

MissiagliaPiazza San Marco 125. Peerless andhighly expensive gold and silverwork from a jewellery firm thathas a good claim to be Venice’sclassiest.

SegusoPiazza San Marco 143, wwww.seguso.it. Traditional-styleMurano glass, much of it createdby the firm’s founder,Archimede Seguso.


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Cafés andpasticcerieFlorianPiazza San Marco 56–59. Closed Wed inwinter. Opened in 1720 byFlorian Francesconi, and frescoedand mirrored in a passablepastiche of that period, this haslong been the café to be seen in.A simple cappuccino will set youback around e8; if the residentmusicians are playing, you’ll betaxed another e4.50.

LavenaPiazza San Marco 133–134. ClosedTues in winter. Wagner’s favourite

café (there’s a commemorativeplaque inside) is the secondmember of the Piazza’s top-bracket trio. For privacy you cantake a table in the narrow littlegallery overlooking the bar.

QuadriPiazza San Marco 120–124. ClosedMon in winter. In the same priceleague as Florian, but not quiteas pretty.Austrian officerspatronized it during theoccupation, while the nativesstuck with Florian, and it still hassomething of the air of being arunner-up in the society stakes.


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The Mercerie andSan GiulianoThe Mercerie, a chain ofstreets that starts under theTorre dell’Orologio and finishesat the Campo San Bartolomeo,is the most direct routebetween San Marco and theRialto and has always been aprime site for Venice’sshopkeepers – its mixture of

Woman of the Mortar.Theevent it commemorateshappened on the night of June15, 1310, when the occupant ofthis house, an old womannamed Giustina Rossi, lookedout of her window and saw acontingent of BajamonteTiepolo’s rebel army passing


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San Marco:North of the PiazzaFrom the Piazza the bulk of the pedestrian traffic flowsnorth to the Rialto bridge along the Mercerie, themost aggressive shopping mall in Venice. Only thechurches of San Giuliano and San Salvador provide adiversion from the shops until you come to the CampoSan Bartolomeo, the forecourt of the Rialto bridge andthe locals’ favoured spot for an after-work chat.Another square that’s lively at the end of the day is theCampo San Luca, within a minute’s stroll of Al Volto,the best-stocked enoteca in town. Secreted in the foldsof the alleyways hereabouts is the spiralling staircasecalled the Scala del Bovolo. And slotted away in a tinysquare close to the Canal Grande you’ll find the mostdelicate of Venice’s museum buildings – the PalazzoPésaro degli Orfei, home of the Museo Fortuny.

slickness and tackinessensnares more shoppersthan any other part ofVenice. (Each of the fivelinks in the chain is amerceria: Merceriadell’Orologio, di SanZulian, del Capitello, diSan Salvador and 2Aprile.) Keep your eyeopen for one quirkyfeature: over theSottoportego delCappello (first left afterthe Torre) is a reliefknown as La Vecia delMorter – the Old

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below. Possibly by accident, sheknocked a stone mortar fromher sill, and the missile landedon the skull of the standard-bearer, killing him outright.Seeing their flag go down,Tiepolo’s troops panicked andfled.

Further on is the church ofSan Giuliano or San Zulian(Mon,Wed,Thurs & Sat8.30am–noon & 3–6pm,Tues &Fri 8.30am–noon), rebuilt in themid-sixteenth century with thegenerous aid of the physicianTommaso Rangone. Hismunificence and intellectualbrilliance (but not his Christianfaith) are attested by the Greek

and Hebrew inscriptions on thefacade and by AlessandroVittoria’s portrait statue abovethe door.

San Salvador Mon–Sat 9am–noon & 3–6pm, Sun4–6pm. At its far end, theMercerie veers right at thechurch of San Salvador orSalvatore, which wasconsecrated in 1177 by PopeAlexander III.The facade is lessinteresting than the interior,where, on the right-hand wall,you’ll find Titian’s Annunciation(1566), signed “Fecit, fecit”(Painted it, painted it),supposedly to emphasize the


S. Giacomo

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Pal. Corner Contarini

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OratorioAnnunziata

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Pal.Grimani

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Rio di R. d.

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bacd

CAFÉS & PASTICCERIEMarchiniRosa Salva

125 & 9

RESTAURANTSAl Conte PescaorLe Bistrot de VeniseRosticceria Gislon

BARS & SNACKSAlla BotteAl VoltoBácaro JazzDevil’s ForestTorinoVitae

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wonder of his continuedcreativity in extreme old age; ascrap of paper on the rail infront of the picture records thedeath of the artist on August 25,1576.Titian also painted themain altarpiece, a Transfiguration.

The end of the right transeptis filled by the tomb of CaterinaCornaro, one of the saddestfigures in Venetian history. Borninto one of Venice’s pre-eminentfamilies, she became Queen ofCyprus by marriage, and afterher husband’s death was forcedto surrender the strategicallycrucial island to the doge. Onher return home she was led intriumph up the Canal Grande,

as though her abdication hadbeen voluntary, and then waspresented with possession of thetown of Ásolo as a token of thecity’s gratitude. She died in1510, and this tomb erected atthe end of the century.

Campo San BartolomeoTerminus of the Mercerie,Campo San Bartolomeo is at itsbest in the evening, when it’s aspacked as any bar in town.Toshow off their new wardrobesthe Venetians take themselves offto the Piazza, but Campo SanBartolomeo is the spot to justmeet friends and talk.A handfulof bars are scattered about, but


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CALLEFIU

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C. D. CANONICA

MERC. DELL'OROLOGIO

MERC. S. ZULIAN

SPADARIAC.D. SPECCHIERI

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social centre, where markettraders set up their stalls fromtime to time, temporarilyshifting the campo’s centre ofgravity away from the fast-foodoutlets. From Campo San Luca,Calle Goldoni is a direct routeback to the Piazza, via theBacino Orseolo – the city’smajor gondola depot, and oneof the few places where you canadmire the streamlining andbalance of the boats withoutbeing hassled by their owners.

Campo Manin and theScala del BovoloCampo Manin – where,unusually, the most conspicuousbuilding is a modern one, PierLuigi Nervi’s Cassa diRisparmio di Venezia – wasenlarged in 1871 to make roomfor the monument to DanieleManin, the lawyer who led arevolt against the Austrianoccupation in 1848–49. On thewall of the alley on the southside of Campo Manin, a sign

directs you to the staircaseknown as the Scala del Bovolo(a bovolo is a snail shell inVenetian dialect). Externalstaircases, developed originally asa way of saving space inside thebuilding, were a commonfeature of Venetian houses intothe sixteenth century, but thisspecimen, dating from around1500, is the most flamboyantvariation on the theme.You canpay to go up the staircase(April–Oct daily 10am–6pm;Nov–April Sat & Sun10am–4pm; e3), but the viewof it is rather more striking thanthe view from it.

The Museo FortunyThe Museo Fortuny is close athand, hidden away in a campoyou’d never accidentally pass –take either of the bridges out ofthe Campo Manin, turn firstright, and keep going. Born inCatalonia, Mariano Fortuny(1871–1949) is famous chiefly


it’s really the atmosphereyou come for – unless,that is, you want to jointhe kids in McDonald’s, acontroversial arrival inVenice.The restorationof the church of SanBartolomeo has at lastbeen completed aftermany years, but accessseems to be at the whimof the musicians whouse the building for theirrecitals.

Campo San Luca andBacino OrseoloIf the crush of SanBartolomeo is too muchfor you, you can retire toCampo San Luca (pastthe front of SanSalvatore and straighton), another open-air

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for the body-clinging silkdresses he created, which wereso finely pleated that they couldbe threaded through a weddingring, it was claimed. However,Fortuny was also a painter,architect, engraver,photographer, theatre designerand sculptor, and the contents ofthis rickety and atmosphericpalazzo reflect his versatility,with ranks of exotic landscapes,come-hither nudes, terracottaportrait busts, stage machineryand so forth.The museum hasbeen undergoing restorationwork for many years, but shouldyou find it open you’ll probablycome out thinking that he’s bestknown for what he was best at,and lamenting the fact that themuseum doesn’t contain any ofthe sexy frocks. Design andphotography exhibitions areoften held here, and as a rule aremore interesting than thepermanent displays – if theshow’s good, you’ll probablyhave to queue, as the building isso fragile that only 75 peopleare allowed in at one time.

ShopsThe Mercerie, connecting the Piazza toCampo San Bartolomeo, is Venice’smajor shopping district. Here you’ll findthe Venetian outlets for many of Italy’sbest-known brands, such as Furla,Mandarina Duck and Gucci, but for dis-tinctly Venetian places you’re better offlooking on the other side of the CanalGrande, particularly around Campo SanPolo – unless, that is, you countBenetton, one of the Veneto’s biggestcompanies, and the occupant of thebiggest premises on the mercerie.

FantoniSalizzada S. Luca 4119. For theglossiest, weightiest and mostexpensive art books.

GoldoniCalle dei Fabbri 4742. The bestgeneral bookshop in the city;also keeps an array of maps andposters.

Paolo OlbiCalle della Mandola 3653. Thefounder of this shop was largelyresponsible for the revival ofpaper marbling; today it sells awhole range of marbledstationery.

SansovinoBacino Orseolo 84. Second only toFantoni for books on art.

Cafés andpasticcerieMarchiniCalle Spadaria 676. The mostdelicious and most expensive ofVenetian pasticcerie, where peoplecome on Sunday morning tobuy family treats. Indulge at leastonce, or take a chocolate mobilephone home as a present.


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Rosa SalvaCampo S. Luca & Merceria S.Salvador. Excellent coffee (thecity’s best, many would say),very good pastries and prettygood ice creams, served in aslightly surgical ambience.

RestaurantsAl Conte PescaorPiscina S. Zulian 544 T041.522.1483.Closed Sun. Fine (if pricey) littlefish restaurant that draws itscustom mainly from the locals.

Le Bistrot de VeniseCalle dei Fabbri 4685. Bar closes at1am, the kitchen around 30min earlier.This place is done up as afacsimile of a wood-panelledFrench bistro, but the menu isbased on old-style Venetianrecipes, both for full meals andcicheti. The food and service arevariable, to say the least, and thedishes aren’t inexpensive, but theatmosphere is the mainattraction, as Le Bistrot hasbecome something of acommunity arts centre, withmusic and poetry events everyTuesday evening from Octoberto May.

Rosticceria GislonCalle della Bissa 5424a. Closed Mon.Downstairs it’s a sort of glorifiedsnack bar, serving pizzas and setmeals starting at around e7 –the trick is to first grab a placeat the long tables along thewindows, then order from thecounter. Good if you need torefuel quickly and cheaply, butcan’t face another pizza.There’sa less rudimentary restaurantupstairs, where prices are a bithigher for no real increase inquality.

Bars and snacksAlla BotteCalle della Bissa 5482. Closed Wedevening and all Sun.Well-hiddentiny bacarò, just off Campo SanBartolomeo, offering anexcellent spread of cicheti. Calledella Bissa is one of the mostconfusing alleyways in Venice –to find Alla Botte, take either ofthe alleys labelled Calle dellaBissa (on the east side of thecampo), turn first left and go asstraight as you can.

Al VoltoCalle Cavalli 4081. Closed Sun. Thisdark little bar is an enoteca in thetrue sense of the word – 1300wines from Italy and elsewhere,100 of them served by the glass,some cheap, many not; goodsnacks, too.

Bácaro JazzSalizzada Fondaco dei Tedeschi 5546.Open 11am–2am, closed Wed. A jazz-themed bar that’s proving a bighit with cool Venetian kids.Thebar food can be dodgy, though.

Devil’s ForestCalle Stagneri. Daily 10am–1am. Theliveliest bar in the vicinity ofCampo San Bartolomeo, and aconvincing facsimile of a Britishpub, with a good range of beersand board games in the back.

TorinoCampo San Luca 4591. Open until1am, closed Sun & Mon. Lively andloud bar, with live jazz sessionson Wednesdays. Good forsandwiches, or more substantialfood at lunchtime.

VitaeCalle Sant’Antonio 4118. Open until2am, closed Sun. Trendy and tinynew bar to the north of CampoManin, serving superb cocktails.


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San Moisè Daily 3.30–7pm, plus Sun 9am–noon.San Moisè would be therunaway winner of any poll forthe ugliest church in Venice.Thechurch’s name means “SaintMoses”, the Venetians herefollowing the Byzantine customof canonizing Old Testamentfigures, while simultaneouslyhonouring Moisè Venier, whopaid for a rebuilding way backin the ninth century. Itsdelirious facade sculpture wascreated in 1668 by HeinrichMeyring; and if you think thisbloated display of fauna andflora is in questionable taste,wait till you see the miniaturemountain he carved as the mainaltarpiece, representing MountSinai with Moses Receiving theTablets.

Calle Larga XXII MarzoIf you’re looking for anescritoire for your drawingroom, an oriental carpet for the

reception area, a humble Dutchlandscape or a new designersuit, then you’ll probably findwhat you’re after on or aroundthe broad Calle Larga XXIIMarzo, which begins over the


San Marco:West of the PiazzaLeaving the Piazza by the west side you enter anothermajor shopping district, but one that presents acontrast to the frenetic Mercerie: here the clientele isdrawn predominantly from the city’s well-heeled orfrom the five-star tourists staying in the hotels thatoverlook the end of the Canal Grande – though inrecent years it’s also become a favourite pitch forAfrican street traders. To a high proportion of visitors,this part of the city is just the route to theAccademia, but there are things to see apart from thelatest creations from Milan and Paris – theextraordinary Baroque facades of Santa Maria delGiglio and San Moisè, for instance, or the gracefulSanto Stefano, which rises at the end of one of thelargest and most attractive squares in Venice.

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canal from San Moisè. Many ofthe streets off the western sideof the Piazza are dedicated tothe beautification of theprosperous and their dwellings,with names such as Versace,Gucci, Ferragamo, Prada andVuitton lurking round everycorner.

La FeniceHalfway along Calle Larga XXIIMarzo, on the right, Calle delSartor da Veste takes you over acanal and into Campo SanFantin.The square is dominatedby the Teatro la Fenice,Venice’soldest and largest theatre.Giannantonio Selva’s gaunt

Neoclassical design was notdeemed a great success on itsinauguration on December 26,1792, but nonetheless very littleof the exterior was changedwhen the place had to berebuilt after a fire in 1836.Similarly, when La Fenice wasagain destroyed by fire on thenight of January 29, 1996, it wasdecided to rebuild it as a replicaof Selva’s theatre: after all, itsacoustics were superb and –with a capacity of just 900people – it had an inspiringlyintimate atmosphere. La Fenicesaw some significant musicalevents in the twentieth century– Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress


S. Tomà 1, 82, N

Pal. Contarinidelle Figure

S. Samuele82, N

Ca' Rezzonico1

Ca' del Duca

Pal. Grassi

Accademia1, 82, N

S. Samuele

Pal. Malipiero

PalazziMocenigo

Pal.Franchetti

S. Vitale

Pal.Barbaro

S. Angelo 1

Pal. CornerSpinelli

Pal.Loredan

Pal.Morosini

S. Stefano

Pal.Zaguri

Pal. Cornerdella

Ca' Grande

S. Maurizio

Oratoriodell'

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Pal.PisaniAccademia

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HOTELSAlaArt DecoFioritaFloraGritti PalaceKetteMonaco and Grand CanalNovecento

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SHOPSAlberto ValeseCostantiniLegatoria PiazzesiL’IsolaMarina Barovier

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CAFÉS & PASTICCERIEPaolin 4RESTAURANTSAcqua PazzaDa CarlaDa FioreHarry’s BarBARS & SNACKSOsteria alle BottegheVino Vino

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and Britten’s The Turn of theScrew were both premiered here– but the music scene was moreexciting in the nineteenthcentury, when, in addition tostaging the premieres of operasby Rossini, Bellini and Verdi(Rigoletto and La Traviata bothopened here), it became thefocal point for protests againstthe occupying Austrian army.For information on tickets forperformances, see p.75.

Santa Maria del Giglio Mon–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 1–5pm. e2or Chorus Pass – see p.171. Back onthe route to the Accademia,another extremely odd church

awaits – Santa Maria del Giglio(Mary of the Lily), morecommonly known as SantaMaria Zobenigo, an alternativetitle derived from the name ofthe family who founded it inthe ninth century.The exteriorfeatures not a singleunequivocally Christian image:the main statues are of the fiveBarbaro brothers, who financedthe rebuilding of the church in1678;Virtue, Honour, Fame andWisdom hover at a respectfuldistance; and relief maps at eyelevel depict the townsdistinguished with the brothers’presence in the course of theirmilitary and diplomatic careers.


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S. M. delGiglio 1

S. Benedetto

TeatroRossini

S. Mariadel Giglio

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The interior, full to burstingwith devotional pictures andsculptures, overcompensates forthe impiety of the exterior.

San Maurizio and theScuola degli AlbanesiThe tilting campanile of SantoStefano (see below) looms intoview over the vapid anddeconsecrated church of SanMaurizio, which is sometimesused as an exhibition space.Afew metres away, in Calle delPiovan, stands a diminutivebuilding that was once theScuola degli Albanesi, theconfraternity of the city’sAlbanian community; it wasestablished in 1497 and the

palazzo at no. 2802, at the CanalGrande end of the square.Thelast doge to serve as militarycommander of the Republic(1688–94), Francesco Morosinibecame a Venetian hero with hisvictories in the Peloponnese, butis notorious elsewhere as theman who lobbed a missilethrough the roof of theParthenon, detonating theTurkish gunpowder barrels thathad been stored there.

The church of SantoStefano (Mon–Sat 10am–5pm,Sun 1–5pm; e2 or Chorus Pass– see p.171) is notable for itsGothic doorway and beautifulship’s-keel roof, both of whichbelong to the last phase of


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reliefs on the facadedate from shortly afterthat.

Campo Santo StefanoThe church of SantoStefano closes one endof the spacious CampoSanto Stefano.Thecampo has an alias –Campo FrancescoMorosini – that comesfrom a formerinhabitant of the

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building.The airy and calminterior is one of the mostpleasant places in Venice to justsit and think, but it also containssome major works of art,notably in the picture-packedsacristy, where you’ll find a StLawrence and a St Nicholas of Bariby Bartolomeo Vivarini, aCrucifix by Paolo Veneziano,and a trio of late works byTintoretto.

Campo NovoNearby Campo Novo wasformerly the churchyard ofSanto Stefano, and was used as aburial pit during thecatastrophic plague of 1630.Such was the volume of corpsesinterred here that for healthreasons the site remained closedto the public from then until1838.

Palazzo PisaniCampiello Pisani, at the back ofMorosini’s house, is a forecourtto the Palazzo Pisani, one of thebiggest houses in the city, andnow the Conservatory ofMusic.Work began on it in theearly seventeenth century,continued for over a century,and was at last brought to a haltby the government, whodecided that the Pisani, amongthe city’s richest bankingfamilies, were getting ideasabove their station.

ShopsAs you’d expect, many of the top-flightItalian designers and fashion houses –Versace, Missoni, Krizia, MaxMara,Trussardi, Gucci, Armani, Prada,Valentino, and Dolce e Gabbana (theonly ones with a local connection) –are represented in Venice, most of theiroutlets being clustered to the west ofthe Piazza, notably in Frezzeria, Calle

Vallaresso and Calle Larga XXIIMarzo. The best shops for a range ofhigh fashion are La Coupole (CalleLarga XXII Marzo) and Elysée (Frezzeriaand Calle Goldoni).

Alberto ValeseCampo San Stefano 3471,wwww.albertovalese-ebru.com. Opendaily. Valese not only producesthe most luscious marbledpapers in Venice, but alsotransfers the designs onto silkscarves and a variety ofornaments; the marblingtechnique he uses is a Turkishprocess called ebrû (meaningcloudy) – hence the alternativename of his shop.


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CostantiniCampo San Maurizio 2668a. Largearray of perle veneziane (glassbeads) sold individually, madeinto jewellery, or by the bagaccording to weight.

Legatoria PiazzesiCampiello della Feltrina 2511.Located near S. MariaZobenigo, this long-established

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paper-producer is the last to usethe old wooden-block methodof printing; stunning hand-printed papers and cards, and anice line in pocket diaries, too.

L’Isola Salizzada S. Moisè 1468. Chiefly ashowcase for work by CarloMoretti, the doyen of modernistVenetian glass artists.

Marina BarovierSalizzada San Samuele 3216,wwww.barovier.it. Mon–Fri, plus Sat byappointment. This place displayswhat is perhaps the mostinventive and beautiful glass inVenice, and – contrary toappearances – the stuff is forsale, albeit at very high prices.

Cafés andpasticceriePaolinCampo S. Stefano 2962. Thought bymany to be the makers of thebest ice cream in Venice, butsome would argue that it’s lostground to Causin (see p.86).Theoutside tables enjoy one of thefinest settings in the city.

RestaurantsAcqua PazzaCampo Sant’Angelo 3808,T041.277.0688. Closed Mon. Classyrestaurant serving good seafoodand Neapolitan pizzas (amongthe best in the city) in an airy,spacious environment.

Da CarlaSottoportego Corte Contarina 1535a.Closed Sun. Tiny bar-trattoriahidden down a sottoportego offthe west side of Frezzeria, a few

paces from the Piazza.Thebattered old sign – reading“Pietro Panizollo” – is a fairindication of the character ofthis place, which at lunchtimesis packed with workersdropping in for simple pastadishes and salads.

Da FioreCalle delle Botteghe 3461. Closed Tues.Established in the mid-1990s,this popular mid-rangerestaurant offers genuineVenetian cuisine in a classytrattoria-style setting.Theanteroom is a nice small bar thatdoes very good cicheti.

Harry’s BarCalle Vallaresso 1323 T041.528.5777.Open daily. Often described as themost reliable of the city’sgourmet restaurants (carpaccio –raw strips of thin beef – wasfirst created here), though thereare sceptics who think theplace’s reputation has more todo with glamour than cuisine.The bar itself is famed in equalmeasure for its cocktails, itssandwiches and its celebrity-league prices. It’s the place tosample a Bellini (fresh white


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peach juice and prosecco), whichwas invented here.

Bars and snacksOsteria alle BottegheCalle delle Botteghe 3454. Closed Sun.Sumptuous sandwiches andsnacks; most lunchtimes youneed a shoehorn to get in theplace.

Vino VinoPonte delle Veste 2007. Open10am–midnight, closed Tues. Veryclose to the Fenice opera house,this wine bar stocks more than350 wines. It serves relativelyinexpensive meals as well, butthe food isn’t great.

OperaLa FeniceCampo San Fantin. La Fenice, thethird-ranking Italian operahouse after Milan’s La Scala andNaples’ San Carlo, was on theverge of reopening at the timeof going to press. Seat priceswill probably start at arounde20, though you’ll pay twice asmuch for the opening night of aproduction.The opera seasonruns from late November to theend of June, punctuated byballet performances. Ticketscan be bought at the Fenice boxoffice, or at the Hello Veneziaoffice at Calle dei Fuseri 1810(t041.24.24). For up-to-the-minute information, visitwwww.teatrolafenice.it.


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DorsoduroThere were not many places among the lagoon’smudbanks where Venice’s early settlers could beconfident that their dwellings wouldn’t slither down intothe water, but with Dorsoduro they were on relativelysolid ground: the sestiere’s name translates as “hardback”, and its buildings occupy the largest area of firmsilt in the centre of the city. The main draw here is theGallerie dell’Accademia, the city’s top art gallery, whilethe most conspicuous building is the huge church ofSanta Maria della Salute, the grandest gesture ofVenetian Baroque. In terms of artistic contents theSalute takes second place to San Sebastiano, theparish church of Paolo Veronese. GiambattistaTiepolo, the master colourist of a later era, is wellrepresented at the Scuola Grande dei Carmini, and for

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an overall view of Tiepolo’s cultural milieu there’s theCa’ Rezzonico, home of Venice’s museum ofeighteenth-century art and artefacts. Art of the twentiethcentury is also in evidence – at the GuggenheimCollection, which is small yet markedly superior to thecity’s public collection of modern art in the Ca’ Pésaro.

The AccademiaMon 8.15am–2pm, Tues–Sun8.15am–7.15pm. wwww.artive.arti.beniculturali.it. e6.50. TheGallerie dell’Accademia is oneof the obligatory tourist sightsin Venice, but admissions arerestricted to 300 people at atime.Accordingly, if you’revisiting in summer and don’twant to wait, get there wellbefore the doors open or at

about 1pm, when most peopleare having lunch.

The first room of theAccademia’s generallychronological arrangement isfilled with pieces by theearliest-known individualVenetian painters, PaoloVeneziano and his followerLorenzo Veneziano. Beyondhere, room 2 is given over tolarge altarpieces from the late

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fifteenth and early sixteenthcenturies, including works byGiovanni Bellini, Cima daConegliano and VittoreCarpaccio. Carpaccio’s strangeCrucifixion and Glorification of theTen Thousand Martyrs of MountArarat is the most gruesomepainting in the room, and themost charming is by him too:The Presentation of Jesus in theTemple, with its pretty, wingless,lute-playing angel.

The beginnings of theVenetian obsession with the wayin which forms are defined bylight and the emergence of thecharacteristically soft and richVenetian palette are seen inrooms 3, 4 and 5, the last twoof which are a high point of theAccademia. Outstanding are anexquisite St George by Mantegna(c.1466), a series of Madonnasand a Pietà by Giovanni Bellini,and two pieces by the mostmysterious of Italian painters,

Giorgione – hisPortrait of an OldWoman and the so-called Tempest(c.1500).

Rooms 6 to 8mark the entry ofTintoretto,Titian,Veronese and Lotto,the heavyweights ofthe Venetian HighRenaissance.Theseworks would be theprize of many othercollections, but herethey are justappetizers for what’sto come in the hugeroom 10, one wholewall of which isneeded for Christ inthe House of Levi byPaolo Veronese.Originally called TheLast Supper, thispicture brought


down on Veronese the wrath ofthe Inquisition, who objectedto the inclusion of “buffoons,drunkards, Germans, dwarfs,and similar indecencies” in thesacred scene.Veronese’sinsouciant response was simplyto change the title, anemendation that apparentlysatisfied his critics.Among theworks by Tintoretto is thepainting that made hisreputation: St Mark Freeing aSlave (1548), showing St Mark’sintervention at the execution ofa slave who had defied hismaster by travelling to theEvangelist’s shrine. Opposite isTitian’s highly charged Pietà(1576), painted for his owntomb in the Frari andcompleted after his death byPalma il Giovane.

In room 11 a major shiftinto the eighteenth centuryoccurs, with pieces byGiambattista Tiepolo; his

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contemporaries provide thechief interest of the nextsection, with works such asGiambattista Piazzetta’sextraordinary The Fortune-Teller,Guardi’s impressionistic views ofVenice, Pietro Longhi’sdocumentary interiors and aseries of portraits by RosalbaCarriera, one of the very fewwomen shown in the collection.

The vast room 20 is entirelyfilled by the cycle of TheMiracles of the Relic of the Cross,which was produced by variousartists between 1494 and 1501,having been commissioned bythe Scuola Grande di SanGiovanni Evangelista (see p.99)to extol the holy fragment ithad held since 1369.

Another remarkable cycle fillsroom 21 – Carpaccio’s Story ofSt Ursula, painted for the Scuoladi Sant’Orsola at San Zanipoloin 1490–94.A superlativeexercise in pictorial narrative,the paintings are especiallyfascinating to the modernviewer as a meticulous record ofdomestic architecture, costumeand the decorative arts in Veniceat the close of the fifteenthcentury.After this room, youleave the Accademia through a

door beneath Titian’s wonderfulPresentation of the Virgin (1539),still occupying the space forwhich it was painted.

The Guggenheim 10am–6pm, closed Tues; April–Octopen till 10pm on Sat.wwww.guggenheim-venice.it. e8.The Peggy GuggenheimCollection is installed in thepeculiarly modernistic fragmentof the quarter-built PalazzoVenier dei Leoni, a bit fartherdown the Canal Grande.

In the early years of thetwentieth century the leadinglights of the Futurist movementcame here for the partiesthrown by the dotty MarchesaCasati, who was fond of stuntslike setting wild cats and apesloose in the palazzo garden,among plants sprayed lilac forthe occasion. PeggyGuggenheim, a considerablymore discerning patron of thearts, moved into the palace in1949; since her death in 1979the Guggenheim Foundationhas administered the place, andhas turned her private collectioninto one of the city’s glossiestmuseums – and the second mostpopular after the Accademia. It’s


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a small but generallytop-quality assembly oftwentieth-century artand a prime venue fortouring exhibitions. Inthe permanent collectionthe core pieces includeBrancusi’s Bird in Spaceand Maestra, de Chirico’sRed Tower and Nostalgiaof the Poet, Max Ernst’sRobing of the Bride(Guggenheim wasmarried to Ernst in the1940s), some of JosephCornell’s boxes, sculptureby Laurens and Lipchitz,and works by Malevichand Schwitters; otherartists include Picasso,Braque, Chagall, Pollock,Duchamp, Giacometti,Picabia and Magritte.Marino Marini’s Angel ofthe Citadel, out on theterrace, flaunts his

enough to see it finished, in1681.

Each year on November 21(the Feast of the Presentation ofthe Virgin) the Signoriaprocessed from San Marco tothe Salute for a service ofthanksgiving, crossing the CanalGrande on a pontoon bridgelaid from Santa Maria delGiglio.The Festa della Madonnadella Salute is still a major eventin the Venetian calendar.

The form of the Salute owesmuch to the plan of Palladio’sRedentore (see p.150) – theobvious model for adramatically sited votive church– and to the repertoire ofMarian symbolism.Theoctagonal plan and eight facadesallude to the eight-pointedMarian star, for example, whilethe huge dome representsMary’s crown and thecentralized plan is a


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erection at the passing canaltraffic; more decorous pieces byGiacometti, Moore, Paolozziand others are planted in thegarden, surrounding PeggyGuggenheim’s burial place.

Santa Maria della Salute Daily 9am–noon & 3–5.30pm. In1630–31 Venice was devastatedby a plague that exterminatednearly 95,000 of the lagoon’spopulation – one person inthree. In October 1630 theSenate decreed that a newchurch would be dedicated toMary if the city were saved, andthe result was Santa Maria dellaSalute (salute meaning “health”and “salvation”). Resting on aplatform of more than 100,000wooden piles, the Salute tookhalf a century to build; itsarchitect, BaldassareLonghena, was only 26 yearsold when his proposal wasaccepted and lived just long

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conventional symbol of theVirgin’s womb. Less arcanesymbolism is at work on thehigh altar, where the Virgin andChild rescue Venice (kneelingwoman) from the plague (oldwoman); in attendance are SS.Mark and Lorenzo Giustiniani,first Patriarch of Venice.

The most notable paintings inthe Salute are the Titian piecesbrought from the suppressedchurch of Santo Spirito in 1656,and now displayed in thesacristy (e1.50).Tintoretto hasincluded himself in the dramatispersonae of his Marriage at Cana(1561) – he’s the first Apostle onthe left.

The Záttere and the GesuatiKnown collectively as theZáttere, the sequence ofwaterfront pavements betweenthe Punta della Dogana and theStazione Maríttima, are now apopular place for a stroll or an alfresco pizza, but were formerlythe place where most of thebulky goods coming into Venice

were unloaded onto floatingrafts called záttere.

The first building to breakyour stride for is the church ofthe Gesuati or Santa Maria delRosario (Mon–Sat 10am–5pm,Sun 1–5pm; e2, or ChorusPass). Rebuilt in 1726–43, abouthalf a century after the churchwas taken over from the orderof the Gesuati by theDominicans, this was the firstchurch designed by GiorgioMassari, an architect who oftenworked with GiambattistaTiepolo.Tiepolo painted thefirst altarpiece on the right, TheVirgin with SS. Catherine ofSiena, Rose and Agnes (c.1740),and the three magnificentceiling panels of Scenes from theLife of St Dominic (1737–39),which are seen to best effect inthe afternoon.The third altar onthis side of the church isadorned with a painting of SS.Vincent Ferrer, Giacinto and LuigiBeltran by Tiepolo’s principalforerunner, GiambattistaPiazzetta; opposite, the first altarhas Sebastiano Ricci’s Pius Vwith SS.Thomas and Peter Martyr(1739), completing the church’sarray of Rococo propaganda onbehalf of the exalted figures ofDominican orthodoxy, followedby a tragically intense Crucifixionby Tintoretto (c.1555) on thethird altar.

The squero di San TrovasoTen thousand gondolas operatedon the canals of sixteenth-century Venice, when they werethe standard form of transportaround the city; nowadays thetourist trade is pretty well allthat sustains the city’s fleet ofaround five hundred gondolas,which provide steadyemployment for a few squeri,as the gondola yards are called.A display in the Museo Storico


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Navale (see p.128) takes youthrough the construction of agondola, but no abstractdemonstration can equal thefascination of a working yard,and the most public one inVenice is the squero di SanTrovaso, on the Záttere sideof San Trovaso church.TheSan Trovaso is the oldestsquero still functioning –established in the seventeenthcentury, it looks rather likean alpine farmhouse, areflection of the architectureof the Dolomite villages fromwhich many of Venice’sgondola-builders once came.

San TrovasoMon–Sat 3–6pm. Don’t botherconsulting your dictionary of

it does boast a pair of finepaintings by Tintoretto: TheTemptation of St Anthony and TheLast Supper.The former is in thechapel to the left of the highaltar, with St Crysogonus onHorseback by Michele Giambono(c.1450),Venice’s mainpractitioner of the InternationalGothic style; the latter is in thechapel at ninety degrees to thefirst one.

San SebastianoMon–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 1–5pm –but often closed Sun in winter. e2 orChorus Pass – see p.171. At the endof the Záttere the barred gatesof the Stazione Maríttimadeflect you away from thewaterfront and towards thechurch of San Sebastiano.Theparish church of PaoloVeronese, it contains a group ofresplendent paintings by himthat gives it a place in his careercomparable to that of SanRocco in the career ofTintoretto.Veronese was still inhis twenties when he was askedto paint the ceiling of the


saints for the dedicatee of SanTrovaso church – the name’s abaffling dialect version of SantiGervasio e Protasio. Since itstenth-century foundation thechurch has had a chequeredhistory, falling down once, andtwice being destroyed by fire;this is the fourth incarnation,built in 1584–1657.

Venetian folklore has it thatthis church was the onlyneutral ground between theNicolotti and the Castellani, thetwo factions in to which theworking-class citizens of thecity were divided – the former,coming from the west andnorth of the city, were namedafter the church of San Nicolòdei Mendicoli (see p.83), thelatter, from the sestieri ofDorsoduro, San Marco andCastello, took their name fromSan Pietro di Castello.Therivals celebrated intermarriagesand other services here, but aresaid to have entered anddeparted by separate doors.

Inside, San Trovaso is spaciousand somewhat characterless, but

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sacristy with a Coronation of theVirgin and the Four Evangelists(1555); once that commissionhad been carried out, hedecorated the nave ceiling withScenes from the Life of St Esther.His next project, the dome ofthe chancel, was later destroyed,but the sequence he and hisbrother Benedetto then paintedon the walls of the church andthe nun’s choir at the end of the1550s has survived in prettygood shape. In the followingdecade he executed the last ofthe pictures, those on the organshutters and around the highaltar – on the left, St SebastianLeads SS. Mark and Marcellian toMartyrdom, and on the right TheSecond Martyrdom of St Sebastian(the customarily depictedtorture by arrows didn’t killhim). Other riches include a lateTitian of St Nicholas (on theleft wall of the first chapel onthe right), and the earlysixteenth-century majolicapavement in the chapel to theleft of the chancel – in front ofwhich is Veronese’s tomb slab.

Angelo RaffaeleDaily 8am–noon & 4–6pm. At theback of San Sebastiano, theseventeenth-century church ofAngelo Raffaele is instantlyrecognizable by the two hugewar memorials blazoned on thecanal facade. Inside, the organloft above the entrance on thecanal side is decorated withScenes from the Life of St Tobias(accompanied, as ever, by hislittle dog), painted by one orother of the Guardi brothers(nobody’s sure which).Althoughsmall in scale, the freebrushwork and imaginativecomposition make the panelsamong the most charmingexamples of Venetian Rococo, afascinating counterpoint to the

grander visions of GiambattistaTiepolo, the Guardis’ brother-in-law.

San Nicolò dei MendicoliDaily 10am–noon & 4–6pm.Although it’s located on theedge of the city, the church ofSan Nicolò dei Mendicoli isone of Venice’s oldest, said tohave been founded in theseventh century. Its long historywas reflected in the fact that itgave its name to the Nicolottifaction, whose titular head, theso-called Gastaldo or the Dogedei Nicolotti, was elected by theparishioners and then honouredby a ceremonial greeting fromthe Republic’s doge.

The church has been rebuiltand altered at various times, andwas last restored in the 1970s,when Nic Roeg used it as asetting for Don’t Look Now. Inessence, however, its shape is stillthat of the Veneto-Byzantinestructure raised here in thetwelfth century, the date of itsrugged campanile.The otherconspicuous feature of theexterior is the fifteenth-centuryporch, a type of constructiononce common in Venice, andoften used here as makeshiftaccommodation for penuriousnuns.The interior is amiscellany of periods and styles.Parts of the apse and thecolumns of the nave go back tothe twelfth century, but thedarkened gilded woodwork thatgives the interior its ratherovercast appearance was installedlate in the sixteenth century, aswere most of the paintings.

Campo Santa Margheritaand the Carmini The vast, elongated CampoSanta Margherita, ringed byhouses that date back as far asthe fourteenth century, is the


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social heart of Dorsoduro, manyof whose inhabitants come heredaily to stock up at the marketstalls. Students from the nearbyuniversity hang out in thecampo’s bars, and the place as awhole has a vaguely alternativefeel.

Just off Campo SantaMargherita’s southwest tip is theScuola Grande dei Carmini(April–Oct Mon–Sat 9am–6pm,Sun 9am–1pm; Nov–MarchMon–Sat 9am–4pm, Sun9am–1pm; e5), once theVenetian base of the Carmelites.Originating in Palestine towardsthe close of the twelfth century,the Carmelites blossomedduring the Counter-Reformation, when theybecame the shock-troopsthrough whom the cult of theVirgin could be disseminated, asa response to the inroads ofProtestantism.As happenedelsewhere in Europe, theVenetian Carmelites becameimmensely wealthy, and in the1660s they called in an architect– probably Longhena – toredesign the property they hadacquired.The core of thiscomplex, which in 1767 wasraised to the status of a ScuolaGrande (see p.98), is noweffectively a showcase for the artof Giambattista Tiepolo, whoin the 1740s painted thewonderful ceiling of the upstairshall.

Santa Maria del CarmeloThe Carmini church, or SantaMaria del Carmelo (Mon–Sat7.30am–noon & 2.30–7pm), is acollage of architectural styles,with a sixteenth-century facade,a Gothic side doorway whichpreserves several Byzantinefragments, and a fourteenth-century basilican interior.A dullseries of Baroque paintings

illustrating the history of theCarmelite order covers a lot ofspace inside, but the second altaron the right has a Nativity byCima da Conegliano (before1510), and Lorenzo Lotto’s StNicholas of Bari (1529) –featuring what BernardBerenson ranked as one of themost beautiful landscapes in allItalian art – hangs on theopposite side of the nave.

The Ponte dei Pugni andSan BarnabaCutting down the side of theCarmini church takes you overthe Rio di San Barnaba, alongwhich a fondamenta runs to thechurch of San Barnaba. Justbefore the end of thefondamenta you pass the Ponte


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dei Pugni, one of severalbridges with this name.Originally built withoutparapets, they were the sites ofritual battles between theCastellani and Nicolotti; thisone is inset with marblefootprints marking the startingpositions. Pugilists have nowbeen replaced by tourists takingshots of the photogenic SanBarnaba grocery barge mooredat the foot of the bridge.

The huge, damp-ridden SanBarnaba church (daily9.30am–12.30pm & 2.30–7pm),built in 1749, has a trompe l’oeilceiling painting of St Barnabas inGlory by Constantino Cedini, afollower of Tiepolo. Despiterecent restoration, the ceiling isbeing restored again because ofmoisture damage.

Ca’ RezzonicoWed–Sun: April–Oct 10am–5pm;Nov–March 9am–4pm. e6.50. TheMuseo del SettecentoVeneziano – the Museum ofthe Venetian EighteenthCentury – spreads through mostof the enormous Ca’Rezzonico, a palazzo which thecity authorities bought in 1934specifically as a home for the

museum. It’s never been one ofthe most popular of Venice’smuseums, but a recentlycompleted renovation might gosome way to rectifying itsunjustified neglect.

A man in constant demand inthe early part of the eighteenthcentury was the Bellunosculptor-cum-woodcarverAndrea Brustolon, much ofwhose output consisted ofwildly elaborate pieces offurniture, exemplified by thestuff on show in the BrustolonRoom.The less fervidimaginations of GiambattistaTiepolo and his sonGiandomenico are introducedin room 2 with the ceilingfresco celebrating LudovicoRezzonico’s marriage into thehugely powerful Savorgnanfamily in 1758. Beyond room4, with its array of pastels byRosalba Carriera, you come totwo other Tiepolo ceilings,enlivening the roomsoverlooking the Canal Grandeon each side of the mainportego – an Allegory of Merit byGiambattista andGiandomenico, and Nobility andVirtue Triumphing over Perfidy, asolo effort by the father.


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In the portego of the secondfloor hang the only two canalviews by Canaletto on show inpublic galleries in Venice.Thenext suite of rooms contains themuseum’s most engagingpaintings – GiandomenicoTiepolo’s sequence of frescoesfrom the Villa Zianigo nearMestre, the Tiepolo family home.There then follows a successionof rooms with delightful portraitsand depictions of everydayVenetian life by FrancescoGuardi (including high-societyrecreation in the parlour of SanZaccaria’s convent) and PietroLonghi, whose artlessly candidwork – such as a version of thefamous Rhinoceros – has morethan enough curiosity value tomake up for its shortcomings inexecution.

The low-ceilinged rooms ofthe third and fourth floorshouse a less than thrillingprivate donation of Venetian artfrom the fifteenth to twentiethcenturies, but the main point ofclambering upstairs (apart fromthe tremendous view across therooftops) is to see thepharmacy, a sequence ofwood-panelled rooms heavilystocked with ceramic jars andglass bottles.

ShopsCa’ MacanaCalle delle Botteghe 3172. Open daily.Huge mask shop, with perhapsthe biggest stock in the city; hasanother branch on the otherside of Campo San Barnaba, atBarbaria delle Tole 1169.

La Nave d’OroCampo S. Margherita 3664. ClosedMon morning. This is the city’s bestoutlet for local wines, selling notjust bottles but also draught

Veneto wine to take out. Otherbranches at Calle del MondoNovo, Castello 5786 (closedWed afternoon), Rio Terrà S.Leonardo, Cannaregio 1370(closed Wed afternoon), and ViaLépanto, Lido 241.

Libreria della TolettaSacca della Toletta 1214. Sellsreduced-price books, mainly inItalian, but some dual languageand translations.Another branchon the opposite side of thestreet sells art books, includingsome bargains.

MondoNovoRio Terrà Canal 3063. This maskworkshop, located just offCampo S. Margherita, is perhapsthe most imaginative in the city,producing everything fromancient Greek tragic masks toportraits of Richard Wagner.

Cafés andpasticcerieCausin Campo S. Margherita 2996. ClosedSun. Excellent homemade icecream at this long-establishedcafé, which has seating on thecampo.

Il Doge Campo S. Margherita 3058. Open dailytill midnight, until 2am June–Sept.Closed Nov & Dec. Well-establishedcafé-gelateria. Like Causin, itranks among the city’s best.

Nico Záttere ai Gesuati 922. Closed Thurs.Celebrated for an artery-clogging creation called agianduiotto – ask for one dapasseggio (to take out) and you’llbe given a paper cup with a


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block of praline ice creamdrowned in whipped cream.

RestaurantsAi Cugnai Piscina del Forner 857. Closed Mon.Remarkably unspoiltconsidering it’s just a few yardsto the east of the Accademia, thisis a very popular and reasonablelittle trattoria, run by a family ofgregarious Venetian seniorcitizens. Orders are memorizedand can become scrambledbetween table and kitchen, butthat’s part of the fun. Supposedto close at 9pm, but keeps goingif the mood takes them.

Ai Quattro Ferri Calle Lunga S. Barnaba 2754/at041.520.6978. Closed Sun. Highlyrecommended osteria just offCampo S. Barnaba, withdelicious cicheti and aninexpensive menu that changesdaily. No credit cards. Bookingessential in high season.

Anzolo Raffael Campo Angelo Raffaele 1722. ClosedMon lunchtime and all day TuesJuly–Oct. Unpretentious parish

restaurant tucked in a corner ofthe sestiere where few touristsventure – except to come here.The small menu includes first-class fish. Might close as early as9pm, depending on how theyfeel. No credit cards.

Casin dei Nobili Calle Lombardo 2765. Closed Mon.Popular with both locals andtourists, this place servesexcellent (and large) pizzas plusa varied menu that includeslocal specialities such as eel.Good two-course menu withwater and wine for e24.Separate dining area forsmokers. Casin or casino meansbrothel, as you’ll gather fromthe place mats – not to beconfused with casinò, whichmeans casino.


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Da GianniZáttere ai Gesuati 918a. Closed Wed.Nicely sited restaurant-pizzeria,right by the Záttere vaporettostop and slightly better than thenearby Alle Záttere. No creditcards.

La Piscina Záttere ai Gesuati 780t041.520.6466. Closed Mon.Stretching onto the waterfrontoutside the Calcina hotel, towhich it’s attached, this is one ofthe most enjoyable restaurantsin Dorsoduro.The service isexcellent, the menu of saladsand light Mediterranean dishessets it apart from its neighbours,and the view of Giudecca fromthe terrace is wonderful.

Bars and snacksAi Do Draghi Campo S. Margherita 3665. Open8am–2am. Taking its name fromthe two dragons on the wallopposite, this is a tiny, friendlycafé-bar, with a good range ofwines.The back room exhibitsthe work of local photographers.

Cantina del Vino già Schiavi Fondamenta Nani 992. Open till8.30pm, closed Sun. Great bar andwine shop opposite San Trovaso

– do some sampling before youbuy. Excellent cicheti, too.

Corner Pub Calle della Chiesa 684. Open till atleast 12.30am, closed Mon. Veryclose to the Guggenheim, thisplace usually has a few artyforeigners in attendance, butthey are always outnumbered bythe locals.

Da Codroma Fondamenta Briati 2540. Open tillmidnight, closed Sun. The kind ofplace where you could sit for anhour or two with a beer and abook and feel comfortable.Popular with students from thenearby University ofArchitecture. Occasional poetryreadings and live jazz.

Il Caffè Campo S. Margherita 2963. Open till2am, closed Sun. Known as CaffèRosso for its big red sign, thisinviting, old-fashioned café-baris a student favourite, withchairs out on the square and livejazz, blues or rock on Thursdays.

Margaret Du Champ Campo S. Margherita 3019. Open till2am, closed Tues. Much theclassiest of the campo’s late bars,with a self-consciously chicambience.


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San Polo and SantaCroceAs far as the day-to-day life of Venice is concerned, thefocal points of the San Polo and Santa Croce sestieriare the sociable open space of Campo San Polo andthe Rialto area, once the commercial heart of theRepublic and still the home of a market that’s famousfar beyond the boundaries of the city. The bustle of thestalls and the unspoilt bars used by the porters are agood antidote to cultural overload. Nobody, however,should miss the extraordinary pair of buildings in thesouthern part of San Polo: the colossal Gothic church ofthe Frari, embellished with three of Venice’s finestaltarpieces, and the Scuola Grande di San Rocco,decorated with an unforgettable cycle of paintings byTintoretto.

In the northern part of the district, Venice’s erraticallyopen modern art, oriental and natural historymuseums are clustered together on the bank of theCanal Grande: the first two collections occupy one ofthe city’s most magnificent palaces, while the third isinstalled in the former headquarters of the Turkishmerchants. As ever, numerous treasures are alsoscattered among the minor churches – for example inSan Cassiano, San Simeone Grande and SanPantaleone. Lastly, if you’re in search of a spot inwhich to sit for an hour and just watch the world go by,head for the Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio, one ofVenice’s more spacious and tranquil squares.

reputation as the bazaar ofEurope.Trading had been goingon here for over four hundredyears when, in the winter of1514, a fire destroyed everythingin the area except the church.Reconstruction began almoststraight away: the FabbricheVecchie (the arcaded buildingsalong the Ruga degli Oreficiand around the Campo SanGiacomo) were finished fiveyears after the fire, withSansovino’s Fabbriche Nuove


The Rialto As the political centre of Venicegrew around San Marco, theRialto became the commercialarea. In the twelfth centuryEurope’s first state bank wasopened here, and the financiersof this quarter were to be theheavyweights of theinternational currencyexchanges for the next threehundred years and more.Andthrough the markets of theRialto Venice earned a

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(running along the CanalGrande) following about thirtyyears later.

Today’s Rialto market is tamerthan that of Venice at its peak,but it’s still one of the liveliestspots in the city, and one of thefew places where it’s possible tostand in a crowd and hearnothing but Italian spoken.You’ll find fruit sellers, vegetablestalls, cheese kiosks, a number

of good alimentari and some fineold-fashioned bars here. Inshort, if you can’t findsomething to excite your tastebuds around the Rialto, theymust be in a sorry state.TheRialto market is open Mondayto Saturday 8am to 1pm, with afew stalls opening again in thelate afternoon; the Pescheria(fish market) – of no practicalinterest to picnickers but a sight


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not to be missed – is closed onMonday as well.

Venetian legend asserts thatthe city was founded at noonon Friday, March 25, 421; fromthe same legend derives theclaim that the church of SanGiacomo di Rialto (Mon–Sat9.30–noon & 4–6pm) wasconsecrated in that year, and isthus the oldest church in Venice.Whatever the truth of the

matter, parts of the presentstructure date from a rebuildingin 1071 – the interior’s sixcolumns of ancient Greekmarble have eleventh-centuryVeneto-Byzantine capitals – andit seems likely that thereconstruction of the churchprompted the establishment ofthe market here.

On the opposite side of thecampo from the church


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RESTAURANTSAe OcheAlla MadonnaBancogiroDa FioreDa SandroIl RefoloJazz Club 900La ZuccaOsteria al Ponte, “La Patatina”Ribò

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crouches a stone figure knownas the Gobbo di Rialto or theRialto hunchback. It supports agranite platform from whichstate proclamations were readsimultaneously with theirannouncement from the Pietradel Bando, beside San Marco; ithad another role as well –certain wrongdoers weresentenced to run the gauntlet,stark naked, from the Piazza tothe Gobbo.

San CassianoThe barn-like church of SanCassiano (daily 9am–noon &5–7pm) is a building you’rebound to pass as you wanderout of the Rialto.Thethirteenth-century campanile isthe only appealing aspect of theexterior, but inside there arethree fine paintings byTintoretto: The Resurrection,The Descent into Limbo and TheCrucifixion.The third is one ofthe most startling pictures inVenice – centred on the ladderon which the executioners

stand, it’s painted as though theobserver were lying in the grassat the foot of the Cross.

Campo San Cassiano wasthe site of the first public operahouse in the world – it openedin 1636, at the peak ofMonteverdi’s career. Long intothe following century Venice’sopera houses were among themost active in Europe; aroundfive hundred works receivedtheir first performances here inthe first half of the eighteenthcentury.

Santa Maria Mater DominiThe small Campo Santa MariaMater Domini would have tobe included in any anthology ofthe hidden delights of Venice; it’sa typically Venetian miscellany –a thirteenth-century house (theCasa Zane), a few ramshackleGothic houses, an assortment ofstone reliefs of indeterminateage, a fourteenth-century well-head in the centre, a couple ofbars, and an ironsmith’sworkshop tucked into onecorner.The church of SantaMaria Mater Domini (Tues–Fri10am–noon), an early sixteenth-century building, boasts anendearing Martyrdom of StChristina by Vincenzo Catena.

Ca’ PésaroThe Ca’ Pésaro was bequeathedto the city at the end of thenineteenth century by theDuchessa Felicità Bevilacqua LaMasa, who stipulated in her willthat it should provide studio andexhibition space forimpoverished young artists.Subsequent machinations putpaid to the Duchess’senlightened plans, and in placeof the intended living artscentre the city acquired theGalleria Internazionaled’Arte Moderna (Tues–Sun:


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April–Oct 10am–6pm;Nov–March 10am–5; e5.50,including the Museo Orientale,or Museum Pass – see p.171).Most of the stuff in thiscollection is modern only in thechronological sense of the term:pieces bought from the Biennaleformed the foundation of thecollection, and in its early yearsthe Biennale was a celebrationof all that was most conservativein European art.This is one ofthe city’s weaker museums, andthe same goes for the MuseoOrientale, on the palace’s topfloor, whose jumble of lacquerwork, armour, screens, weaponryand so forth is not likely toappeal to the uninitiated.

San Stae and theScuola dei Battioro e TiraoroCalle Pésaro takes you over theRio della Rioda to theseventeenth-century church ofSan Stae (Mon–Sat

Scuola dei Battioro eTiraoro (Goldsmiths’ Guild).


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10am–5pm, Sun 1–5pm;e2 or Chorus Pass – seep.171). In the chancelthere’s a series ofpaintings from thebeginning of theeighteenth century, thepick of which are TheMartyrdom of St James theGreat by Piazzetta (lowon the left), The Liberationof St Peter by SebastianoRicci (same row) andThe Martyrdom of StBartholomew byGiambattista Tiepolo(opposite). Exhibitionsand concerts are oftenheld in San Stae, andexhibitions are also heldfrom time to time in thediminutive buildingalongside, the earlyseventeenth-century

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Palazzo MocenigoTues–Sun: April–Oct 10am–5pm;Nov–March 10am–4pm. e4 orMuseum Pass – see p.171. Halfwaydown the alley flanking SanStae is the early seventeenth-century Palazzo Mocenigo, nowhome to a centre for the studyof textiles and clothing.Thelibrary and archive of the studycentre occupy part of thebuilding, but a substantialportion of the piano nobile isopen to the public, and thereare few Venetian interiors of thisdate that have been someticulously preserved.Themain room is decorated withworkaday portraits of variousMocenigo men, while therooms to the side are full ofmiscellaneous pictures, antiquefurniture, Murano chandeliers,and display cases of dandifiedclothing and cobweb-finelacework.The curtains are keptclosed to protect such delicateitems as floral silk stockings,silvery padded waistcoats, and anextraordinarily embroideredoutfit once worn by what musthave been the best-dressed five-year-old in town.

San Giovanni DecollatoMon–Sat 10am–noon. Thesignposted route to the trainstation passes the deconsecratedchurch of San GiovanniDecollato, or San Zan Degolà indialect – it means “St John theBeheaded”. Established in theopening years of the eleventhcentury, it has retained its layoutthrough several alterations; thecolumns and capitals of the navedate from the first century of itsexistence, and parts of itsfragmentary frescoes (at the eastend) could be of the same age.Some of the paintings arecertainly thirteenth century, andno other church in Venice has

frescoes that predate them. Thechurch also has one of the city’scharacteristic ship’s-keel ceilings.

The Museo di Storia NaturaleThe Museo di StoriaNaturale is right by thechurch, in the Fondaco deiTurchi, which was once ahostel-cum-warehouse forTurkish traders.Top-billingexhibits are the remains of a37-foot-long ancestor of thecrocodile and an Ouranosaurus,both dug up in the Sahara in1973; of stricter relevance toVenetian life is the displayrelating to the lagoon’s marinelife, and a pre-Roman boatdredged from the silt. However,in recent years the building hasbeen undergoing a majorrestoration, and at the momentonly the aquarium and dinosaurroom are open (Sat & Sun10am–4pm; free).

San Giacomo dell’OrioStanding in a lovely campowhich, despite its size, you couldeasily miss if you weren’tlooking for it, San Giacomodell’Orio (Mon–Sat 10am–5pm,Sun 1–5pm; e2 or Chorus Pass– see p.171) is an ancient andatmospheric church. Founded inthe ninth century (the shape ofthe apse betrays its Byzantineorigins), it was rebuilt in 1225and remodelled on numeroussubsequent occasions, notablywhen its ship’s-keel roof wasadded in the fourteenth century.Several fine paintings are to beseen here.The main altarpiece,Madonna and Four Saints, waspainted by Lorenzo Lotto in1546, shortly before he left thecity complaining that theVenetians had not treated himfairly; the Crucifix that hangs inthe air in front of it is attributedto Paolo Veneziano. In the left


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transept there’s an altarpiece byPaolo Veronese, and there’s a fineset of pictures from Veronese’sworkshop on the ceiling of thenew sacristy.The old sacristy is ashowcase for the art of Palma ilGiovane, whose cycle incelebration of the Eucharistcovers the walls and part of theceiling.

San Simeone ProfetaMon–Sat 9am–noon & 5–6.30pm. SanGiacomo dell’Orio is plumb inthe middle of an extensiveresidential district, much ofwhich is as close to bland as youcan get in Venice. Don’t, though,overlook the church of SanSimeone Profeta (or Grande) –remarkable for its recliningeffigy of Saint Simeon (to theleft of the chancel), a luxuriantlybearded, larger than life-sizefigure, whose half-open mouthdisturbingly creates theimpression of the moment ofdeath.According to itsinscription, it was sculpted in

1317 by Marco Romano, butsome experts doubt that thesculpture can be that old, asnothing else of that date bearscomparison with it. Originatingin the tenth century, the churchhas often been rebuilt – mostextensively in the eighteenthcentury, when the city sanitationexperts, anxious about thecondition of the plague victimswho had been buried under theflagstones in the 1630 epidemic,ordered the whole floor to berelaid.

San PoloSouth of the Rialto, RugaVecchia San Giovanniconstitutes the first leg of theright bank’s nearest equivalentto the Mercerie of San Marco, areasonably straight chain ofshop-lined alleyways that isinterrupted by Campo SanPolo, the largest square inVenice after the Piazza. Inearlier times it was the site ofweekly markets and occasionalfairs, as well as being used as aparade ground and bullfighting


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arena.And on one occasionCampo San Polo was the sceneof a bloody act of politicalretribution: on February 26,1548, Lorenzaccio de’Medici,having fled Florence aftermurdering the deranged DukeAlessandro (a distant relative andformer friend), was murderedhere by assassins sent by DukeCosimo I,Alessandro’s successor.

The bleak interior of SanPolo church (Mon–Sat10am–5pm, Sun 1–5pm; e2 orChorus Pass – see p.171) isworth a visit for a superior LastSupper by Tintoretto (on the leftas you enter) and a cycle of theStations of the Cross (Via Crucis)by Giandomenico Tiepolo in theOratory of the Crucifix, paintedwhen the artist was only twenty.

Casa GoldoniMon–Sat 10am–5pm, Nov–Marchcloses 4pm. e2.50 or Museum Pass –see p.171. The fifteenth-century

Santa Maria Gloriosadei FrariMon–Sat 9am–6pm, Sun 1–6pm. e2or Chorus Pass – see p.171. SantaMaria Gloriosa dei Frari –abbreviated to the Frari – wasfounded by the Franciscansaround 1250, not long after thedeath of their founder, butalmost no sooner was the firstchurch completed (in 1338)than work began on a vastreplacement, a project whichtook well over a hundred years.The campanile, one of the city’slandmarks and the tallest afterSan Marco’s, was finished in1396.

You’re unlikely to fall in loveat first sight with this mountainof brick, but the outside of thechurch is a misleadingly dullprelude to an astoundinginterior.Apart from theAccademia and the Salute, theFrari is the only building in


� T I T I A N ’ S A S S U M P T I O NPalazzo Centani, in Calle deiNomboli, was the birthplaceof Carlo Goldoni(1707–93), the playwrightwho transformed thecommedia dell’arte from avehicle for semi-improvisedclowning into a medium forsharp political observation.Goldoni’s plays are still thestaple of theatrical life inVenice, and there’s no risk ofrunning out of material –allegedly, he once bet afriend that he could produceone play a week for a wholeyear, and won. Goldoni’shome now houses a theatrestudies institute and theMuseo Goldoni, a smallcollection of first editions,autograph papers andtheatrical paraphernalia,including some eighteenth-century marionettes and aminiature theatre.

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masterpiece here, the Madonnadi Ca’ Pésaro (on the left wall,between the third and fourthcolumns), was equally innovativein its displacement of the figureof the Virgin from the centre ofthe picture. Other paintings tolook out for are BartolomeoVivarini’s St Mark Enthroned (inthe Cappella Corner, at the endof the left transept),AlviseVivarini’s St Ambrose and otherSaints (in the adjoining chapel,where you’ll also find the graveof Monteverdi), and, above all,Giovanni Bellini’s serene andsolemn Madonna and Child withSS. Nicholas of Bari, Peter, Markand Benedict, in the sacristy.

Apart from its paintings, theFrari is also remarkable forDonatello’s luridly naturalisticwooden statue of St John theBaptist (in the chapel to theright of the transept), thebeautiful fifteenth-centurymonks’ choir, and its wealth ofextravagant tombs.Two of thefinest monuments flank theTitian Assumption: on the left isthe proto-Renaissance tomb of

Doge Niccolò Tron, by AntonioRizzo and assistants (1476); onthe right, the more archaic andchaotic tomb of DogeFrancesco Fóscari, carvedshortly after Fóscari’s death in1457 (after 34 years as doge) byAntonio and Paolo Bregno.

Against the right-hand wall ofthe nave stands the house-sizedmonument to Titian, built inthe mid-nineteenth century onthe supposed place of his burial.The artist died in 1576, inaround his ninetieth year, acasualty of the plague; such wasthe esteem in which Titian washeld, he was the only victim tobe allowed a church burial inthe course of the outbreak.Themarble pyramid on the oppositeside of the church is theMausoleum of Canova,erected by pupils of thesculptor, following a design hehimself had made for the tombsof Titian and Maria Christina ofAustria. Finally, you can’t fail tonotice what is surely the mostgrotesque monument in thecity, the tomb of Doge


Venice withmore than asingle first-ratework by Titian,and one of these– theAssumption –you’ll see rightaway, as it soarsover the highaltar. It’s a pieceof compositionaland colouristicbravura forwhich there wasno precedent inVenetian art (nopreviousaltarpiece hademphasized thevertical axis), andthe other Titian

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Giovanni Pésaro (1669), heldaloft by gigantic ragged-trousered Moors anddecomposing corpses.

The Scuola Grandedi San RoccoDaily: April–Oct 9am–5.30pm;Nov–March 10am–4pm. e5.50, e4with Venice Card. Unless you’vebeen to the Scuola Grande diSan Rocco you can’t properlyappreciate the achievement ofTintoretto. Ruskin called it“one of the three most preciousbuildings in Italy”, and it’s notdifficult to understand why heresorted to such hyperbole. (Hisother votes were for the SistineChapel and the Campo Santo atPisa – the latter was virtuallyruined in World War II.) Theunremitting concentration andrestlessness of Tintoretto’spaintings won’t inspireunqualified enthusiasm ineveryone, but even those whoprefer their art at a lowervoltage should find this anoverwhelming experience.

From its foundation in 1478,the special concern of this

particular scuola was the reliefof the sick – a continuation ofthe Christian mission of itspatron saint, St Roch (Rocco)of Montpellier, who in 1315 lefthis home town to work amongplague victims in Italy.TheScuola had been going for sevenyears when the body of thesaint was brought to Venice fromGermany, and the consequentboom in donations was so greatthat in 1489 it acquired thestatus of scuola grande. In 1527the city was hit by an outbreakof plague, and the Scuola’srevenue rocketed to recordlevels as gifts poured in frompeople hoping to secure StRoch’s protection against thedisease.The fattened coffers paidfor this building, and forTintoretto’s amazing cycle ofmore than fifty major paintings.

The narrative sequence beginswith the first picture in thelower room – the Annunciation.But to appreciate Tintoretto’sdevelopment you have to beginin the smaller room on theupper storey – the Saladell’Albergo.This is dominated


The Scuole The Venetian institutions known as the scuole originated in 1260 with the forma-tion of the confraternity called Scuola di Santa Maria della Carità, the first of theso-called Scuole Grande. By the middle of the sixteenth century there were fivemore of these major confraternities – San Giovanni Evangelista, San Marco,Santa Maria della Misericordia, San Rocco and San Teodoro – plus scores ofsmaller bodies known as the Scuole Minore, of which at one time there were asmany as four hundred. The Scuole Grande, drawing much of their membershipfrom the wealthiest professional and mercantile groups, and with rosters of up tosix hundred men, received subscriptions that allowed them to fund lavish archi-tectural and artistic projects, of which the Scuola Grande di San Rocco is the mostspectacular example. The Scuole Minore, united by membership of certain guilds(eg goldsmiths at the Scuola dei Battioro e Tiraori) or by common nationality (aswith San Giorgo degli Schiavoni, the Slavs’ scuola), generally operated from farmore modest bases. Yet all scuole had the same basic functions – to provideassistance for their members (eg dowries and medical aid), to offer a place ofcommunal worship, and to distribute alms and services in emergencies (anythingfrom plague relief to the provision of troops).

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by the stupendous Crucifixion(1565), the most compendiousimage of the event ever painted.Henry James made even greaterclaims for it:“Surely no singlepicture in the world containsmore of human life; there iseverything in it.” Tintoretto’sother works here – aside fromthe Glorification of St Roch in themiddle of the ceiling (the piecethat won him the contract todecorate the whole room) – areon the entrance wall.

Tintoretto finished hiscontribution to the Saladell’Albergo in 1567. Eightyears later, when the Scuoladecided to proceed with theembellishment of the mainupper hall – the chapter house– he undertook to do the workin return for nothing more thanhis expenses. In the event hewas awarded a lifetime annuity,and then commenced theceiling.The Scuola’s governorswere so pleased with these threelarge panels that he was giventhe task of completing thedecoration of the entire interior.The New Testament scenesaround the walls defy everyconvention of perspective,lighting, colour and evenanatomy, a feat of sustainedinventiveness that has few equalsin western art.Though he wasin his late sixties when he cameto paint the lower hall, there isno sign of flagging creativity:indeed, the landscapes in theFlight into Egypt and themeditative depictions of St MaryMagdalen and St Mary of Egyptare among the finest he evercreated.

The church of San RoccoDaily 8am–noon & 3–5pm. Yet moreTintorettos are to be found inthe neighbouring church of SanRocco. On the right wall of the

nave you’ll find St Roch Taken toPrison, and below it The Pool ofBethesda; only the latter isdefinitely by Tintoretto.Between the altars on the otherside are a couple of goodpictures by Pordenone – StChristopher and St Martin. Fourlarge paintings by Tintorettohang in the chancel, often eitherlost in the gloom or glazed withsunlight: the best (both paintedin 1549) are St Roch Curing thePlague Victims (lower right) andSt Roch in Prison (lower left).

San PantaleoneMon–Sat 4–6pm. The church ofSan Pantaleone, a short distanceto the south of San Rocco, hasthe most melodramatic ceilingin Venice. Painted on sixtypanels, some of which actuallyjut out over the nave, TheMartyrdom and Apotheosis of StPantaleone kept Gian AntonioFumiani busy from 1680 to1704. Sadly, he never got thechance to bask in the glory ofhis labours – he died in a fallfrom the scaffolding from whichhe’d been working. In addition,the church possesses a finepicture by Antonio Vivarini andGiovanni d’Alemagna (in thechapel to the left of the chancel)and Veronese’s last painting, StPantaleone Healing a Boy (secondchapel on right).

The Scuola di San GiovanniEvangelista Another of the Scuole Grandenestles in a line of drabbuildings very near to the Frari– the Scuola di San GiovanniEvangelista.This institution’sfinest hour came in 1369, whenit was presented with a relic ofthe True Cross.The miracleseffected by the relic werecommemorated in a series ofpaintings by Carpaccio, Gentile


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Bellini and others, nowtransplanted to the Accademia.Nowadays the chief attraction ofthe Scuola is the superb screenof the outer courtyard, built in1481 by Pietro Lombardo.Approached from the trainstation direction, the screen justlooks like any old brick wall,but its other face is awonderfully delicate piece ofmarble carving.

The Tolentini and theGiardino PapadopoliCalle della Lacca–FondamentaSacchere–Calle Amai is a dullishbut uncomplicated route fromSan Giovanni Evangelista to theportentous church of SanNicolò da Tolentino – alias theTolentini (daily 8am–noon &4.30–6.30pm).Among its scoresof seventeenth-centurypaintings, two really stand out: aSt Jerome by Johann Lys, on thewall outside the chancel, to theleft; and St Lawrence Giving Almsby Bernardo Strozzi, round thecorner from the Lys painting.Up the left wall of the chancelswirls the best Baroquemonument in Venice: the tombof Francesco Morosini,

created in 1678 by a Genoesesculptor, Filippo Parodi.

If fatigue is setting in and youneed a pit stop, make for thenearby Giardino Papadopoli,formerly one of Venice’s biggestprivate gardens but now ownedby the city.

ShopsBottega dei MascareriCalle del Cristo 2919. Run for manyyears by the brothers Sergio andMassimo Boldrin, the Bottegadei Mascareri sells somewonderfully inventive masks,such as faces taken from Tiepolopaintings or Donald Sutherlandin Fellini’s Casanova.

Francis ModelRuga Rialto 773a. A father-and-sonworkshop that produces high-quality handbags and briefcases.

La ScialuppaCalle Seconda Saoneri. For auniquely Venetian gift, call in atGilberto Penzo’s shop, whichsells well-priced models, modelkits and elegantly drawn plansfor Venetian boats.


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PollieroCampo dei Frari 2995. Abookbinding workshop that sellspatterned paper as well as heavy,leather-bound albums ofhandmade plain paper.

Rialto marketThe market of markets, whereyou can buy everything youneed for an impromptu feast –wine, cheese (the best stalls inthe city are here), fruit, salami,vegetables, and bread fromnearby bakers or alimentari(delicatessens).

TragicomicaCalle dei Nomboli 2800. Open daily. Agood range of masks and somenice eighteenth-century styles,as you might expect from ashop that’s opposite Goldoni’shouse.

Valeria BellinasoCampo Sant’Aponal 1226. Delicatesilk and velvet shoes, bags, hatsand gloves.

Cafés andpasticcerieTonoloCrosera S. Pantalon 3764. Closed Mon.One of the busiest cafés on oneof the busiest streets of thestudent district; especially hecticon Sunday mornings, when thefancy Tonolo cakes are in highdemand.

RestaurantsAe OcheCalle del Tentor 1552. Daily noon–3pm& 7pm–midnight, until 1am Fri & Sat.Excellent rustic pizzeria on analley that leads into the south

side of Campo S. Giacomodell’Orio. Has about eightyvarieties to choose from, so ifthis doesn’t do you, nothingwill; on summer evenings ifyou’re not there by 8pm youmay have to queue on thepavement.

Alla MadonnaCalle della Madonna 594. Closed Wed.Roomy, loud and bustlingseafood restaurant that’s beengoing strong for four decades.Little finesse but good value formoney, and many locals rate itskitchen as one of the city’s best,though standards are far fromconsistent. Reservations notaccepted, so be prepared toqueue.

BancogiroSottoportego del Banco Giro 122. Openuntil midnight, closed Sun evening andall Mon. Popular small brick-vaulted restaurant-cum-bar, in asplendid location by the Rialtomarket. Come here to samplethe innovative, moderately


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priced food or just to nurse aglass of fine wine beside theCanal Grande.

Da FioreCalle del Scaleter 2202aT041.731.308. Closed Sun & Mon.Refined, elegant restaurant offCampo San Polo; prides itselfon its seafood, regional cheeses,desserts, homemade bread andwine list. Generally consideredamong the very best in Venice,and service is faultless.You canalso drop into the tiny front-room bar for a glass of high-quality wine.

Da SandroCampiello dei Meloni. Open until12.30am, closed Fri. Split-sitepizzeria-trattoria, with rooms onboth sides of the campiello andtables on the pavement. Oftenfrenetic, though not aggressivelyso.The pizzas are the best thingthey do.

Il RefoloCampiello del Piovan 1459. ClosedMon, and Tues lunch. Run by the

son of the owner of the famousDa Fiore, this excellent canalsidepizzeria fills up the tiny squarewhich fronts the church of SanGiacomo dell’Orio. Good forsalads as well.

Jazz Club 900Campiello del Sansoni 900. Open untilmidnight or later, closed Mon. Just offRuga Vecchia S. Giovanni, thedark-panelled Novecento servessome of the best pizzas in thecity, accompanied by non-stopjazz (live on Wednesdays exceptin summer).

La ZuccaPonte del Megio 1762T041.524.1570. Closed Sun. Long awell-respected restaurant, LaZucca was once a vegetarianestablishment (its name means“pumpkin”) but now goesagainst the Venetian grain byfeaturing a lot of meat –chicken, lamb, beef – andcurries.The quality remainshigh, the prices moderate andthe canalside setting is nice.


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Osteria al Ponte,“La Patatina”2741a Calle dei Saoneri. Closed Sun.Bustling osteria, serving excellentcicheti and other Venetianspecialities, with well-priced setmenus that change regularly.

RibòFondamenta Minotto 158T041.524.2486. Closed Wed. Co-owned by Matteo Serena,former chef at Da Fiore, this isan airy modern establishment(grey marble floors, white walls)where the cuisine is light andmodern too. The “businesslunch” is something of a bargainat e20, but in the eveningexpect to pay at least twice that.

Bars and snacksAntico DoloRuga Vecchia S. Giovanni 778. ClosedSun. Excellent osteria-styleestablishment, a good source ofwine and snacks near the Rialto.

Café BlueCalle dei Preti 3778. Mon–Sat8am–2am. Lively student haunt

where afternoon teas and cakesare on offer as well as whiskiesand cocktails. Puts on artexhibitions, has a DJ onWednesdays, and hosts localrock bands from time to time.

Café NoirCrosera San Pantalon 3805. OpenMon–Sat 7am–2am, Sun 7pm–2am.With the neighbouring CaféBlue, this is candidate for thetitle of favourite student bar,with a cosmopolitan all-daycrowd chatting over a spritz orcoffee.

Do MoriCalle Do Mori 429. Mon–Sat8.30am–8.30pm. Hidden just offRuga Vecchia S. Giovanni, this isthe most authentic old-styleVenetian bar in the market area– some would say in the entirecity. It’s a single narrow room,with no seating, packed everyevening with home-boundshopworkers, Rialto porters, andlocals just out for a stroll.Delicious snacks, great range ofwines, terrific atmosphere.


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CannaregioThe hustle around the train station is a misleadingintroduction to Cannaregio, because in this sestiere it’svery easy to get well away from the tourist crowds. Thepleasures of Cannaregio are generally more a matter ofatmosphere than of specific sights, but you shouldn’tleave Venice without seeing the Ghetto, the first area inthe world to bear that name. There are some specialbuildings to visit too: Madonna dell’Orto, with its

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astonishing Tintoretto paintings; Sant’Alvise and thePalazzo Labia, both remarkable for work byGiambattista Tiepolo; the Ca’ d’Oro, a gorgeous CanalGrande palace housing a good art collection; and theGesuiti, a Baroque creation which boasts perhaps theweirdest interior in the city.

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The ScalziDaily 7–11.50am & 4–6.50pm. Rightby the station stands the Scalzi(formally Santa Maria di

Nazaretta), which was begun in1672 for the barefoot (“scalzi”)order of Carmelites, but isanything but barefoot itself –

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the opulent interior is platedwith dark, multicoloured marbleand overgrown with Baroquestatuary. Before an Austrianbomb plummeted through theroof in 1915 there was asplendid Giambattista Tiepoloceiling here; a couple of scrapsare preserved in the Accademia,and some wan frescoes byTiepolo survive in the firstchapel on the left and thesecond on the right.The secondchapel on the left is the restingplace of Lodovico Manin(d.1802),Venice’s last doge.

San GeremiaMon–Sat 8am–noon & 3.30–6.30pm,Sun 9.15am–12.15pm &5.30–6.30pm. The church of SanGeremia, at the end of thetawdry Lista di Spagna, is wherethe travels of St Lucy eventuallyterminated – martyred inSyracuse in 304, she was stolenfrom Constantinople byVenetian Crusaders in 1204,then ousted from her ownchurch in Venice in the mid-nineteenth century, when it wasdemolished to make way for thetrain station. Her dessicatedbody, wearing a lustrous silver

mask, lies behind the altar;nothing else about the church isof interest, except the twelfth-century campanile, one of theoldest left in the city.

Palazzo Labia The Palazzo Labia, next door toSan Geremia, was built in1720–50 for a famouslyextravagant Catalan family bythe name of Lasbias. No soonerwas the interior completed thanGiambattista Tiepolo was hiredto cover the walls of theballroom with frescoes depictingthe story of Anthony andCleopatra. Restored tosomething approaching itsoriginal freshness after years ofneglect, this is the onlysequence of Tiepolo paintings inVenice that is comparable to hisnarrative masterpieces inmainland villas such as the VillaValmarana near Vicenza. RAI,the Italian state broadcastingcompany, now owns the palace,but they allow visitors in for afew hours each week (usuallyWed,Thurs & Fri 3–4pm; freeadmission is often granted at thedoor).


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San GiobbeMon–Sat 10am–noon & 4–6pm. ThePalazzo Labia’s longest facadeoverlooks the Canale diCannaregio, the main entranceto Venice before the rail androad links were constructed; ifyou turn left along itsfondamenta rather than goingwith the flow over the Pontedelle Guglie, you’ll reach thePonte dei Tre Archi (Venice’sonly multiple-span bridge) andthe church of San Giobbe.Dedicated to Job, whosesufferings greatly endeared himto the Venetians (who wereregularly afflicted with malaria,plague and a plethora of water-related diseases), the church isinteresting mainly for itsexquisitely carved doorway andchancel – the first Venetianprojects of Pietro Lombardo.The tomb with the ludicrouslions is the resting place of themagnificently named Renato deVoyer de Palmy Signored’Argeson, who served asFrench ambassador to Venice.

The GhettoThe name of the VenetianGhetto – a name bequeathed toall other such enclaves ofoppression – is probably derivedfrom the Venetian dialect geto,

permanent protection – at aprice. In 1516 the GhettoNuovo became Venice’s Jewishquarter, when all the city’s Jewswere forced to move onto thissmall island in the north ofCannaregio.At night the Ghettowas sealed by gates, yet Venicewas markedly liberal by thestandards of the time, and theGhetto’s population was oftenswelled by refugees from lesstolerant societies – indeed, theJewish population soon spreadinto the Ghetto Vecchio(1541) and the GhettoNuovissimo (1633).The gatesof the Ghetto were finally torndown by Napoleon in 1797, butit wasn’t until the unification ofItaly that Jews achieved equalstatus with their fellow citizens.

Each wave of Jewishimmigrants maintained theirown synagogues with theirdistinctive rites: the ScolaTedesca (for German Jews) wasfounded in 1528, the Scola alCanton (probably Jews fromProvence) in 1531–32, the ScolaLevantina (easternMediterranean) in 1538, theScola Spagnola (Spanish) at anuncertain date in the latersixteenth century, and the ScolaItaliana in 1575. Funded byparticularly prosperous trading


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foundry, which is whatthis area used to be.The creation of theGhetto was aconsequence of theWar of the League ofCambrai, whenhundreds of Jews fledthe mainland in fear ofthe Imperial army.Gaining safe haven inVenice, many of thefugitives donated fundsfor the defence of thecity, and wererewarded with

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communities, the ScolaLevantina and the ScolaSpagnola are the most lavish ofthe synagogues, and are the onlytwo still used on a daily basis.

Depending on the season, oneof the above can be viewed,along with the Scola al Cantonand the Scola Italiana, in aninformative English-languageguided tour that begins in theMuseo Ebraico, above theScola Tedesca (daily except Sat& Jewish holidays: June–Sept10am–7pm; Oct–May10am–4.30pm; e3 or free withtour, which costs e8; tours inEnglish on the half-hour, lasttour 5.30pm in summer,3.30pm in winter;wwww.jewishvenice.org).Themuseum’s collection consistsmainly of silverware, sacredobjects, textiles and furniture.

In the northern corner of thecampo is a reminder of theultimate suffering of the Jewishpeople: a series of seven reliefsby Arbit Blatas commemoratingthe 200 Venetian Jews deportedto the Nazi death camps.

Sant’Alvise Mon–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 1–5pm. e2or Chorus Pass – see p.171. Locatedon the northern periphery of thecity, the church of Sant’Alvise isnotoriously prone to damp, butrestoration has refreshed thechancel’s immense Road toCalvary by Giambattista Tiepolo.His Crown of Thorns andFlagellation, slightly earlier works,hang on the right-hand wall ofthe nave. Under the nuns’ choiryou’ll find eight small paintings,known as “The BabyCarpaccios” since Ruskinassigned them to the painter’sprecocious childhood; they’re notactually by Carpaccio, but wereproduced around 1470, when hewould indeed have been just an

infant.“Alvise”, by the way, is theVenetian version of Louis/Luigi– the church is dedicated to StLouis of Toulouse.

Campo dei MoriTo get from Sant’Alvise toMadonna dell’Orto you caneither take a one-stop vaporettotrip, or cross over the canal tothe Fondamenta della Sensa, themain street immediately to thesouth. Going this way you’llcome across the Campo deiMori, a square whose name maycome from the four thirteenth-century statues around thecampo.They are popularlyassociated with a family ofmerchants called the Mastellibrothers, who used to live in thepalace into which two of thefigures are embedded – theyhailed from the Morea (thePeloponnese), and hence wereknown as Mori.Venice’s moremalicious citizens used to leavedenunciations at the feet of“Sior Antonio Rioba” (thestatue with the rusty nose), andcirculate vindictive verses signedwith his name.


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Madonna dell’OrtoMon–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 1–5pm. e2or Chorus Pass – see p.171.Madonna dell’Orto, theTintoretto family’s parishchurch, is arguably the finestGothic church in Venice.Founded in the name of StChristopher some time around1350, it was popularly renamedafter a large stone Madonna byGiovanni de’Santi, found in anearby vegetable garden (orto),began working miracles; broughtinto the church in 1377, theheavily restored figure now sitsin the Cappella di San Mauro.

Outside, the church is notablefor its statue of St Christopher, itselegent portal and its campanile,one of the most notablelandmarks when approachingVenice from the northernlagoon. Inside, paintings byTintoretto make a massiveimpact, none more so than theepic picures on each side of thechoir: The Last Judgement andThe Making of the Golden Calf.Other Tintorettos adorn the

chancel, but none is a match forthe tender Presentation of theVirgin, at the end of the rightaisle, which makes a fascinatingcomparison with Titian’sAccademia version of theincident.A major figure of theearly Venetian Renaissance –Cima da Conegliano – isrepresented by a St John theBaptist and Other Saints, on thefirst altar on the right; aMadonna and Child by Cima’sgreat contemporary, GiovanniBellini, used to occupy the firstchapel on the left, but thievesmade off with it in 1993.

Strada Nova The main land route betweenthe train station and the Rialtobridge was created in the 1870sby the Austrians. But whereasthe Lista di Spagna and RioTerrà San Leonardo wereformed by filling canals withearth, the Strada Nova wascreated by simply ploughing aline straight through the housesthat used to stand there. Outside


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the church of Santa Fosca, at thestart of Strada Nova, stands astatue of a true Venetian hero,Fra’ Paolo Sarpi.A brilliantscholar and scientist (he assistedGalileo’s researches), Sarpi wasthe adviser to the Venetian statein its row with the Vatican at thestart of the seventeenth century,when the whole city wasexcommunicated for its refusalto accept papal jurisdiction insecular affairs. One night Sarpiwas walking home past SantaFosca when he was set upon bythree men and left for deadwith a dagger in his face.“Irecognize the style of the HolySee,” Sarpi quipped, punning onthe word “stiletto”. He survived.

Across the Strada Nova, theFarmacia Ponci has the oldestsurviving shop interior inVenice, a wonderful display ofseventeenth-century heavy-dutywoodwork in walnut, kitted outwith eighteenth-centurymajolica vases.

Ca’ d’OroMon 8.15am–2pm, Tues–Sat8.15am–7.15pm. e5. Aninconspicuous calle leads down

to the Ca’ d’Oro (House ofGold), the showpiece ofdomestic Gothic architecture inVenice and home of theGalleria Giorgio Franchetti.The gallery’s main attraction isundoubtedly the St Sebastianpainted by Mantegna shortlybefore his death in 1506, nowinstalled in a chapel-like alcoveon the first floor. Many of thebig names of Venetian art arefound on the second floor, butthe canvases by Titian andTintoretto are not among theirbest, and you’ll get more out ofpieces from less well-knownartists – such as TullioLombardo’s beautifully carvedYoung Couple. Look out too foran anonymous Madonna andChild in the midst of theFlemish collection, a sixteenth-century English alabasterpolyptych of Scenes from the Lifeof St Catherine, and a case ofRenaissance medals containingfine specimens by GentileBellini and Pisanello.

Santi ApostoliDaily 7.30–11.30am & 5–7pm. At theeastern end of the Strada youcome to the Campo dei SantiApostoli, an elbow on the roadfrom the Rialto to the trainstation.The most interestingpart of Santi Apostoli churchis the Cappella Corner, off theright side, where the altarpieceis the Communion of St Lucy byGiambattista Tiepolo. One ofthe inscriptions in the chapel isto Caterina Cornaro, who wasburied here before being movedto San Salvatore; the tomb ofher father Marco (on the right)is probably by Tullio Lombardo,who also carved the peculiarplaque of St Sebastian in thechapel to the right of thechancel.


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The GesuitiDaily 10am–noon & 4–6pm. Themajor monument in thenortheastern corner ofCannaregio is Santa MariaAssunta, commonly knownsimply as the Gesuiti. Built forthe Jesuits in 1714–29, sixdecades after the foundationhere of their first monastery inVenice, the church was clearlyplanned to make an impressionon a city that was habituallymistrustful of the order’s closerelationship with the papacy.Although the disproportionatelyhuge facade clearly wasn’t thework of a weekend, most of theeffort went into the stupefyinginterior, where green and whitemarble covers every wall andstone is carved to resembleswags of damask.The onlypainting to seek out is theMartyrdom of St Lawrence on thefirst altar on the left, which waspainted by Titian in 1558.

The Fondamente NoveThe long waterfront to thenorth of the Gesuiti, theFondamente Nove (or Nuove),is the point at which thevaporetti leave the city for San

Michele, Murano and thenorthern lagoon. On a clear dayyou can follow their course asfar as the distant island ofBurano, and you might even betreated to the startling sight ofthe snowy Dolomite peaks,apparently hanging in the skyover the Veneto.

RestaurantsAl BaccoFondamenta delle Cappuccine 3054T041.717.493. Closed Mon. Like theAntica Mola, further east alongthe canal, Al Bacco started life asa humble neighbourhood stop-off, but has grown into a fullyfledged restaurant, with prices tomatch. It retains a rough-and-ready feel, but the food isdistinctly classy.

Alla VedovaCalle del Pistor 3912. Closed all Thurs& Sun lunch. Located in an alleydirectly opposite the oneleading to the Ca’ d’Oro, thislong-established and modestlypriced little restaurant is frontedby a bar offering amouthwatering selection of


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cicheti (the polpette are famous)and a good range of wines. Nocredit cards.

Anice StellatoFondamenta della Sensa 3272T041.720.744. Closed Mon & Tues.Hugely popular with Venetiansfor the superb, reasonably pricedmeals and unfussy atmosphere.Situated by one of thenorthernmost Cannaregiocanals, it’s rather too remote formost tourists. If you can’t get atable – it’s frequently bookedsolid – at least drop by for theexcellent cicheti at the bar.

Antica Mola Fondamenta degli Ormesini 2800.Closed Wed.This family-runtrattoria, near the Ghetto, hasbecome very popular withtourists, but the food remainsgood value.There’s a nicegarden at the back and canalsidetables out front.

Bentigodi Calle Sele 1423 t041.716.269. ClosedSun & Mon. Friendly modernosteria just outside the ghetto,run by Elena, whose husbandruns Bancogiro in San Polo. Sheserves the same inventive andmoderately priced Venetiandishes, backed up by anextensive wine list. No creditcards. Booking advisable.

Casa MiaCalle dell’Oca 4430. Closed Tues.Always heaving with locals, whousually go for the pizza listrather than the menu, thoughthe standard dishes are reliableenough.

La ColombinaCampiello del Pegolotto 1828t041.275.0622. Daily 6.30pm–2am.This trendy bar-cum-restauranthas been putting more emphasis

on the lattter aspect of thebusiness recently, with greatsuccess.The huge wine list isstill crucial to its appeal, but themenu is strikingly dissimilar tomany of its mid-range rivals,mixing Venetian aquaticstandards with Tuscan meatdishes.

Il Sole sulla Vecia Cavana Rio Terá SS Apostoli 4624t041.528.7106, wwww.veciacavana.it. Closed Mon. Theorange walls and woodenpanelling create an invitinginterior, and the mouth-watering menu, carefullyassembled by owner StefanoMonti, is similarly appealing,ranging from a wonderful tunatartare to a deliciously strangebasil ice-cream. Not cheap, butwell worth the money. Excellentwines.

Vini da GigioFondamenta S. Felice 3628a. ClosedMon. Popular, family-run winebar-trattoria. It’s now on the


http://www.veciacavana.it

http://www.veciacavana.it

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tourist map yet it retains itsauthenticity and is still, byVenetian standards, excellentvalue.

Bars and snacksCantina Vecia CarboneraRio Terrà della Maddalena 2329. Opentill 11pm most nights, closed Mon.Old-style bacarò atmosphere andchilled-out playlist attract ayoung, stylish clientele. Goodwine, excellent snacks andplenty of space to sit down.

IguanaFondamenta della Misericordia 2517.Open Tues–Sun till 2am, happy hour6–7.30pm. This cross between abacarò and a Mexican cantinaserves reasonably priced Tex-Mex fare to a young crowd.

Live music (Latin, rock and jazz)Tues 9–11pm.

Osteria ai Ormesini da AldoFondamenta degli Ormesini 2710.Open Mon–Sat till 2am. One of anumber of bars beside this longcanal, and a particularly pleasantspot for a lunchtime snack inthe sun.

Paradiso PerdutoFondamenta della Misericordia 2540.Open 7.30pm to midnight or later,closed Wed. Lashings of simple(but not always inexpensive)Venetian food are served atrefectory-like tables, butessentially this place is Venice’sleading boho bar, attractingstudents, arty types and the gaycommunity. Music – blues, jazzor whatever – usually on Sun,sometimes Mon.


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Central CastelloBordering San Marco on one side and spreading acrossthe city from Cannaregio in the west to the housingestates of Sant’Elena in the east, Castello is sounwieldy a sestiere that somewhat altered boundarieshave been used in laying out our guide. In the west, thischapter starts off from the waterway that cuts round theback of Santi Apostoli to the northern lagoon, and stopsin the east at a line drawn north from the landmarkPietà church; the atmospherically distinct area beyondthis boundary is covered in the next chapter.

The points of interest in this area are evenlydistributed, but in terms of its importance and itsgeographical location, Castello’s central building is theimmense Gothic church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo (orZanipolo), the pantheon of Venice’s doges. A couple ofminutes away stands the much-loved Santa Maria deiMiracoli, which in turn is close to the often overlookedSan Giovanni Crisostomo. The museums lie in thesouthern zone – the Querini-Stampalia picturecollection, the museum at San Giorgio dei Greci, andthe Museo Diocesano’s sacred art collection. Thissouthern area’s dominant building is the majestic SanZaccaria, right by the southern waterfront and Venice’smain promenade, the Riva degli Schiavoni.

Baptist, Liberale, Mary Magdalen,Agnes and Catherine, painted in1509–11.

Teatro MalibranBehind San GiovanniCrisostomo is the TeatroMalibran, which opened in theseventeenth century, was rebuiltin the 1790s, and soon afterrenamed in honour of the greatsoprano Maria Malibran(1808–36), who saved thetheatre from bankruptcy bygiving a fund-raising recitalhere. Quite recently unveiledfollowing a very protractedrestoration, the Malibran is oneof the city’s chief venues forclassical music.The Byzantine


San Giovanni CrisostomoMon–Sat 8.15am–12.15pm & 3–7pm,Sun 3–7pm. On the western edgeof Castello stands San GiovanniCrisostomo (John the Golden-Mouthed), named after theeloquent Archbishop ofConstantinople. It was possiblythe last project of MauroCodussi, and possesses twooutstanding altarpieces: in thechapel to the right hangs oneof the last works by GiovanniBellini, SS. Jerome, Christopherand Louis of Toulouse, painted in1513 when the artist was in hiseighties; and on the high altar,Sebastiano del Piombo’sgracefully heavy St JohnChrysostom with SS. John the

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arches on the facade of thetheatre are said to have oncebeen part of the house ofMarco Polo’s family, whoprobably lived in the heavilyrestored palace overlooking thecanal at the back of theMalibran, visible from the PonteMarco Polo.

Santa Maria dei MiracoliMon–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 1–5pm. e2or Chorus Pass – see p.171. A hopnorth of here stands the marble-clad church of Santa Maria deiMiracoli, usually known simplyby the last word of its name. Itwas built in 1481–89 to housean image of the Madonna that


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was credited with the revival ofa man who’d spent half an hourat the bottom of the Giudeccacanal and of a woman left fordead after being stabbed.Financed by gifts left at thepainting’s nearby shrine, thechurch was most likely designedby Pietro Lombardo; certainlyhe and his two sons Tullio andAntonio oversaw theconstruction, and the three ofthem executed much of theexquisite carving both insideand out.The miracle-workingMadonna still occupies the altar.

Santi Giovanni e PaoloMon–Sat 7.30am–12.30pm &3.30–7pm, Sun 3–6pm. Like theFrari, the massive Gothic brickedifice of Santi Giovanni ePaolo – slurred by the Venetiandialect into San Zanipolo –was built for one of themendicant orders, whose socialmission (preaching to and

tending the sick and thepoor) required a lot ofspace for theircongregrations.The firstchurch built on this sitewas begun in 1246 afterDoge Giacomo Tiepolowas inspired by a dreamto donate the land to theDominicans.Tiepolo’ssimple sarcophagus isoutside, on the left of thedoor, next to that of hisson Doge LorenzoTiepolo (d.1275); thecavernous interior –approximately 90 metreslong, 38 metres wide atthe transepts, 33 metreshigh in the centre –houses the tombs of sometwenty-five other doges.

The finest funerarymonuments are in the


� S A N T A M A R I A D E I M I R A C O L Ichancel, where Doge MicheleMorosini, who ruled for justfour months before dying ofplague in 1382, is buried in thetomb at the front on the right,a work which to Ruskin’s eyesshowed “the exactlyintermediate condition offeeling between the purecalmness of early Christianity,and the boastful pomp of theRenaissance faithlessness”. Full-blown Renaissance pomp isrepresented by the tomb ofDoge Andrea Vendramin(d.1478), diagonally opposite,while one of the earliestexamples of Renaissance stylein Venice – Pietro Lombardo’stomb for Doge PasqualeMalipiero (d.1462) – is to befound in the left aisle, to theleft of the door to the sacristy.(The sacristy itself contains anexcellent painting,AlviseVivarini’s Christ Carrying theCross.) The Lombardo familywere also responsible for thetombs of Doge Giovanni

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Mocenigo and Doge PietroMocenigo, to the right and leftof the main door. Close by, thesecond altar of the right aisle isadorned by one of Zanipolo’sfinest paintings, GiovanniBellini’s polyptych of SS.Vincent Ferrer, Christopher andSebastian.

At the top of the right aisle, StDominic in Glory, the onlyceiling panel in Venice byGiambattista Piazzetta,Giambattista Tiepolo’s tutor,covers the vault of theCappella di San Domenico,alongside which is a tiny shrinecontaining a relic of StCatherine of Siena. She died in1380 and her body promptlyentered the relic market – mostof it is in Rome, but her head isin Siena, one foot is here, andother, lesser relics are scatteredabout Italy. Round the corner,in the south transept, two othersuperb paintings hang closetogether: a Coronation of theVirgin attributed to Cima daConegliano and GiovanniMartini da Udine, and LorenzoLotto’s St Antonine (1542).

And don’t miss the Cappelladel Rosario, at the end of thenorth transept. In 1867 a firedestroyed its paintings byTintoretto, plus GiovanniBellini’s Madonna and Titian’sMartyrdom of St Peter, SanZanipolo’s two most celebratedpaintings.A lengthy twentieth-century restoration made use ofsurviving fragments and installedother pieces such as Veronese’sceiling panels of TheAnnunciation, The Assumption andThe Adoration of the Shepherds,and another Adoration by himon the left of the door.

The Colleoni monumentWhen he died in 1475, themercenary captain BartolomeoColleoni left a legacy of some700,000 ducats to the Venetianstate. But there was a snag: theSignoria could have the moneyonly if an equestrian monumentto him were erected in thesquare before San Marco – anunthinkable proposition toVenice’s rulers, with their cult ofanonymity.The problem wascircumvented with a fine piece


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of disingenuousness, by whichColleoni’s will was taken topermit the raising of the statuebefore the Scuola di San Marco,rather than the Basilica.AndreaVerrocchio’s statue wasn’t finallyunveiled until 1496, but the waitwas certainly worth it: thisidealized image of steelymasculinity is one of themasterpieces of Renaissancesculpture.

The Scuola Grandedi San MarcoColleoni’s backdrop, the ScuolaGrande di San Marco, nowprovides a sumptuous facadeand foyer for Venice’s hospital.The facade was started by PietroLombardo and Giovanni Buorain 1487, half a century after thescuola moved here from itsoriginal home over in the SantaCroce sestiere, and finished in1495 by Mauro Codussi.Takenas a whole, the perspectivalpanels by Tullio and AntonioLombardo might not quitecreate the intended illusion, butthey are nonetheless among themost charming sculptural piecesin Venice.

The Ospedaletto April–Sept Thurs–Sat 3.30–6.30pm;Oct–March same days 3–6pm.Another hospital block isattached to the church of theOspedaletto (or Santa Maria deiDerelitti), beyond the east endof Zanipolo.The leering giants’heads and over-ripe decorationsof its facade made it “the mostmonstrous” building in the city,according to Ruskin.The muchless extravagant interior has aseries of eighteenth-centurypaintings high on the wallsabove the arches, one of which– The Sacrifice of Isaac – is anearly Giambattista Tiepolo(fourth on the right).The

adjoining music room (e2),frescoed in the eighteenthcentury, is still used forconcerts, many of them free.

Santa Maria FormosaThe wide Campo di SantaMaria Formosa, virtuallyequidistant from the Piazza, SanZanipolo and the Ponte diRialto, is a major confluence ofroutes on the east side of theCanal Grande, and one of themost attractive and atmosphericsquares in the city.

The church of Santa MariaFormosa (Mon–Sat10am–5pm, Sun 1–5pm; e2, orChorus Pass – see p.171) wasfounded in the seventh centuryby San Magno, Bishop ofOderzo, who was guided by adream in which he saw theMadonna formosa – a wordwhich most closely translates asbuxom and beautiful. Outside,


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the most unusual feature is themask at the base of thecampanile: both a talismanagainst the evil eye and adepiction of a man with thesame rare congenital disorder asdisfigured the so-called ElephantMan.The church contains twogood paintings. Entering fromthe west side, the first one you’llsee is Bartolomeo Vivarini’striptych of The Madonna of theMisericordia (1473), in a navechapel on the right-hand side ofthe church. Nearby, closer to themain altar, is Palma il Vecchio’sSt Barbara (1522–24), praised byGeorge Eliot as “an almostunique presentation of a hero-woman”. Barbara is the patronsaint of artillery-men, which iswhy the painting shows hertreading on a cannon.

Santa Maria della FavaDaily 8.30am–noon & 4.30–7.30pm.Between Santa Maria Formosaand the Rialto stands the churchof Santa Maria della Fava (orSanta Maria dellaConsolazione), whose peculiarname derives from a sweet cakecalled a fava (bean), once an AllSouls’ Day speciality of a localbaker and still a seasonal treat.On the first altar on the rightstands Giambattista Tiepolo’searly Education of the Virgin(1732); on the other side of thechurch there’s The Madonna andSt Philip Neri, painted five yearsearlier by Giambattista Piazzetta.

The Querini-Stampalia Tues–Sun 10am–6pm, until 10pm Fri &Sat. e6. On the south side ofCampo Santa Maria Formosa, afootbridge over a narrow canalleads into the Palazzo Querini-Stampalia, home of thePinacoteca Querini-Stampalia.Although there is abatch of Renaissance pieces

here, the general tone is set bythe culture of eighteenth-century Venice, a period towhich much of the palace’sdecor belongs.The winninglyinept pieces by Gabriel Bellaform a comprehensive record ofVenetian social life in thatcentury, and the moreaccomplished genre paintings ofPietro and Alessandro Longhifeature prominently as well.Make sure you take a look atthe gardens and ground-floorexhibition space – they wereredesigned in the 1960s by thesleek modernist Carlo Scarpa.

The Museo DiocesanoDaily 10.30am–12.30pm. Donationrequested. Beside the Rio diPalazzo, at the back of thePalazzo Ducale, stands the earlyfourteenth-century cloister ofSant’Apollonia, the onlyRomanesque cloister in the city.Fragments from the Basilica diSan Marco dating back to theninth century are displayed here,and a miscellany of sculpturalpieces from other churches areon show in the adjoiningMuseo Diocesano d’ArteSacra, where the permanentcollection consists chiefly of arange of religious artefacts andpaintings gathered fromchurches that have closed downor entrusted their possessions tothe safety of the museum. Inaddition, freshly restored worksfrom other collections orchurches sometimes passthrough here, giving themuseum an edge ofunpredictability.

San ZaccariaDaily 10am–noon & 4–6pm. East ofSant’Apollonia, the Salizzada diSan Provolo, leading east out ofCampo Santi Filippo eGiacomo, runs straight to the


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elegant Campo San Zaccaria,a spot with a chequered past. In864 Doge Pietro Tradonico wasmurdered in the campo as hereturned from vespers, and in1172 Doge Vitale Michiel II,having not only blundered inpeace negotiations with theByzantine empire but alsobrought the plague back withhim from Constantinople, wasmurdered as he fled for thesanctuary of San Zaccaria.

Founded in the ninth centuryas a shrine for the body ofZaccharias, father of John theBaptist, the church of SanZaccaria had already beenrebuilt several times when, in1444,Antonio Gambelloembarked on a massiverebuilding project that wasconcluded some seventy yearslater by Mauro Codussi, whotook over the facade from thefirst storey upwards.The endresult is a distinctively Venetianmixture of Gothic andRenaissance styles.

The interior’s notablearchitectural feature is its

ambulatory: unique in Venice, itmight have been built toaccommodate the annual ritualof the doges’ Easter Sundayvisit. Nearly every inch of wallsurface is hung withseventeenth- and eighteenth-century paintings, all of themoutshone by Giovanni Bellini’slarge Madonna and Four Saints(1505), on the second altar onthe left.The e1 fee payable toenter the Cappella diSant’Atanasio and Cappella diSan Tarasio (off the right aisle) iswell worth it for the threewonderful composite altarpiecesby Antonio Vivarini andGiovanni d’Alemagna (all 1443).Downstairs is the spooky andperpetually waterlogged ninth-century crypt, the burial placeof eight early doges.

The Riva degli SchiavoniThe broad Riva degliSchiavoni, stretching from theedge of the Palazzo Ducale tothe canal just before theArsenale entrance, is constantlythronged during the day, with


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an unceasing flow ofpromenading tourists andpassengers hurrying to and fromits vaporetto stops, threadingthrough the souvenir stalls andpast the wares of the Africanstreet vendors.The Riva haslong been one of Venice’s smartaddresses. Petrarch and hisdaughter lived at no. 4145 in1362–67, and Henry Jamesstayed at no. 4161, battlingagainst constant distractions tofinish The Portrait of a Lady.George Sand, Charles Dickens,Proust,Wagner and the ever-present Ruskin all checked in atthe Hotel Danieli (see p.161).

The PietàDaily 10am–noon & 4–6pm. Themain eyecatcher on the Riva isthe white facade of Santa Mariadella Visitazione, known lesscumbersomely as La Pietà.Vivaldi wrote many of hisfinest pieces for the orphanageattached to the church, wherehe worked as violinmaster(1704–18) and later aschoirmaster (1735–38). DuringVivaldi’s second term GiorgioMassari won a competition torebuild the church, and it’sprobable that the composeradvised him on acoustics,though building didn’t beginuntil after Vivaldi’s death.Thewhite and gold interior iscrowned by a superb ceilingpainting of The Glory of Paradiseby Giambattista Tiepolo.Unfortunately the Pietà is stillone of Venice’s busiest musicvenues, mostly for second-raterenditions of Vivaldi favourites,and just about the only timeyou can get a peek inside iswhen the box office is open.

The Greek quarterA couple of minutes’ walk northof La Pietà, the campanile of

San Giorgio dei Greci(Mon–Sat 9.30am–1pm &3.30–5.30pm, Sun 9am–1pm)lurches spectacularly canalwards.The Greek presence in Venicewas strong from the eleventhcentury, and became strongerstill after the Turkish seizure ofConstantinople. Built a centurylater, the church has Orthodoxarchitectural elements includinga matroneo (women’s gallery)above the main entrance and aniconostasis (or rood screen) thatcompletely cuts off the highaltar.The icons on the screeninclude a few Byzantine piecesdating back as far as the twelfthcentury.

The Scuola di San Nicolò deiGreci, to the left of the church,now houses the Museo diDipinti Sacri Bizantini(Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm &2–4.30pm, Sun 10am–5pm;e4), a collection ofpredominantly fifteenth- toeighteenth-century icons, manyof them by the Madoneri, theschool of Greek and Cretanartists working in Venice in thatperiod.

ShopsCoinSalizzada San Giovanni Crisotomo5790. Founded in Venice, Coin isnow a nationwide departmentstore, specialising in clothes.Aninexpensive way to acquire asemblance of Italian style.

Filippi Editore VeneziaCaselleria 5284 & Calle del Paradiso5763. The family-run Filippibusiness produces a vast range ofVenice-related facsimileeditions, including FrancescoSansovino’s sixteenth-centuryguide to the city (the first cityguide ever published) and sells


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an amazing stock of booksabout Venice in its two shops.

Kerer Palazzo Trevisan-Cappello, on RioCanonica. Occupying part of ahuge palazzo at the rear of theBasilica di San Marco, this vastshowroom sells a wide range oflace, both affordable andexclusive.

Cafés andpasticcerieDidovich Campo Marina 5910. Open Mon–Sat till8pm. A new but already highlyregarded pasticceria – some saywith the city’s best tiramisù andpastine (aubergine, pumpkin andother savoury tarts). Standingroom only inside, but hasoutdoor tables.

La Boutique del Gelato Salizzada S. Lio 5727. Open daily.Top-grade ice creams at thissmall outlet.

Rosa Salva Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo.Another branch of Venice’sleading café chain. Excellentcoffee, if low on charisma.

Snack & SweetSalizzada S. Lio 5689. Closed Sat.Pasticceria and bar with aglorious spread of cakes andsandwiches.

RestaurantsAciughetaCampo SS. Filippo e Giacomo 4357.Closed Wed. A bar with a sizeablepizzeria-trattoria attached.Theclosest spot to San Marco to eatwithout paying through thenose, it draws a lot of its customfrom waterbus staff andgondoliers. Good bar food tonibble or have as a meal.Thename translates as “the littleanchovy” and there are paintingsof anchovies on the wall.

Alle TestiereCalle Mondo Nuovo 5801T041.522.7220. Closed Sun & Mon,

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and mid-July to mid-Aug. Very smallmid-range seafood restaurantnear Santa Maria Formosa, withexcellent daily specials and asuperb wine selection. Sittings at7pm and 9pm to handle thedemand.

Da RemigioSalizzada dei Greci 3416T041.523.0089. Closed Mon eveningand all Tues. Brilliant trattoria,serving gorgeous homemadegnocchi. Be sure to book – thelocals pack this place everynight. Prices are rising in tandemwith its burgeoning reputation,but are still reasonable.

Fiaschetteria ToscanaSalizzada S. Giovanni Crisostomo 5719T041.528.5281. Closed Mon lunch,Tues, a few days after Carnevale andmid-July to mid-Aug. The name ofthis upmarket restaurant means“Tuscan Wine Shop”, but themenu is quintessentially Venetian.Highly rated for its food, theFiaschetteria also has anexcellent wine list.The service isimmaculate, and the place has anunderstated elegance.

Bars and snacksAl PonteCalle Larga G. Gallina 6378. Open till8.30pm, closed Sun. Typical osteriajust off Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo. Good for a glass ofwine and a snack.

Cip Ciap Calle Mondo Nuovo 5799. Open9am–9pm, closed Tues. Located

across the canal from the westside of Santa Maria Formosa,this place offers the widest rangeof take-out pizza slices (pizza altaglio) in the city.

Enoteca MascaretaCalle Lunga Santa Maria Formosa5183. Mon–Sat 6pm–1am. Buzzingwine bar with delicious snacks.

L’Olandese VolanteCampo San Lio. Open until 12.30am,until 2am Fri & Sat, closed Sunmorning. The “Flying Dutchman”is a busy brasserie-style pubwith plenty of outdoor tables.

Osteria da BacoCalle delle Rasse 4620. Open daily untilmidnight or later. Traditional-styleosteria, with a wide selection offilling sandwiches.

MusicTeatro MalibranCorte Milion 5873. The city’s mainvenue for big-name classicalconcerts, but it also hosts theoccasional major-league jazz gigand Italian rockers such asLigabue.Tickets usually start ataround e30 (with discounts forunder-30s), and can be boughtin advance from the Fenice boxoffice (see p.75) or the Cassa diRisparmio di Venezia, CampoSan Luca (see p.66).TheMalibran ticket office sellstickets only on the night of theconcert, from around 30minbefore the start.



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Eastern CastelloFor all that most visitors see of the eastern section ofthe Castello sestiere, the city may as well peter out afew metres beyond the Palazzo Ducale. Sights are thinlyspread here, and a huge bite is taken out of the area bythe wharves of the Arsenale, yet the slab of the cityimmediately to the west of the Arsenale contains places

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Scuola diS. Giorgio

Tana 52, 23

OspedaleCivile 41, 42, 51, 52

Celestia41, 42, 51, 52

S. Francescodella Vigna

S. Lorenzo

LaPietà

S. Giovanni in Bragora

MuseoStoricoNavale

Ca' di Dio

S. Francescodi Paola

Giardini1, 41, 42, 51, 52, N

S. Giustina

S. Antonino

S. GiorgioMaggiore

Teatro Verde

S. Zaccaria

S. Zaccaria1, 14, 20, 41,

42, 51, 52, 82, N

Bacini41, 42, 51, 52

S. Martino

S. Biagio

82, N

Arsenale 141, 42

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RIVA S. BIAGIO V. GARIBALDI

RIVA DEI SETTE MARTIRI

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GiardiniGaribaldi

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that shouldn’t be ignored – the Renaissance SanFrancesco della Vigna, for example, and the Scuoladi San Giorgio degli Schiavoni, with its endearingcycle of paintings by Carpaccio. And although themainly residential area beyond the Arsenale has little tooffer in the way of cultural monuments other than theex-cathedral of San Pietro di Castello and the churchof Sant’Elena, it would be a mistake to leave theeasternmost zone unexplored. For one thing, the whole

FootballStadium

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VLE. S. ELENAS. Elena

S. Pietro di Castello

S. Pietro51, 52

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S. Elena1, 41, 42, 51, 52

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BARS & SNACKSAlla Rampa

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FrancescoR. della Celestia

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length of the waterfront gives spectacular panoramas ofthe city, with the best coming last.

Sun 10am–12.30pm. e3. Venice hastwo brilliant cycles of picturesby Vittore Carpaccio, themost disarming of Venetianartists – one is in theAccademia, the other in theScuola di San Giorgio degliSchiavoni, the confraternity ofVenice’s Slavic community.Thecycle illustrates mainly the livesof the Dalmatian patron saints –George,Tryphone and Jerome.As always with Carpaccio, whatholds your attention is not somuch the main event as theincidental details with which hepacks the scene, such as thelimb-strewn feeding-ground ofSt George’s dragon, or theendearing little white dog inThe Vision of St Augustine (hewas writing to St Jerome whena vision told him of Jerome’sdeath).


San Francesco della Vigna Daily 8am–12.30pm & 3–6.30pm.The area that lies to the east ofSan Zanipolo is not anattractive district at first sight,but carry on east for just acouple of minutes and astriking Renaissance facadeblocks your way.The groundoccupied by San Francescodella Vigna has a hallowed placein the mythology of Venice, asaccording to tradition it wasaround here that the angelappeared to St Mark to tell himthat the lagoon islands were tobe his final resting place. Begunin 1534, the present buildingwas much modified in thecourse of its construction.Palladio was brought in toprovide the facade, a featurethat looks like something of anafterthought from the side, butwhich must have been stunningat the time.

The interior has some fineworks of art, notably aglowingly colourful Madonnaand Child Enthroned by Antonioda Negroponte (right transept),marvellous sculpture by theLombardo family in theGiustiniani chapel (left of thechancel), and a SacraConversazione by Veronese (lastchapel of the left aisle).A doorat the end of the transept leadsto a pair of tranquil fifteenth-century cloisters, via theCappella Santa, which has aMadonna and Child by GiovanniBellini and assistants.

The Scuola di San Giorgiodegli SchiavoniApril–Oct Tues–Sat 9.30am–12.30pm& 3.30–6.30pm, Sun9.30am–12.30pm; Nov–MarchTues–Sat 10am–12.30pm & 3–6pm,

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San Giovanni in BrágoraMon–Sat 9–11am & 3.30–5.30pm.San Giovanni in Brágora isprobably best known toVenetians as the baptismalchurch of Antonio Vivaldi.Thechurch is dedicated to theBaptist, and some people thinkthat its strange suffix is areference to a region fromwhich some relics of the saintwere once brought; others linkthe name to the old dialectwords for mud (brago) andbackwater (gora).The presentstructure was begun in 1475,and its best paintings werecreated within a quarter-centuryof the rebuilding: a triptych byBartolomeo Vivarini, on the wallbetween the first and secondchapels on the right; aResurrection by Alvise Vivarini, tothe left of the sacristy door; andtwo paintings by Cima daConegliano – a SS. Helen andConstantine, to the right of thesacristy door, and a Baptism onthe high altar.

The ArsenaleA corruption of the Arabicdarsin’a (house of industry), thevery name of the Arsenale isindicative of the strength of

Venice’s links with the easternMediterranean, and the workersof these dockyards and factorieswere the foundations uponwhich the city’s maritimesupremacy rested. By the 1420sit had become the base for some300 shipping companies,operating around 3000 vessels of200 tons or more; at theArsenale’s zenith, around themiddle of the sixteenth century,its wet and dry docks, its ropeand sail factories, its ordnancedepots and gunpowder millsemployed a total of 16,000 men– equal to the population of amajor town of the period.

There is no public access tothe Arsenale, but you caninspect the magnificentgateway at close quarters.Thefirst structure in Venice toemploy the classical vocabularyof Renaissance architecture, it isguarded by four photogeniclions brought here from Greece:the two furthest on the rightprobably came from the LionTerrace at Delos, and date fromaround the sixth century BC;the larger pair were stolen fromPiraeus in 1687 by FrancescoMorosini.


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The Museo Storico Navale Mon–Fri 8.45am–1.30pm, Sat8.45am–1pm. e1.55. Documentingevery conceivable facet ofVenice’s naval history, theMuseo Storico Navale is asomewhat diffuse museum, but aselective tour is an essentialsupplement to a walk round theArsenale district. Improbablethough it sounds, the models ofVenetian craft – from thegondola to the 224-oar fightinggalley and the last Bucintoro (thestate ceremonial galley) – willjustify the entrance fee for mostpeople.

Via Garibaldi and San Pietrodi CastelloIn 1808 the greater part of thecanal connecting the Bacino diSan Marco to the broadnortheastern inlet of the Canaledi San Pietro was filled in toform what is now Via Garibaldi,the widest street in the city andthe social hub of the easterndistrict.Via Garibaldi points theway to the island of San Pietro,one of the first parts of centralVenice to be inhabited.Nowadays this is a workadaydistrict where the repairing of

boats is the main occupation,yet it was once the ecclesiasticalcentre of Venice, having beenthe seat of the Patriarch ofVenice until 1807.As with theArsenale, the history of SanPietro is somewhat moreinteresting than what you cansee.The present San Pietro diCastello (Mon–Sat 10am–5pm,Sun 1–5pm; e2 or Chorus Pass– see p.171) is an uncharismaticchurch, its most engagingfeatures being the so-calledThrone of St Peter (right aisle),a marble seat made in thethirteenth century from anArabic funeral stone cut withtexts from the Koran, and thecampanile, one of the mostprecarious in the city.

The public gardens and theBiennale site Stretching from Via Garibaldi tothe Rio di Sant’Elena, the arc ofgreen spaces formed by theGiardini Garibaldi, GiardiniPubblici and Parco delleRimembranze provide aremedy for the claustrophobiathat overtakes most visitors toVenice at some point. Largelyobscured by the trees are the


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rather more extensive groundsbelonging to the Biennale, adormant zone except whenthe art and architectureshindigs are in progress (in thesummer of odd- and even-numbered years respectively).Various countries have builtpermanent pavilions for theirBiennale representatives,forming a unique colony thatfeatures work by some of thegreat names of modernarchitecture and design, such asAlvar Aalto, Gerrit ThomasRietveld and Carlo Scarpa.

Sant’Elena Mon–Sat 5–7pm. The island ofSant’Elena, the city’s easternlimit, was greatly enlargedduring the Austrianadministration, partly tofurnish accommodation andexercise grounds for theoccupying troops. Its sole

degustazione, costing e50(without wine), gives you achance to sample all theirspecialities in one gourmetexperience, and is probably thebest meal that sum will get youin the entire city. If expenditure


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monument is Sant’Elenachurch, founded in thethirteenth century to house thebody of St Helena,Constantine’s mother.Approached between the wallsof the naval college and theramshackle home of Venice’ssecond-division football team,it’s worth visiting for the finedoorway, an ensembleincorporating the monument toVittore Cappello, captain-general of the Republic’s navyin the 1460s, showing himkneeling before Saint Helena.

Restaurants Corte ScontaCalle del Pestrin 3886t041.522.7024. Closed Sun & Mon.Secreted in a lane to the east ofSan Giovanni in Brágora, thisrestaurant is a candidate for thetitle of Venice’s finest.The menù

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is an issue, check the menu inthe window carefully beforegoing in (often the waiters willsimply recite what’s on offerrather than give you anythingprinted). Booking several days inadvance is essential for most ofthe year.

Dai TosiCalle Secco Marina 738t041.523.7102. Open till 11.30pm,closed Wed, and the kitchen oftencloses Mon, Tues and/or Thurs inwinter. Lively pizzeria-trattoriawith a devoted clientele – you’dbe well advised to book at theweekend.There’s a bar in frontof the small dining room, wherethey mix the house aperitif:sgropino, a delicious mingling ofvodka, peach juice,Aperol andprosecco. Not to be confusedwith the establishment of thesame name in the same street.Inexpensive to moderate.

Osteria Sant’ElenaCalle Chinotto 24 t041.520.8419.Open till midnight, closed Tues. Thisutterly genuine neighbourhoodrestaurant is the preserve of theresidents of Sant’Elena exceptwhen the Biennale is in fullswing.The menu is simple, thecooking good, prices fair, andthere’s a bar serving cicheti at thefront; outside tables add to theappeal.

Bars and snacksAlla RampaSalizzada S. Antonin 3607. Closed Sun.Slightly rough and utterlytraditional bar, which has beenrun for more than forty years bythe no-nonsense Signora Leli.Great for an inexpensive glass, ifyou don’t mind being the onlycustomer who isn’t a Venetianmale.


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The Canal GrandeThe Canal Grande is Venice’s high street, and dividesthe city in half, with three sestieri to the west and threeto the east. With the completion of the new bridge tolink the bus and train stations, four bridges will crossthe waterway – the others being at the train station,Rialto and Accademia – but a number of gondolatraghetti provide additional crossing points at regularintervals, as does the #1 vaporetto, which slaloms fromone bank to the other along its entire length. The CanalGrande is almost four kilometres long and varies inwidth between thirty and seventy metres; it is, however,surprisingly shallow, at no point much exceeding fivemetres.

The section that follows is principally a selection ofCanal Grande palaces – the churches and other publicbuildings that you can see from the vaporetto arecovered in the appropriate geographical sections.

building stretches along theCannaregio canal, but from theCanal Grande you can see howthe side wing wraps itself roundthe campanile of theneighbouring church – suchinterlocking is common inVenice, where maximum use hasto be made of available space.

Palazzo Vendramin-CalergiNot far beyond the unfinishedchurch of San Marcuola standsthe Palazzo Vendramin-Calergi.Begun by Mauro Codussi at thevery end of the fifteenthcentury, this was the firstVenetian palace built on classicalRenaissance lines.The palazzo’smost famous resident wasRichard Wagner, who died herein February 1883. It’s now thehome of Venice’s casino.

Ca’ d’OroThe most beguiling palace onthe canal is the Ca’ d’Oro. (Ca’is an abbreviation of Casa –house.) Incorporating fragments


The Left BankIf you come into Venice bytrain, your first sight of theCanal Grande will be from theupper stretch of its left bank,with the vaporetto landingstages directly in front.To theright is the newest of the CanalGrande’s four bridges, thePonte Calatrava, whichconnects to the bus station.Downstream lies the Pontedegli Scalzi, successor of aniron structure put up by theAustrians in 1858–60; like theone at the Accademia, it wasreplaced in the early 1930s togive the new steamboatssufficient clearance.

Palazzo LabiaThe boat passes two churches,the Scalzi and San Geremia,before the first of the majorpalaces comes into view – thePalazzo Labia (completedc.1750).The main facade of the


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San Giacomo dell' Orio

Pal. Pisani Moretta

Pal. Balbi

Ca' FóscariPalazzi

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Ca' Rezzonico Pal. Grassi

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Accademia Pal.Contarini dal Zaffo

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of a thirteenth-century palacethat once stood on the site, theCa’ d’Oro was built in the1420s and 30s, and acquired itsnickname – “The GoldenHouse” – from the gilding thatused to accentuate much of itscarving.

Ca’ da MostoThe arches of the first floor ofthe Ca’ da Mosto and thecarved panels above them areremnants of a thirteenth-century Veneto-Byzantinebuilding, and are thus amongthe oldest structures to be seenon the Canal Grande.Alvise daMosto, discoverer of the CapeVerde Islands, was born here in1432; by the end of that centurythe palazzo had become theAlbergo del Lion Bianco, and fromthen until the nineteenthcentury it was one of Venice’smost popular hotels.

The Fondaco dei TedeschiThe huge building just beforethe Rialto bridge is theFondaco dei Tedeschi, onceheadquarters of the city’sGerman merchants.The

German traders were the mostpowerful foreign grouping inthe city, and as early as 1228they were leased a building onthis central site. In 1505 theFondaco burned down;Giorgione and Titian werecommissioned to paint theexterior of the new fondaco.The remains of theircontribution are now in the Ca’d’Oro.The Fondaco has beenrenovated several times since thesixteenth century, and is nowthe main post office.

Rialto bridgeThe famous Ponte di Rialtosuperseded a succession ofwooden structures – one ofCarpaccio’s Miracles of the TrueCross, in the Accademia, showsyou one of them.The decisionto construct a stone bridge wastaken in 1524, and eventuallythe job was awarded to the aptlynamed Antonio da Ponte, whosetop-heavy design was describedby Edward Gibbon as “a finebridge, spoilt by two rows ofhouses upon it”. Until 1854,when the first Accademia bridgewas built, this was the only


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point at which the CanalGrande could be crossed onfoot.

Palazzo Loredan andPalazzo FarsettiThe Palazzo Loredan and thePalazzo Farsetti, standing sideby side at the end of theFondamenta del Carbon, areheavily restored Veneto-Byzantine palaces of thethirteenth century.The formerwas the home of Elena CornerPiscopia, who in 1678graduated from PaduaUniversity, so becoming the firstwoman ever to hold auniversity degree.The twobuildings are now occupied bythe town hall.

Palazzo GrimaniWork began on the immensePalazzo Grimani in 1559, todesigns by Sanmicheli, but wasnot completed until 1575,sixteen years after his death.Ruskin, normally no fan ofRenaissance architecture, madean exception for this colossalpalace, calling it “simple,delicate, and sublime”.

The Mocenigo palazziFour houses that once allbelonged to the Mocenigofamily stand side by side on theVolta del Canal, as the CanalGrande’s sharpest turn is known:the Palazzo Mocenigo-Nero,a late sixteenth-century building;the double Palazzo Mocenigo,built in the eighteenth century asan extension to the Nero house;and the Palazzo MocenigoVecchio, a Gothic palaceremodelled in the seventeenthcentury. Byron and hismenagerie – a dog, a fox, a wolfand a monkey – lived in theMocenigo-Nero palace for acouple of years. Much of histime was taken up with a localbaker’s wife called MargaritaCogni, whose reaction to beingrejected by him was to attackhim with a table knife and thenhurl herself into the CanalGrande.

Palazzo GrassiThe vast palace round the Voltais the Palazzo Grassi, built in1748–72 by Massari, whosupervised the completion ofthe Ca’ Rezzonico on the


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opposite bank. Its first ownerswere accepted into the ranks ofthe nobility in return for a heftycontribution to the war effortagainst the Turks in 1718.Nowadays it’s owned by Fiat –hence the sparkling renovation– and is used as an exhibitionand conference centre.

Accademia BridgeAs the larger vaporetti couldn’tget under the iron Ponte dell’Accademia built by theAustrians in 1854, it wasreplaced in 1932 by a woodenone – a temporary measure thatbecame permanent with theaddition of a reinforcing steelsubstructure.

The Palazzi BarbaroOn the opposite side of the Riodell’Orso are the twinnedPalazzi Barbaro ; the house onthe left is early fifteenth-century, the other lateseventeenth-century. HenryJames, Monet,Whistler,Browning and John SingerSargent were among theluminaries who stayed in theolder Barbaro house in the latenineteenth century as guests of

the Curtis family from Boston.A relative of the painter, DanielSargent Curtis bought most ofthe building in 1885 and itbecame the centre of Americanexpatriate life in Venice. Jamesfinished The Aspern Papers here,and used it as a setting for TheWings of a Dove.

Palazzo Corner della Ca’GrandeThe palace that used to stand onthe site of the Palazzo Cornerdella Ca’ Grande was destroyedwhen a fire lit to dry out astock of sugar in the attic ranout of control, an incident thatillustrates the dual commercial-residential function of manypalaces in Renaissance Venice.Sansovino’s replacement wasbuilt from 1545 onwards.Therugged stonework of the lowerstorey – a distinctive aspect ofmany Roman and Tuscanbuildings of the HighRenaissance – makes it aprototype for the Ca’ Pésaro andCa’ Rezzonico.

Palazzo Contarini-FasanThe narrow Palazzo Contarini-Fasan – a mid-fifteenth-century


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palace with unique wheeltracery on the balconies – ispopularly known as “the houseof Desdemona”, but althoughthe model for Shakespeare’sheroine did live in Venice, herassociation with this house ispurely sentimental.

The Right BankArriving in Venice by road, youcome in on the right bank ofthe Canal Grande at PiazzaleRoma, opposite the trainstation. Orientation is initiallydifficult, with canals heading offin various directions and noimmediate landmark; it’s notuntil the vaporetto swings roundby the train station that itbecomes obvious that this is thecity’s main waterway.

The Fondaco dei TurchiHaving passed the green-domedchurch of San SimeonePiccolo, the end of theelongated campo of SanSimeone Grande and aprocession of nondescriptbuildings, you come to theFondaco dei Turchi.A privatehouse from the early thirteenth

century until 1621, it was thenturned over to the Turkishtraders in the city, who stayedhere until 1838.Though it’sbeen over-restored, thebuilding’s towers and longwater-level arcade give areasonably precise picture ofwhat a Veneto-Byzantine palacewould have looked like.

Ca’ PésaroA short distance beyond thechurch of San Stae stands thethickly ornamented Ca’ Pésaro,bristling with diamond-shapedspikes and grotesque heads.Three houses had to bedemolished to make room forthis palace and its constructionlasted half a century – workfinished in 1703, long after thedeath of the architect, BaldassareLonghena.

Palazzo Corner della ReginaThe next large building is thePalazzo Corner della Regina,built in 1724 on the site of thehome of Caterina Cornaro,Queen of Cyprus, from whomthe palace takes its name.Thebase of the Biennale archives, itwas formerly the Monte diPietà (municipal pawnshop).


Venetian palazziVirtually all the surviving Canal Grande palaces were built over a span of about 500years, and in the course of that period the basic plan varied very little. The typicalVenetian palace has an entrance hall (the andron) on the ground floor, and this runsright through the building, flanked by storage rooms. Above comes the mezzaninefloor – the small rooms on this level were used as offices or, from the sixteenthcentury onwards, as libraries or living rooms. On the next floor – often the mostextravagantly decorated – you find the piano nobile, the main living area, arrangedas suites of rooms on each side of a central hall (portego), which runs, like theandron, from front to back. The plan of these houses can be read from the outsideof the palace, where you’ll usually see a cluster of large windows in the centre ofthe facade, between symmetrically placed side windows. Frequently there is a sec-ond piano nobile above the first – this generally would have been accommodationfor relatives or children (though sometimes it was the main living quarters); theattic would have been used for servants’ rooms or storage.

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Rialto markets Beyond, there’s nothingespecially engrossing untilyou reach the Rialtomarkets, which begin withthe neo-Gothic fish market,the Pescheria, built in1907; there’s been a fishmarket here since thefourteenth century.Theolder buildings that followit, the Fabbriche Nuove diRialto and (set back fromthe water) the FabbricheVecchie di Rialto, are bySansovino (c.1550) andScarpagnino (c.1520)respectively.

Palazzo dei CamerlenghiThe large building at thebase of the Rialto bridge isthe Palazzo dei Camerlenghi(c.1525), the formerchambers of the Venetianexchequer. Debtors couldfind themselves in the cellsof the building’s bottomstorey – hence the nameFondamenta delle Prigioni

Ca’ FóscariOn the opposite bank stands theCa’ Fóscari (c.1435).The largestprivate house in Venice at thetime of its construction, it wasthe home of one of the morecolourful figures of Venetianhistory, Doge Francesco Fóscari,whose extraordinarily long termof office (34 years) came to anend with his forced resignation.Venice’s university now ownsthe building, which has beenundergoing major restorationfor several years.

The Palazzi GiustinianAdjoining Ca’ Fóscari are thePalazzi Giustinian, a pair ofpalaces built in the mid-fifteenthcentury for two brothers who


given to this part of thecanalside.

Palazzo BalbiThe cluster of palaces at theVolta constitutes one of thecity’s architectural glories.ThePalazzo Balbi, on the near sideof the Rio di Ca’ Fóscari, is theyoungest of the group, a proto-Baroque design executed in the1580s to plans by AlessandroVittoria, whose sculpture is tobe found in many Venetianchurches. Nicolò Balbi isreputed to have been so keento see his palace finished thathe moored a boat alongside thebuilding site so that he couldwatch the work progressing –and died of a chill caught bysleeping in it.

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wanted attached but self-contained houses. For a whileone of the Palazzi Giustinianwas Wagner’s home – it was herethat he wrote the second act ofTristan und Isolde, inspired in partby a nocturnal gondola ride.

Ca’ RezzonicoA little farther on comesLonghena’s gargantuan Ca’Rezzonico. It was begun in1667 as a commission from theBon family, but they wereobliged to sell the stillunfinished palace to theRezzonico, a family of Genoesebankers who were so rich theycould afford not just tocomplete the palazzo but totack a ballroom onto the back aswell.Among its subsequentowners was Pen Browning,whose father Robert died herein 1889.

Palazzo Venier dei LeoniThe Venier family, one ofVenice’s great dynasties (theyproduced three doges, includingthe commander of the Christianfleet at Lépanto), had their mainbase just beyond the CampoSan Vio. In 1759 the Veniersbegan rebuilding their home,but the Palazzo Venier deiLeoni, which would have beenthe largest palace on the canal,never progressed further thanthe first storey – hence itsalternative name, PalazzoNonfinito.The stump of thebuilding and the platform onwhich it is raised (itself anextravagant and novel feature)are occupied by theGuggenheim Collection ofmodern art.

Palazzo DarioThe one domestic building ofinterest between here and theend of the canal is the miniature

Palazzo Dario, compared byHenry James to “a house ofcards”.The palace was built inthe late 1480s, and themulticoloured marbles of thefacade are characteristic of thework of the Lombardo family.

The Dogana di Mare The focal point of this laststretch of the canal isLonghena’s masterpiece, SantaMaria della Salute (see p.80),after which comes the Doganadi Mare (Customs House), theCanal Grande’s full stop.Thefigure which swivels in the windon top of the Dogana’s gold ballis said by most to representFortune, though others identifyit as Justice.


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The northern islandsA trip out to the main islands lying to the north ofVenice – San Michele, Murano, Burano and Torcello –will reveal the origins of the glass and lace work toutedin so many of the city’s shops, and give you a glimpseof the origins of Venice itself, embodied in Torcello’smagnificent cathedral of Santa Maria dell’Assunta.

To get to the northern islands, the main vaporettostop is Fondamente Nove (or Nuove), as most of theisland services start here or call here. (You can hop onelsewhere in the city, of course – but make sure that theboat is going towards the islands, not away from them.)For San Michele and Murano only, the circular #41and #42 vaporetti both run every twenty minutes fromFondamente Nove, circling Murano before heading backtowards Venice; the #41 follows an anticlockwise routearound the city, the #42 a clockwise route. For Murano,Burano and Torcello the #LN (Laguna Nord) leavesevery half-hour from Fondamente Nove for most of theday (hourly early in the morning and evenings), callingfirst at Murano-Faro before heading on to Mazzorboand Burano, from where it proceeds, via Treporti, toPunta Sabbioni and the Lido. A shuttle boat runs everyhalf-hour between Burano and Torcello.

(daily: summer 7.30am–6pm;winter 7.30am–4pm),


San MicheleThe high brick wall around theisland of San Michele gives wayby the landing stage to theelegant white facade of SanMichele in Isola, designed byMauro Codussi in 1469.Withthis building Codussi quietlyrevolutionized the architectureof Venice, advancing theprinciples of Renaissance designin the city and introducing theuse of Istrian stone as a materialfor facades. Easy to carve yetresistant to water, Istrian stonehad long been used for dampcourses, but never before hadanyone clad the entire front of abuilding in it.

The main part of the island,through the cloisters, is coveredby the cemetery of Venice

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established here by aNapoleonic decree whichforbade further burials in thecentre of the city. Space is at apremium, and most of theCatholic dead of Venice lie herein cramped conditions for justten years or so, when theirbones are dug up and removedto an ossuary, and the vacatedplot is recycled.The city’sProtestants, being less numerous,are permitted to stay in theirsector indefinitely. In thisProtestant section (no. XV) EzraPound’s grave is marked by asimple slab with his name on it.Adjoining is the Greek andRussian Orthodox area (no.XIV), including the gravestonesof Igor and Vera Stravinsky andthe more elaborate tomb ofSerge Diaghilev.

Murano Murano nowadays owes its fameentirely to its glass-blowingindustry, and its mainfondamente are crowded withshops selling the fruit of thefurnaces, some of it fine, most ofit repulsive and some of itlaughably pretentious.You’ll seelittle in the showrooms to equalthe remarkable work on displayin the Murano glass museum,and even that takes second placeto the island’s beautiful mainchurch.

From the Colonna vaporettostop (the first after San Michele)you step onto the Fondamentadei Vetrai, traditionally the coreof the glass industry (as thename suggests) and now theprincipal tourist trap.Towardsthe far end is the Dominican


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church of San Pietro Martire(daily 9am–noon & 3–6pm),one of only two churches still inservice on the island (comparedwith seventeen when theRepublic fell in 1797). Begunin 1363 but largely rebuilt aftera fire in 1474, its main interestlies with its pair of paintings byGiovanni Bellini.

The seventeenth-centuryPalazzo Giustinian, formerly

home of the Bishop of Torcello,now houses the Museo delVetro (April–Oct 10am–5pm;Nov–March 10am–4pm; closedWed; e4 or Musei delle Isolecard – see p.171). Featuringpieces dating back to the firstcentury and examples ofMurano glass from the fifteenthcentury onwards, the museumexerts a fascination even if youcan’t read the Italian labels.


Venetian glassBecause of the risk of fire, Venice’s glass furnaces were moved to Murano fromcentral Venice in 1291, and thenceforth all possible steps were taken to keep thesecrets of the trade locked up on the island. Although Muranese workers had by theseventeenth century gained some freedom of movement, for centuries prior to thatany glass-maker who left Murano was proclaimed a traitor, and a few were evenhunted down. A fifteenth-century visitor judged that “in the whole world there are nosuch craftsmen of glass as here”, and the Muranese were masters of every aspectof their craft. They were producing spectacles by the start of the fourteenth century,monopolized the European manufacture of mirrors for a long time, and in the earlyseventeenth century became so proficient at making coloured crystal that a decreewas issued forbidding the manufacture of false gems out of glass, as many werebeing passed off as authentic stones. The traditional style of Murano glass, typifiedby the multicoloured floral chandeliers sold in showrooms on Murano and round thePiazza, is still very much in demand. However, in recent years there’s been turmoilin the glass industry, due to an inundation of cheap Murano-style tableware andornaments from Asia and eastern Europe. Few of Murano’s 250 glass companiesremain in Venetian hands – the long-established firm of Salviati is French-owned,and even Venini has been bought out, by the Royal Copenhagen company.

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Perhaps the finest single item isthe dark blue Barovier marriagecup, dating from around 1470;it’s on show in room 1 on thefirst floor, along with somesplendid Renaissance enamelledand painted glass.A separatedisplay, with some captions inEnglish, covers the history ofMurano glass techniques – lookout for the extraordinary Murinein Canna, the method of placingdifferent coloured rods togetherto form an image in cross-section.

The other Murano church,and the main reason for visitingthe island today, is Santi Mariae Donato (daily 8am–noon &4–7pm). It was founded in theseventh century but rebuilt inthe twelfth, and is one of thelagoon’s best examples ofVeneto-Byzantine architecture –the ornate rear apse beingparticularly fine.The glories ofthe interior are its mosaic floor(dated 1141 in the nave) and thearresting twelfth-century mosaicof the Madonna in the apse.

Burano After the peeling plaster anderoded stonework of the otherlagoon settlements, the small,brightly painted houses ofBurano come as something of asurprise. Local tradition says thatthe colours once enabled eachfisherman to identify his housefrom out at sea, but now thecolours are used simply forpleasant effect.While many ofthe men of Burano still dependon the lagoon for theirlivelihoods, the women’s livesare given over to the productionand sale of lace, and the shopslining the narrow street leadinginto the village from thevaporetto stop are full of thestuff. Making Burano-point andVenetian-point lace is extremely

exacting work, both highlyskilled and mind-bendinglyrepetitive, taking an enormoustoll on the eyesight. Eachwoman specializes in oneparticular stitch, and as there areseven stitches in all, each pieceis passed from woman towoman during its construction.An average-size table centrerequires about a month of work.

Lacemaking is still taught atBurano’s Scuola dei Merletti(April–Oct 10am–5pm;Nov–March 10am–4pm; closedTues; e4 or Musei delle Isolecard – see p.171), on PiazzaBaldassare Galuppi.This scuolais simply a school rather than aconfraternity-cum-guild (unlikeall other craftspeople in Venice,the lacemakers had no guild torepresent them, perhaps becausethe workforce was exclusivelyfemale) and it was opened in1872, when the indigenouscrafting of lace had declined so


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far that it was left to onewoman, Francesca Memo, totransmit the necessary skills to ayounger generation. Piecesproduced here are displayed inthe attached museum, alongwith specimens dating back tothe sixteenth century; after evena quick tour you’ll have noproblems distinguishing the realthing from the machine-madeand imported lace that fills theBurano shops.

Opposite the lace schoolstands the church of SanMartino (daily 8am–noon &3–7pm), with its drunken

campanile; inside, on the secondaltar on the left, you’ll find afine Crucifixion by GiambattistaTiepolo.

TorcelloTorcello has now come fullcircle. Settled by the very firstrefugees from the mainland inthe fifth century, it became theseat of the Bishop of Altinum in638 and in the following year itscathedral – the oldest buildingin the lagoon – was founded. Bythe fourteenth century itspopulation had peaked ataround twenty thousand, but


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Torcello’s canals were nowsilting up, malaria was rife, andthe ascendancy of Venice wasimminent. By the end of thefifteenth century Torcello waslargely deserted and today onlyabout thirty people remain inresidence.

A Veneto-Byzantine buildingdating substantially from 1008,the Cattedrale di SantaMaria dell’Assunta (daily:April–Oct 10.30am–6pm;Nov–March 10am–4.30pm; e3;joint ticket with museum e4, ore6 with museum andcampanile) has evolved from achurch founded in the seventhcentury, of which the crypt andthe circular foundations in frontof the facade have survived.Thedominant tones of the interiorcome from pink brick, gold-based mosaics and the waterygreen-grey marble of itscolumns and panelling, whichtogether cast a cool light on therichly patterned eleventh-century mosaic floor. In the apsea stunning twelfth-centurymosaic of the Madonna andChild looks down from above afrieze of the Apostles, datingfrom the middle of the previouscentury. Below the window, atthe Madonna’s feet, is a muchrestored image of St Heliodorus,the first Bishop of Altinum. Itmakes an interesting comparisonwith the gold-plated face maskon his sarcophagus in front ofthe high altar, another seventh-century vestige. Mosaic workfrom the ninth and eleventhcenturies adorns the chapel tothe right of the high altar, whilethe other end of the cathedral isdominated by the tumultuousmosaic of the Apotheosis ofChrist and the Last Judgement –created in the twelfth century,but renovated in the nineteenth.Ruskin described the view

from the campanile as “one ofthe most notable scenes in thiswide world”, a verdict you cantest for yourself, as thecampanile has now beenreinforced, cleaned andreopened, after thirty years’service as a pigeon-coop.

Torcello’s other church, SantaFosca (same hours as cathedral;free), was built in the eleventhand twelfth centuries for thebody of the martyred St Fosca,brought to Torcello from Libyasome time before 1011 and nowresting under the altar.The bareinterior exudes a calmnesswhich no number of visitorscan quite destroy.

In the square outside sits thecurious chair of Attila, perhapsonce the throne of Torcello’sjudges in its earliest days.Behind it, the well-laid-outMuseo di Torcello (Tues–Sun:April–Oct 10.30am–5.30pm;


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Nov–March 10am–4.30pm; e2or joint ticket with cathedral)includes thirteenth-centurybeaten gold figures, jewellery,mosaic fragments and a mish-mash of pieces relating to thehistory of the area.

Shops:Murano glassBarovier & TosoFondamenta Vetrai 28,wwww.barovier.com. This is afamily-run firm which can traceits roots back to the fourteenthcentury. Predominantlytraditional designs.

Berengo Fine ArtsFondamenta Vetrai 109a & FondamentaManin 68. Open daily. Berengo haspioneered a new approach toVenetian glass manufacture, withforeign artists’ designs beingvitrified by Murano glass-blowers.

Domus Vetri d’ArteFondamenta Vetrai 82. Open daily.Stocks work by the majorpostwar Venetian glass designers,

artists such as Barbini, ErcoleMoretti and Carlo Moretti.

Murano CollezioniFondamenta Manin 1c. Outlet forwork from the Venini, Morettiand Barovier & Toso factories.

Penso DavideRiva Longa 48. The jewellery soldhere is both manufactured anddesigned by the firm, whichspecializes in giving a new slantto traditional Murano styles.Youcan watch glass pieces beingmade in the shop.

VeniniFondamenta Vetrai 47,wwww.venini.com. One of themore adventurous producers,Venini often employs designersfrom other fields of the appliedarts.

Shops:Burano laceScuola dei MerlettiPiazza Baldassare Galuppi. The lacehere is expensive, but not to adegree that’s disproportionate tothe hours and labour that gointo making it. Be warned thatmost of the far cheaper stuffthat’s sold from Burano’s open-air stalls is machine-madeoutside Italy.The Scuola’s lace,on the other hand, is the finesthandmade material.

RestaurantsAi PescatoriVia Galuppi 373, Buranot041.730.650. Closed Wed. One ofthe top choices on Burano.Seafood risotto and moderatelypriced fish dishes predominate.


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Open till 11pm, though likeother places on the island itcloses earlier at slack periods.

Al Gatto NeroFondamenta Giudecca 88, Burano.Closed Mon. Plain but dependablyfine local trattoria, just a fewminutes’ walk from the busy ViaGaluppi, opposite the Pescheria.Max, the owner, is a keenfisherman, and what he doesn’tknow about the marinedelicacies of Venice isn’t worthknowing.

Al Ponte del Diavolo Fondamenta Borgognoni 10/11,Torcello t041.730.401. Lunch dailyexcept Wed, booking essential at

weekends. Open evenings for groupbookings only. The pleasantestrestaurant on Torcello, justbefore the bridge it takes itsname from, on the canal leadingfrom the boat to the cathedral.Delightful shaded terraceoverlooking the garden. Pricesare moderate, unlike at themuch-hyped Locanda Ciprianinear the cathedral.

Busa alla TorreCampo S. Stefano 3, Muranot041.739.662. Closed Mon. In theopinion of many, this placeserves the best fish on Murano.Try the two-course lunch menufor e12.50, excluding drinks.


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The southern islandsThe section of the lagoon to the south of the city,enclosed by the long islands of the Lido andPellestrina, has fewer outcrops of solid land than itsnorthern counterpart. The nearer islands are the moreinteresting: the Palladian churches of San Giorgio andLa Giudecca (linked by the #82 vaporetto) are amongVenice’s most significant Renaissance monuments,while the alleyways of La Guidecca are full of remindersof the city’s manufacturing past. The Venetian touristindustry began with the development of the Lido, whichhas now been eclipsed by the city itself as a holidaydestination, yet still draws thousands of people to itsbeaches each year. A visit to the Armenian island, SanLazzaro degli Armeni, makes an absorbing after-noon’s round trip, and if you’ve a bit more time to spareyou could undertake an expedition to the fishing townof Chioggia, at the southern extremity of the lagoon.The farther-flung settlements along the route toChioggia may have seen more glorious days, but thevoyage out there from the city is a pleasure in itself.

Bacino di San Marco, is one ofthe most prominent and familiarof all Venetian landmarks. It is astartling building, both on theoutside and inside, where whitestucco is used to dazzling effect –


San Giorgio MaggiorePalladio’s church of San GiorgioMaggiore (daily: May–Sept9am–12.30pm & 2.30–6.30pm;Oct–April 2.30–5pm), facingthe Palazzo Ducale across the

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“Of all the colours, none is moreproper for churches than white;since the purity of colour, as ofthe life, is particularly gratifyingto God,” wrote Palladio.Twooutstanding pictures byTintoretto hang in the chancel:The Last Supper, perhaps themost famous of all his works, andThe Fall of Manna.They werepainted as a pair in 1592–94 –

the last two years of the artist’slife, and a Deposition of the samedate is in the Cappella dei Morti(through the door on the rightof the choir).The door on theleft of the choir leads to thecampanile (e3), the bestvantage point in all of Venice.

The adjoining monastery –now occupied by theFondazione Giorgio Cini,


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which runs various arts researchinstitutes, a naval college and acraft school here – is one of thearchitectural wonders of the city,featuring two beautiful cloistersand a magnificent refectory byPalladio. Exhibitions are regularlyheld at the Fondazione; at othertimes the gatekeeper might allowyou a quick look around.

La GiudeccaIn the earliest records of Venicethe chain of islets now called LaGiudecca was known as SpinaLonga, a name clearly derivedfrom its shape.The modernname might refer to the Jews(Giudei) who lived here fromthe late thirteenth century untiltheir removal to the Ghetto, butis most likely to originate withthe two disruptive noblefamilies who in the ninthcentury were shoved into thisdistrict to keep them out ofmischief (giudicati means“judged”). Giudecca grew intothe city’s industrial innersuburb:Venice’s public transportboats used to be made here; anasphalt factory and a distillerywere once neighbours at thewestern end; and the matting

industry, originating in thenineteenth century, kept goinghere until 1950. However, thesemi-dereliction of the present-day island is a potent emblem ofVenice’s loss of economic self-sufficiency. Swathes of LaGiudecca are now purelyresidential areas, but in thisrespect things are looking up,with a spate of housingdevelopments and ancillarysocial facilities being funded inrecent years. In no other part ofVenice are you as likely to see asite occupied by cranes andbulldozers, and the chances areabout even that they’ll beputting something up ratherthan pulling it down.

The first vaporetto stop afterSan Giorgio Maggiore is closeto the tiny church of theZitelle (open for Mass only,Sun 10am–noon), which wasbuilt in 1582–86 from plansworked out some years earlierby Palladio, albeit for a differentsite. La Giudecca’s mainmonument, beyond the tug-boats’ mooring and the youthhostel (once a granary), is theFranciscan church of IlRedentore (Mon–Sat


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10am–5pm, Sun 1–5pm; e2 orChorus Pass – see p.171),designed by Palladio in 1577. In1575–76,Venice suffered anoutbreak of plague which killednearly fifty thousand people –virtually a third of the city’spopulation.The Redentore wasbuilt by the Senate in thanks forVenice’s deliverance, and everyyear until the downfall of theRepublic the doge and hissenators attended a Mass here torenew their declaration ofgratitude, walking to the churchover a pontoon bridge from theZáttere.This is the mostsophisticated of Palladio’schurch projects, but anappreciation of its subtleties isdifficult, as a rope preventsvisitors going beyond the nave.The best paintings in thechurch are in the sacristy, whichis usually closed on Saturdayand Sunday.

At the far end of the islandlooms the colossal MulinoStucky.With the developmentof the industrial sector atMarghera (on the mainland)after World War I, the Stuckyflour mill went into a nose dive,and in 1954 it closed. Sincethen its future has been aperennially contentious issue –

it’s now being restored for use asa convention centre and hotel.

The LidoThe Lido was an unspoilt strip ofland until the latter part of thenineteenth century. Byron usedto gallop his horses across itsfields every day, and as late as1869 Henry James coulddescribe the island as “a verynatural place”. Before thecentury was out, however, it hadbecome the smartest bathingresort in Italy, and although it’sno longer as chic as it was, there’sless room on its beaches nowthan ever before. Unless you’restaying at one of the flashy hotelsthat stand shoulder to shoulderalong the seafront, or areprepared to rent one of theirbeach huts for the day, you’llhave to content yourself with theless groomed public beaches atthe northern and southern endsof the island.The northern beachis twenty minutes’ walk from thevaporetto stop at Piazzale SantaMaria Elisabetta; the southernone, right by the municipal golfcourse, necessitates a bus journeyfrom the Piazzale, and isconsequently less of a crush.

The green-domed SantaMaria della Vittoria might be


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the most conspicuous Lidomonument on the lagoon sideof the island (unless you countthe huge Campari sign) but atclose quarters it’s revealed as athoroughly abject thing. In thevicinity of the Piazzale only theFortezza di Sant’Andrea is ofmuch interest, and you have toadmire it from a distance acrossthe water – you get a goodview from the church andFranciscan monastery of SanNicolò.A stroll along thenearby Via Cipro (facing the SanNicolò vaporetto stop) willbring you to the entrance toVenice’s Jewish cemetery(guided tour in English everymonth except Oct, Sun 2.30pm;e8), which was founded in1386 and in places has falleninto atmospheric decay.

From the Lido to ChioggiaThe trip across the lagoon toChioggia is a more protractedbusiness than simply taking theland bus from Piazzale Roma,but it will give you a curativedose of salt air and anunderstanding of the lagoon.From Gran Viale Santa MariaElisabetta – the main street from

the Lido landing stage to the seafront – the more or less hourly#11 bus goes down to Alberoni,where it drives onto a ferry forthe five-minute hop toPellestrina; the 10km to thesouthern tip of Pellestrina arecovered by road, and then youswitch from the bus to a steamerfor the 25-minute crossing toChioggia.The entire journeytakes about eighty minutes, andcosts e5 for a one-way through-ticket, including the cost of thehop from San Zaccaria to theLido – but be sure to check thetimetable carefully at Gran VialeSanta Maria Elisabetta, as notevery #11 bus goes all the wayto Chioggia.

The quickest way back toVenice is by bus (e4) from theDuomo or Sottomarina toPiazzale Roma, but it’s onlyabout twenty minutes quickerthan the island-hop route, andACTV passes (see p.169) are notvalid, as this is an extra-urbanbus service.

The fishing village ofMalamocco, about 5km intothe expedition, is the successorof the ancient settlement calledMetamauco, which in the


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eighth century was the capitalof the lagoon confederation. In1107 the old town wasdestroyed by a tidal wave; rebuiltMalamocco’s most appealingbuilding – the church’s scaled-down replica of the Campanileof San Marco – can be seenwithout getting off the bus.

Fishing and the production offine pillow-lace are the mainstaysof life in the village ofPellestrina, which is strung outalong nearly a third of the tenkilometres of the next island.There’s one remarkable structurehere, but you get the best view ofit as the boat crosses to Chioggia.This is the Murazzi, the colossalwalls of Istrian boulders, 4kmlong and 14m thick at the base,which were constructed at thesides of the Porto di Chioggia toprotect Venice from the batteringof the sea.

Chioggia is the second largestsettlement in the lagoon afterVenice, and one of Italy’s busiestfishing ports.The boat sets youdown at the Piazzetta Vigo, at thehead of the Corso del Popolo,the principal street in Chioggia’sgrid-iron layout, which runsdown to the cathedral, passing

close to the fish market, thebest in the whole lagoon. Insidethe cathedral, the chapel to theleft of the chancel contains half adozen good eighteenth-centurypaintings, including oneattributed to Tiepolo; they’re allbut invisible, a drawback that youmight regard as a blessing inview of the subjects depicted –The Torture of Boiling Oil, TheTorture of the Razors, TheBeheading of Two Martyrs, and soon. Buses run from the cathedralto Sottomarina, Chioggia’sdownmarket answer to Venice’sLido.

San Lazzaro degli Armeni Visitors received daily from 3.20pm to5pm; the connecting #20 motoscafoleaves San Zaccaria at 3.10pm andreturns to take you back at the end ofthe tour; e6. No foreigncommunity has a longerpedigree in Venice than theArmenians, whose presence ismost conspicuously signalled bythe island of San Lazzaro degliArmeni, identifiable from thecity by the onion-shapedsummit of its campanile.Toursare conducted by one of thepriests who currently live in the


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island’s monastery, and you canexpect him to be trilingual, atthe very least. Reflecting theencyclopedic interests of itsoccupants, the monastery is inplaces like a whimsicallyarranged museum: at one end ofthe old library, for example, amummified Egyptian body islaid out near the sarcophagus inwhich it was found, while at theother is a teak and ivory thronethat once seated the governor ofDelhi.The monastery’scollection of preciousmanuscripts and books – theformer going back to the fifthcentury – is another highlight ofthe visit, occupying a modernrotunda in the heart of thecomplex. Elsewhere you’ll seeantique metalwork,extraordinarily intricate Chineseivory carvings, a gallery ofpaintings by Armenian artists, aceiling panel by the youngGiambattista Tiepolo, andCanova’s figure of Napoleon’sinfant son, which sits in thechamber in which Byronstudied while lending a handwith the preparation of anArmenian–English dictionary. Ifyou’re looking for an unusualpresent, you could buysomething at the monastery’sshop: the old maps and prints ofVenice are a bargain.

RestaurantsAltanellaCalle delle Erbe 270, Giudeccat041.522.7780. Closed Mon & Tues.Run by the same family forthree generations, this mid-range restaurant is highlyrecommended for its fish dishesand the terrace overlooking theisland’s central canal. No creditcards. Booking essential.

Do MoriFondamenta Sant’Eufemia 588,Giudecca t041.522.5452. Closed Sun.Serves humble pizzas as well asclassier fare, with the emphasis,as ever, on fish. For a meal witha view, it can’t be bettered.

Harry’s DolciFondamenta S. Biagio 773, Giudeccat041.522.4844. Closed Tues.Despite the name, sweets aren’tthe only things on offer here –the kitchen of this offshoot ofHarry’s Bar is rated by many asthe equal of its ancestor. It’s lessexpensive than Harry’s Bar, butyou’re nonetheless talking abouta place where the cheapest setmenu will cost you around e55a head, drink excluded. Still, ifyou want to experienceVenetian culinary refinement atits most exquisite, this is it.


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HotelsVenice has around two hundredhotels, ranging from spartan one-star joints that can charge inexcess of e120 per night, such isthe level of demand, to five-starestablishments costing e900 andupwards; what follows is a run-down on the best choices in allcategories.Though there are sometypical anomalies, the star systemis a broadly reliable indicator ofquality, but always bear in mindthat you pay through the nose foryour proximity to the Piazza.

Breakfast is nearly alwaysincluded in the hotel room rate;if it isn’t, you should anticipate acharge of at least e7 for a jug ofcoffee and a croissant. Exceptwhere specified otherwise, pricesgiven in the following listings arefor rooms in high season.

Recent changes in the localregulations governing the provi-sion of tourist accommodationhave led to a proliferation of bedand breakfast establishments in

the city.The smartest of theseplaces, usually operating underthe title locanda, are in effectsmall family-run guesthouses,offering good-value rooms,attentive service, and often a veryattractive location. Locande usuallyoffer a standard of accommoda-tion equivalent to three- or evenfour-star hotels (24-hour roomservice is just about the onlyfacility they don’t provide), butoften at considerably lower cost.

You can find information forboth locande and hotels on thetourist office’s websitewwww.turismovenezia.it andalso on wwww.veniceby.com.

San Marco: North ofthe Piazza � SEE MAP ON P65

Ai Do Mori Calle Larga S. Marzo, S.Marco 658 t041.520.4817,wwww.hotelaidomori.com. Very friendly, and

Booking a roomHigh season in Venice covers most of the year – officially it runs from March 15to November 15 and then from December 21 to January 6, but many placesdon’t recognize the existence of a low season any more. If you intend to stay inthe city at any time during the above periods (or Carnevale), it’s wise to bookyour place at least three months in advance, and for June, July and August it’svirtually obligatory to reserve half a year ahead.

Should you bowl into town unannounced in high summer, the booking offices(see below) may be able to dig out something in Mestre, on the mainland.During the winter it may well be possible to find a reduced-rate room, but itmight involve a bit of legwork, as some hotels, especially the less expensiveones, close down from November to February or March (reopening briefly forChristmas and New Year in many cases).

Booking offices are located at the train station (daily: summer 8am–9pm;winter 8am–7pm); on the Tronchetto (9am–8pm); in the multistorey car park atPiazzale Roma (9am–9pm); at Marco Polo airport (summer 9am–7pm; winternoon–7pm); and at the autostrada’s Venice exit (8am–8pm). They only dealwith hotels (not hostels) and take a deposit that’s deductible from your firstnight’s bill.

http://www.hotelaidomori.com

http://www.hotelaidomori.com

http://www.veniceby.com

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situated a few paces off the Piazza, this is atop recommendation for budget travellers.The top-floor room has a private terracelooking over the roofs of the Basilica andthe Torre dell’Orologio, and is one of themost attractive (and, of course, expensive)one-star rooms in the city. Non smoking.Doubles e90–135.

Casa Petrarca Calle delle Schiavini, S.Marco 4386 t & f041.520.0430. A veryhospitable one-star, one of the cheapesthotels within a stone’s throw of the Piazza –but make sure you phone first, as it onlyhas seven rooms, including a tiny single. Nocredit cards. Doubles from around e120.

Noemi Calle dei Fabbri, S. Marco 909t041.523.8144, wwww.hotelnoemi.com. Noemi is right in the thick of theaction, just a minute’s walk north of thePiazza, but its prices are lower than mostrival one-stars. Decor is eighteenth-centuryVenetian and half its 16 rooms have pri-vate bathrooms. Doubles from arounde100.

Orseolo Corte Zorzi S. Marco 1083,t041.520.4827,wwww.locandaorseolo.com. Friendly and recently opened family-run locanda abutting the Orseolo canal,50m north of the Piazza. Rooms are spa-cious and light; breakfasts substantial.Entrance is through an iron gate in CampoS. Gallo. Doubles from around e200.

San Marco: West ofthe Piazza� SEE MAP ON P.71

Ala Campo S. Maria del Giglio, S. Marco2494 t041.520.8333,wwww.hotelala.it.The three-star family-run Ala has spaciousrooms (choose between modern and tradi-tional Venetian) and a perfect location, on asquare that opens out onto the mouth of theCanal Grande. Often has good specialoffers. Doubles from around e240.

Art Deco Calle delle Botteghe, Campo S.Stefano 2966 t041.277.0558,wwww.locandaartdeco.com. This newthree-star locanda has a seventeenth-century palazzo setting, but the interior is

strewn with 1930s and 40s objects. Thepristinely white bedrooms have modernwrought-iron furniture. Doubles from arounde160.

Fiorita Campiello Nuovo, S. Marco 3457t041.523.4754,wwww.locandafiorita.com. Welcoming one-star with just tenrooms, so it’s crucial to book well inadvance. Doubles from around e110.

Flora Calle Larga XXII Marzo, S. Marco2283/a t041.520.5844,wwww.hotelflora.it. This large three-star is veryclose to the Piazza and has a delightfulinner garden. Rooms are beautifully deco-rated with period pieces, though some are alittle cramped. Doubles from around e230.

Gritti Palace S. Maria del Giglio, S.Marco 2467 t041.794.611,wwww.starwood.com/grittipalace. One ofVenice’s most prestigious addresses, reek-ing of old-regime opulence. No doublesunder e380 per night, and the plushestsuite will set you back well over a thousandeuros.

Kette Piscina S. Moisè, S. Marco 2053t041.520.7766,f041.522.8964,wwww.hotelkette.com. A four-starfavourite with the upper-bracket tour com-panies, mainly on account of its quiet loca-tion, in an alleyway parallel to Calle LargaXXII Marzo. In season there’s nothing undere230, but out of season prices are muchmore reasonable.

Monaco and Grand Canal CalleVallaresso, S. Marco 1325t041.520.0211,wwww.summithotels.com. Very stylish four-star hotel owned bythe Benetton family – try to get one of theground-floor rooms, which look over to theSalute. Room rates can be as low as e200out of season, but expect to pay at leastdouble that in summer.

Novecento Calle del Dose, S. Marco2683 t041.241.3765,wwww.locandanovecento.it. Boutique-stylethree-star hotel with nine individually deco-rated doubles with bathrooms. Styling isethnic eclectic (floor cushions andMoroccan lamps), and there’s a small court-yard for breakfast. Doubles from arounde180.

http://www.locandaartdeco.com

http://www.hotelala.it

http://www.locandaorseolo.com

http://www.locandaorseolo.com

http://www.hotelnoemi.com

http://www.hotelnoemi.com

http://www.locandanovecento.it

http://www.locandanovecento.it

http://www.summithotels.com

http://www.summithotels.com

http://www.hotelkette.com

http://www.starwood.com/grittipalace

http://www.starwood.com/grittipalace

http://www.hotelflora.it

http://www.hotelflora.it

http://www.locandafiorita.com

http://www.locandafiorita.com

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Dorsoduro� SEE MAP ON P.76

Accademia Villa Maravege FondamentaBollani, Dorsoduro 1058 t041.523.0188,wwww.pensioneaccademia.it. Once theRussian embassy, this three-star seven-teenth-century villa has a devoted following,not least on account of its garden, whichoccupies a promontory at the convergenceof two canals, with a view of a small sectionof the Canal Grande. To be sure of a room,get your booking in at least three monthsahead. Doubles from around e180.

Agli Alboretti Rio Terrà Foscarini,Dorsoduro 884 t041.523.0058,wwww.aglialboretti.com. Friendly two-star well situated right next to theAccademia. All rooms have air-conditioningand TV. Avoid murky room 19 and you can’tgo wrong. Doubles from around e170.

Ca’ Pisani Rio Terà Foscarini, Dorsoduro979a t041.240.1411,wwww.capisanihotel.it. This very glamorous 29-room four-star, just a few metres from theAccademia, created quite a stir when itopened in 2000, chiefly because of its high-class retro look. Taking its cue from thestyle of the 1930s and 40s, the Ca’ Pisanimakes heavy use of dark wood andchrome, a refreshing break from theRenaissance and Rococo tones that tend toprevail in Venice’s upmarket establishments.Highly recommended. Doubles from arounde300.

La Calcina Záttere ai Gesuati, Dorsoduro780 t041.520.6466,wwww.lacalcina.com. Charismatic three-star hotel in thehouse where Ruskin wrote much of TheStones of Venice. From the more expensiverooms you can gaze across to theRedentore, a church that gave himapoplexy. All rooms are no-smoking andhave parquet floors – unusual in Venice. NoTV or minibar in the rooms – a decisionindicative of the desire to maintain thebuilding’s character. Its restaurant (seep.88) is good too. Doubles from arounde150.

Messner Rio Terrà dei Catacumeni,Dorsoduro 216 t041.522.7443,

wwww.hotelmessner.it. In an excellent,quiet location close to the Salute vaporettostop, the Messner has modern, smartrooms and is run by friendly staff. The one-star annexe round the corner past the AllaSalute hotel has some doubles for aroundhalf the price of those in the smaller butmore appealing two-star main building.Doubles from around e115.

Pausania Fondamenta Gherardini,Dorsoduro 3942 t041.522.2083,wwww.hotelpausania.it. This quiet, com-fortable and friendly three-star has anexcellent location very close to San Barnabachurch, just five minutes from theAccademia. Doubles from around e150.

San Barnaba Calle del Traghetto,Dorsoduro 2785 t041.241.1233,wwww.locanda-sanbarnaba.com.Exceptionally pleasant three-star hotel rightby the Ca’ Rezzonico. Well-equipped rooms– some have eighteenth-century frescoes,and one has an enormous family-size bath.Doubles from around e170.

San Polo andSanta Croce� SEE MAP ON P.90

Al Gallo Calle del Forno, S. Croce 88t041.523.6761,wwww.algallo.com.Small family-run three-star, not far from theFrari, with rooms (with and without bath)furnished in the Venetian style. Doublesfrom around e110.

Alex Rio Terrà Frari, S. Polo 2606 t &f041.523.1341,wwww.hotelalexinvenice.com. A longstandingbudget travellers’ favourite; the supermarketin front is useful for picnics and breakfasts.No credit cards. Doubles from around e80.

Ca’ Fóscari Calle della Frescada,Dorsoduro 3888 t & f041.522.5817,wwww.locandacafoscari.com. Quiet, welldecorated and relaxed one-star, tuckedaway in a micro-alley near S. Tomà. Just 11rooms (7 without bathroom), so it’s quicklybooked out. Doubles from around e80.

Falier Salizzada S. Pantalon, S. Croce 130t041.710.882,wwww.hotelfalier.com.

http://www.lacalcina.com

http://www.lacalcina.com

http://www.capisanihotel.it

http://www.capisanihotel.it

http://www.aglialboretti.com

http://www.pensioneaccademia.it

http://www.hotelfalier.com

http://www.locandacafoscari.com

http://www.hotelalexinvenice.com

http://www.hotelalexinvenice.com

http://www.algallo.com

http://www.locanda-sanbarnaba.com

http://www.hotelpausania.it

http://www.hotelmessner.it

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160Neat, sprucely renovated little two-star, veryclose to San Rocco and the Frari. Doublesfrom around e180.

Locanda Salieri Fondamenta Minotto, S.Croce 160 t041.710.035,wwww.hotelsalieri.com. Exceptionally friendlyone-star hotel, on a very picturesque canal-side. Rooms are light and airy. Doubles fromaround e80.

San Cassiano-Ca’ Favretto Calle dellaRosa, S. Croce 2232 t041.524.1768,wwww.sancassiano.it. Beautiful three-star with some rooms looking across theCanal Grande towards the Ca’ d’Oro. Hasvery helpful staff, a nice courtyard gardenand a grand entrance hall. Doubles fromaround e200.

Sturion Calle del Sturion, S. Polo 679t041.523.6243,wwww.locandasturion.com. This immaculate 11-room three-starhas a very long pedigree – the sign of thesturgeon (sturion) appears in Carpaccio’sMiracle of the True Cross at the RialtoBridge (in the Accademia). It’s on a wonder-ful site a few yards from the Canal Grande,close to the Rialto, but visitors with mobilitydifficulties should look elsewhere, as thehotel is at the top of three flights of stairsand has no lift. Rates drop considerably inwinter. Doubles from around e220.

Cannaregio � SEE MAP ON P.104

Abbazia Calle Priuli, Cannaregio 66t041.717.333,wwww.abbaziahotel.com. Occupying a former Carmelitemonastery (the monks attached to theScalzi still live in a building adjoining thehotel), the light-filled Abbazia providesthree-star amenities without losing its air ofquasi-monastic austerity. There’s a delight-ful garden too. Doubles from around e150.

Adua Lista di Spagna, Cannaregio233/a t041.716.184, f041.244.0162.Large one-star with friendly managementand benign prices. Around half of the 27rooms do not have a private bathroom, butthe rooms in the annexe all have showers.No credit cards. Doubles from arounde70.

Al Saor Calle Zotti, Cannaregio 3904/at & f041.296.0654,wwww.alsaor.com. Friendly B&B, located near the Ca’d’Oro. Five spacious air-conditioned rooms,two of them with cooking facilities. If youstay for more than four nights, the familywill take you on a trip round the backcanals – a great way to see the city.Doubles from around e90.

Bernardi Semenzato Calle dell’Oca 4366t041.522.7257,wwww.hotelbernardi.com. Very well-priced two-star in a prime location (in a tiny alleywayclose to Campo S. Apostoli), with immenselyhelpful owners who speak excellent English.Has some cheaper rooms with shared bath-rooms, and 5 singles for as little as e35with a shared bathroom. The annexe roundthe corner has air conditioning. Doublesfrom around e70.

Casa Martini Rio Terrà S. Leonardo,Cannaregio 1314 t041.717.512,wwww.casamartini.it. Delightful smallhotel near the Cannaregio canal. Ninepleasantly furnished a/c rooms, with break-fast terrace at the back, and kitchen forguests’ use. Doubles from around e130.

Del Ghetto Campo del Ghetto Novo,Cannaregio 2892 t041.275.9292,wwww.veneziahotels.com. Friendly nine-room locanda in the heart of the Ghetto.Well-equipped a/c rooms have beautifulfeatures, including wooden floors and oldbeams. Two rooms have a small balcony.Kosher breakfast. Doubles from arounde180.

Giorgione Calle Larga dei Proverbi,Cannaregio 4587 t041.522.5810,wwww.hotelgiorgione.com. High-classfour-star hotel not far from the Rialtobridge, with a very personal touch – it hasbeen run by the same family for genera-tions. Non-smoking floor, quiet courtyard,pool table, free Internet access, and 76well-equipped rooms, including rooms fordisabled visitors. Free tea and coffee servedin the lounge in the afternoon. Doubles fromaround e270.

Novo Calle dei Preti, Cannaregio 4529t041.241.1496,wwww.locandanovo.it.Newly established locanda in a lovinglyrestored palazzo near Santi Apostoli. Ten

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http://www.abbaziahotel.com

http://www.abbaziahotel.com

http://www.locandasturion.com

http://www.locandasturion.com

http://www.sancassiano.it

http://www.hotelsalieri.com

http://www.hotelsalieri.com

http://www.locandanovo.it

http://www.hotelgiorgione.com

http://www.veneziahotels.com

http://www.casamartini.it

http://www.hotelbernardi.com

http://www.hotelbernardi.com

http://www.alsaor.com

http://www.alsaor.com

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large, well-furnished rooms, some with a/c.Doubles from around e120.

Villa Rosa Calle della Misericordia,Cannaregio 389 t041.718.976,wwww.villarosahotel.com. Clean andfairly large one-star; the rooms here havea/c and private bathrooms – the best evenhave a small balcony. There is a large ter-race at the back for breakfast. Doubles fromaround e100.

Central Castello� SEE MAP ON P.115

Al Leon Campo SS. Filippo e Giacomo,Castello 4270 t041.277.0393,wwww.hotelalleon.com. Friendly locandavery close to the Piazza, with 9 pleasantlyfurnished a/c rooms – not big, but well-equipped. Doubles from around e140.

Canada Campo S. Lio, Castello 5659t041.522.9912,f041.523.5852. Well-kept and friendly second-floor two-star; 6 ofthe 25 rooms have a/c. Book well inadvance for the room with a roof terrace.Doubles from around e160.

Caneva Corte Rubbi, Castello 5515t041.522.8118,wwww.hotelcaneva.com. A well-appointed and peaceful one-star tucked away behind the church of S.Maria della Fava, close to Campo S.Bartolomeo. About half of the 23 roomshave a/c, and some have private bath-rooms. Doubles from around e80.

Casa Querini Campo S. Giovanni Novo,Castello 4388 t041.241.1294,wwww.locandaquerini.com. Friendlysmall locanda occupying parts of twohouses in a quiet courtyard near the Piazza.Eleven smallish but nicely furnished a/crooms. Doubles from around e170.

Casa Verardo Calle della Chiesa,Castello 4765 T041.528.6127,wwww.casaverardo.it. Very fine, newlyrefurbished three-star hotel just a couple ofminutes from San Marco and Campo S.Maria Formosa. Twenty very well-equippedrooms with a breakfast terrace downstairs,a sun lounge at the top and another terraceattached to one of the rooms. Doubles fromaround e180.

Danieli Riva degli Schiavoni, Castello4196 t041.522.6480,wwww.luxurycollection.com/danieli. This mag-nificent Gothic palazzo affords just aboutthe most sybaritic hotel experience on thecontinent – provided you book a room inthe old part of the building, not the modernextension. Cheapest doubles are e735, butwith a lagoon view you move towards thee900 mark.

Doni Fondamenta del Vin, Castello 4656T & f041.522.4267. A cosy one-starnear San Zaccaria where most of the 13rooms look over the Rio del Vin or a court-yard, though only 4 of them have a privatebathroom. Room 8 is special for its ceilingfresco. Doubles from around e90.

Locanda Leon Bianco Corte LeonBianco, Castello 5629 t041.523.3572,wwww.leonbianco.it. Friendly and charm-ing three-star in a superb location not farfrom the Rialto bridge, tucked away besidethe decaying Ca’ da Mosto. Only 8 rooms,but 3 of them overlook the Canal Grandeand 4 of the others are spacious and taste-fully furnished in eighteenth-century style –one even has a huge fresco in the mode ofGiambattista Tiepolo. A gem of a place.Doubles from around e130.

Paganelli Riva degli Schiavoni, Castello4182 t041.522.4324,wwww.hotelpa-ganelli.com. This three-star is a greatplace to stay, as long as you get one of therooms on the lagoon side – the ones in theannexe look onto S. Zaccaria, which is anice enough view, but not really in the sameleague, though of course they are cheaper.Doubles from around e150.

Scandinavia Campo S. Maria Formosa,Castello 5240 t041.522.3507,wwww.scandinaviahotel.com. Sizeableand comfortable three-star on one of thecity’s most lively and spacious squares.Decorated mainly in eighteenth-centurystyle (ie lots of Murano glass and floralmotifs), it has an unusually wide variety ofaccommodation, ranging from large suitesto rooms with private but not en-suite bath-room. Off-peak prices are considerablylower than high-season. Doubles fromaround e150.

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http://www.casaverardo.it

http://www.locandaquerini.com

http://www.hotelcaneva.com

http://www.hotelcaneva.com

http://www.hotelalleon.com

http://www.villarosahotel.com

http://www.scandinaviahotel.com

http://www.hotelpaganelli.com

http://www.hotelpaganelli.com

http://www.leonbianco.it

http://www.luxurycollection.com/danieli

http://www.luxurycollection.com/danieli

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Eastern Castello � SEE MAP ON P.124

Casa Linger Salizzada S. Antonin,Castello 3541 t041.528.5920,[email protected]. Well off thetourist rat-run, this one-star is a decentbudget option, as long as you don’t mindthe climb to the front door – it’s at the topof a very steep staircase. Good-sized roomswith and without bath. No singles. Doublesfrom around e80.

Gabrielli Sandwirth Riva degliSchiavoni, Castello 4110t041.523.1580,wwww.hotelgabrielli.it.A converted Gothic palace, with a lovelycourtyard. Four-star comfort and Danieli-

style views across the Bacino di San Marcofor half the price of the Danieli. Doublesstart at e250 in low season, going up toaround e440 in high season.

La Residenza Campo Bandiera e Moro,Castello 3608 t041.528.5315,wwww.venicelaresidenza.com. This four-teenth-century palazzo is a mid-budget gem(in Venetian terms), occupying much of oneside of a tranquil square just off the mainwaterfront. It was once a tad pricier thanthe average two-star, but the rest of thepack have raised their tariffs more in recentyears, making La Residenza a topchoice.The recently refurbished rooms arespacious (rare at this price) and elegant.Doubles from around e140.

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ApartmentsThe very high cost of hotelrooms in Venice makes self-catering an attractive option –for the price of a week in acramped double room in athree-star hotel you could bookyourself a two-bedroom apart-ment right in the centre of thecity. Many package holidaycompanies have a few Venetianapartments in their brochures,but you’ll get a far better selec-tion if you go to a company thatspecializes in short-let self-cater-ing accommodation.The twolisted below are recommended.Italian Breaks t020/8660 0082,wwww.italianbreaks.com. This companyhas a selection of a couple of dozen apart-ments in Venice, ranging from a one-bedplace near the Fondamente Nuove to a

four-bedroom apartment with views of theCanal Grande.

Venetian Apartments t020/8878 1130,wwww.venice-rentals.com. By a longway the leader in the field, VenetianApartments manages holiday accommoda-tion in Rome, Florence and Siena as wellas Venice, but Venice is at the heart of anoperation that offers more than a hundredapartments in the city, ranging from studiosat around e800 per week, through 1- to4-bedroom apartments to extraordinarilysumptuous palazzi on the Canal Grandethat will set you back around e10,000.The properties are immaculately main-tained, and the agency provides veryfriendly backup in Venice itself. It also hasan exemplary website, with detailed mapsshowing the location of each apartment,photographs of virtually every room, groundplans and full rental details.

http://www.hotelgabrielli.it

http://www.venicelaresidenza.com

http://www.italianbreaks.com

http://www.venice-rentals.com

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HostelsVenice has a large HI hostel anda few hostels run by religiousfoundations, which are generallyopen to tourists during the uni-versity’s summer vacation – dur-ing term time they double asstudent accommodation.Domus Ciliota Calle delle Muneghe, S.Marco 2976 t041.520.4888,wwww.cil-iota.it; map on p.71. Welcoming butexpensive mixed hostel-style accommoda-tion, close to Campo S. Stefano. Open mid-June to mid-Sept. Evening meal e14.40.Singles e85, doubles e106.

Domus Civica Calle Campazzo, S. Polo3082 t041.721.103; map on p.90. Astudent house in winter, open to travellersfrom mid-June to Sept. Most rooms aredouble with running water; showers free; nobreakfast; 11.30pm curfew. Single e29.50,double e54, with 20 percent reduction forISIC card-holders.

Foresteria Valdese S. Maria Formosa,Castello 5170 t041.528.6797,wwww.diaconiavaldese.org/venezia;map on p.115. Installed in a wonderfulpalazzo at the end of Calle Lunga S. MariaFormosa, this is principally a hostel forgrown-ups, with occasional school groups.Five large dorms, and four rooms for 2–4people. It also has a couple of self-cateringflats sleeping 4 and 5 people. Reservationsby phone only; dorm beds cannot bebooked in advance. Registration 9am–1pm& 6–8pm. Prices range from e21 for adorm bed to e74 for a double room withown bathroom (2 nights minimum).

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Ostello Santa Fosca S. Maria dei Servi,Cannaregio 2372,t041.715.733,wwww.santafosca.com; map on p.104.Student-run hostel in an atmospheric for-mer Servite convent in a quiet part ofCannaregio, with dorm beds and doublerooms, all with shared bathrooms. Check-in 5–8pm; 12.30pm curfew. Dorm bede18, e21 per person in smaller rooms.They take bookings one week ahead only,and only by phone; it’s essential to book insummer.

Ostello Venezia Fondamenta delleZitelle, Giudecca 86 t041.523.8211,f041.523.5689; map on p.148. Thecity’s HI hostel occupies a superb locationlooking over to San Marco, but it’s run witha certain briskness. Registration opens at1.30pm in summer and 4pm in winter.Curfew at midnight, chucking-outtime 9.30am. Gets so busy in July andAugust that written reservations mustbe made by April. Breakfast and sheetsincluded in the price – but remember toadd the expense of the boat over toGiudecca (the nearest stop is Zitelle). Nokitchen, but full (and excellent) meals fore8.50. e17.50 per bed, breakfast includ-ed; HI card necessary, but you can join onthe spot for e15.50.

Suore Canossiane Fondamenta delPonte Piccolo, Giudecca 428t041.522.2157; map on p.148. Women-only hostel run by nuns, near the Palancavaporetto stop. Open 6.30–9am &3–10.30pm; no pre-booking. Dorm bede15.

http://www.diaconiavaldese.org/venezia

http://www.ciliota.it

http://www.ciliota.it

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Essentials

Con ten t s Essen t i a l s


The main tourist office – known as theVenice Pavilion – occupies the Palazzinadel Santi, on the west side of the Giar-dinetti Reali, within a minute of the Piazza(daily 10am–6pm; T041.529.8711,wwww.turismovenezia.it); smaller offices

operate at Calle dell’Ascensione 71/f, inthe corner of the Piazza’s arcades (daily9am–3.30pm; T041.520.8740), thetrain station (daily 8am–6.30pm;T041.529.8727), in the airport arrivalsarea (Mon–Sat 9.30am–7.30pm;

Millions of visitors pour into Venice eachyear, most of them funnelled throughVenice’s small Marco Polo airport, on theoutskirts of Venice itself, or throughTreviso, 30km inland. Arriving by train andcoach is painless – but driving into Veniceis unmitigated hell in summer.

By airMost scheduled flights and some chartersarrive at Marco Polo, around 7km north ofVenice, on the edge of the lagoon. HourlyAlilaguna water-buses call at Murano, theLido, the Arsenale and San Marco (e10;journey time 1hr to San Marco), or youcould take one of the two road-going busservices to the terminal at Piazzale Roma:the ATVO (Azienda Trasporti Veneto Orien-tale) coach, which departs every half-hourand takes around twenty minutes (e3), orthe ACTV (Azienda del Consorzio TrasportiVeneziano) bus #5, which is equally fre-quent, usually takes a few minutes longer,but costs just e1. The ticket office for allbuses is in the arrivals hall; in addition tosingle tickets, you can also get ACTV paseshere (see p.169) – a wise investment. Notethat ACTV passes are only valid on theACTV bus into Venice, not the Alilagunaservice nor on the ATVO bus, and that theoffice will sell you a ticket for the ATVOrather than the ACTV bus unless you makeclear your preference for il cinque (#5).

The most luxurious means of gettinginto the city is to take a water-taxi. Thedrivers tout for business in and around thearrivals hall, and will charge in the region

of e80 to San Marco, for up to six people.Ordinary car-taxis are ranked outside thearrivals hall, and cost about e30 toPiazzale Roma.

Treviso airport is used chiefly by char-ter companies, some of which provide afree bus link from the airport into Venice.Ryanair’s twice-daily flights use Trevisotoo, and are met by an ATVO bus serviceto Venice; the fare is e4.40 single andthe journey takes 1hr 10min. Otherwise,take the #6 bus from right outside thearrivals building into Treviso (20min), fromwhere there are very frequent bus andtrain connections to Venice. Tickets arebest bought before you get onto the bus,from the bar across the road; if you buythem from the driver they cost almosttwice as much.

Land buses and taxis depart fromimmediately outside the arrivals hall; afree shuttle bus takes you to the Alilagunaboats and water taxis.

By road and railArriving by train, coach or bus, you sim-ply get off at the end of the line. ThePiazzale Roma bus station and SantaLucia train station (don’t get off at VeneziaMestre, which is the last stop on the main-land) are just five minutes’ walk from eachother at the top of the Canal Grande. Theleft-luggage office at the end of platform14 at the train station is open from 6am tomidnight and charges e3 per item for thefirst twelve hours, then e2 for each suc-ceeding twelve hours.

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t041.541.5887), at the multistorey carpark at Piazzale Roma (daily9.30am–6.30pm; t041.529.8746) andon the Lido at Gran Viale S.M. Elisabetta6 (June–Sept daily 9.30am–12.30pm &3.30–6pm; T041.526.5721). The Calledell’Ascension office is supposed to bethe city’s main outlet for information onthe whole Veneto, but the staff are rarely

as helpful as those in the Venice Pavilion.The English–Italian magazine Un

Ospite di Venezia (wwww.unospitedi-venezia.it), produced fortnightly in sum-mer and monthly in winter, gives up-to-date information on exhibitions, specialevents and vaporetto timetables – it’s freefrom the main tourist office, and from thereceptions of the posher hotels.

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The Venice and Rolling Venice cardsActive sightseers should consider investing in a Venice Card, which comes intwo forms and is valid for either one, three or seven days, with a discount forthe under-30s. The blue card (1-day e14, e9 with discount; 3-day e29/e22;7-day e51/e49) gives unlimited access to all ACTV public transport and staffedAmaV toilets, and a few small discounts on admission charges (eg to the MuseoEbraico and the Querini Stampalia gallery). The orange card (1-day e28/e18;3-day e47/e35; 7-day e68/e61) accords the same benefits as the blue cardand also gives free access to all the museums covered by the Museum Pass(see p.171), and thus represents a very good deal if you’re going to pack a lotinto your trip.

You can buy Venice Cards from the main tourist office, the Alilaguna office atthe airport, the VeLa ticket offices at the train station and Piazzale Roma, theACTV/Hello Venezia office at Ramo dei Fuseri 1810, or the ASM offices at theSan Giuliano and Tronchetto car parks. Alternatively, you can order the card aminimum of 48 hours in advance on wwww.venicecard.com or by callingt899.909.090 within Italy (it’s a free number), or t00.39.041.4747 ort00.39.041.2424 from abroad. You will be given a code number which you willneed to present when you turn up to collect your ticket from any of the officeslisted above.

If you’re aged between 14 and 29, you are eligible for a Rolling Venice card,which entitles you to discounts at some shops, restaurants, cinemas, museumsand exhibitions, plus reductions on some transport services, all of which aredetailed in a leaflet that comes with the card. The card costs e2.58, is valid fora year, and is worth buying if you’re in town for at least a week and aim tomake the most of every minute. The tourist offices have information on it butonly the following places issue it: Agenzia Transalpino, at the train station;Servizio Politiche Giovanili, Corte Contarina 1529, San Marco; Agenzia Arte eStoria, Santa Croce 659, near Campo della Lana; Associazione Italiana Alberghiper la Gioventù, Calle del Castelforte 3101, San Polo (near the Scuola di SanRocco); and ACTV/VeLa agencies and offices.

Apart from services #1 and the #82, thewater-buses skirt the city centre, connect-ing points on the periphery and the outerislands. In many cases the speediest way

of getting around is on foot. Routesbetween major sights are sometimes tor-tuous but distances are extremely short(you can cross the whole city in an hour),

City transport

http://www.unospitedivenezia.it

http://www.unospitedivenezia.it

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and once you’ve got your general bear-ings you’ll find that navigation is not asdaunting as it seems at first. Helpful yel-low signs posted high up on streetcornersall over central Venice indicate the mainroutes to San Marco, Ferrovia (train sta-tion) and Rialto.

Water-busesThere are two basic types of water-bus:the vaporetti, which are the lumberingworkhorses used on the Canal Grandeservices (#1 and #82) and other heavilyused routes, and the motoscafi, which aresmaller vessels employed on routes wherethe volume of traffic isn’t as great. Thestandard fare is e3.50 for a single journey(or e6 for two tickets, to be used beforemidnight), except for the Laguna Nordboats (to Murano, Burano and Torcello),which cost e8.50 and are valid for twelvehours, and Canal Grande trips on the #1,#3, #4 and #82: on these vaporetti thefare is e5 for any journey stopping any-where between Piazzale Roma and SanMarco Vallaresso, other than a one-stoptraghetto hop (see below), in which casethe fare is e1.80. The e5 ticket is validfor ninety minutes of travel; other singletickets are valid for just one journey. Chil-dren under 4 travel free.

Tickets are available from most landingstages, from tabacchi, from shopsdisplaying the ACTV sign, at the airport,from the main tourist office, and from thetwo ACTV public offices – at PiazzaleRoma (daily: summer 6am–midnight;winter 6am–8pm) and in Ramo dei Fuseri,close to the northwest corner of thePiazza (Mon–Fri 7.30am–6pm, Sat7.30am–1pm). In the remoter parts of thecity, you may not be able to find anywhereto buy a ticket, particularly after workinghours, when the booths at the landingstages tend to close down; tickets can bebought on board at the standard price, aslong as you ask the attendant as soon asyou get on board; if you delay, you couldbe liable for a e35 spot-fine on top of thefare.

Unless you intend to walk all day, you’llalmost certainly save money by buyingsome sort of travel card as soon as you

arrive. ACTV produces a one-day (24hr)ticket (e10.50) and a three-day (72hr)ticket (e22), which can be used on allACTV services within Venice (includingACTV land buses from the airport). Forseven days of unrestricted travel, youhave to buy a Venice Card (see p.168).

If you buy one of these unrestrictedtravel tickets at the train station orPiazzale Roma it will in all likelihood beautomatically validated with a time-stamp; the same goes for ordinary tickets.When using a non-validated ticket youmust validate it before embarking, byinserting it into one of the machines at theentrance to the vaporetto stop or on boardthe bus (the machines are paintedorange); the ticket is valid from thatmoment, and you need to validate it justonce.

Water-bus servicesWhat follows is a run-through of the mostuseful services. Be warned that so manyservices call at San Marco, San Zaccaria,Rialto and the train station that the busstops at these points are spread out overa long stretch of waterfront, so you mighthave to walk past several stops beforefinding the one you need. Services to SanMarco will call either at plain San Marcoor at the adjacent San Marco Vallaresso.As a further refinement, the San Zaccariastop, which is as close to the Basilica asthe San Marco Vallaresso stop, is some-times treated as the third San Marco stop.

#1The slowest of the water-buses, and theone you’ll use most often. It starts atPiazzale Roma, calls at every stop on theCanal Grande except San Samuele, worksits way along the San Marco waterfront toSant’Elena, then goes over to the Lido. The#1 runs every 20min between 5 and6.30am, every 10min between 6.30am and9.45pm, and every 20min between 9.45and 11.45pm. For the night service, see#N.

#82This service is the quickest means of get-ting from the train or bus station down theCanal Grande to San Marco, as it makesfewer stops than the #1. Its clockwise routetakes it from San Zaccaria to San Giorgio

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170Maggiore, Giudecca (Zitelle, Redentore andPalanca), Záttere, San Basilio, Sacca Fisola,Tronchetto, Piazzale Roma, the train station,then down the Canal Grande (usually callingat Rialto, Sant’Angelo, San Tomà, SanSamuele and Accademia) to San Marco(Vallaresso); the anticlockwise version callsat the same stops. From Monday to Fridaythe #82 runs along most of the route (inboth directions) every 10min from 6am to8.30pm, then every 20min until 11pm, butfor the section between Rialto and SanMarco the bus runs only every 20minthrough the day and is even less frequentbefore 8am and after 8.30pm; at weekendsthe #82 runs every 20min for the wholeroute. In summer the #82 is extended fromSan Zaccaria to the Lido. For the night serv-ice see #N.

#41/42The circular service, running right round thecore of Venice, with a short detour at thenorthern end to San Michele and Murano.The #41 travels anticlockwise, the #42clockwise, and both run every 20min from6.30am until around 8pm, after which theservice simply shuttles between Muranoand Venice every 10–20min until around11.30pm.

#51/52Similar to the #41/42, this route also circlesVenice, but heads out to the Lido (ratherthan Murano) at the easternmost end of thecircle. The #51 runs anticlockwise, the #52clockwise, and both run fast through theGiudecca canal, stopping only at Záttereand Santa Marta between San Zaccaria andPiazzale Roma. Both run every 20min formost of the day. From 4.30–6am &8.30–11pm the #51 doesn’t do a completelap of the city – instead it departs every 20min from Fondamenta Nove and proceedsvia the train station to the Lido, where it ter-minates; similarly, from 7–11pm the #52(which starts operating at 6am) shuttlesbetween the Lido and Fondamente Nove inthe opposite direction, and from 11pm toaround 1.30am goes no farther than thetrain station.

#LNFor most of the day the #Laguna Nord runsevery half-hour from Fondamente Nove(hourly early in the morning and evenings),calling first at Murano-Faro before headingon to Mazzorbo, Burano (from where thereis a connecting half-hourly #T shuttle toTorcello), Treporti and the Lido.

#NThis night service (11.30pm–4.30am) is aselective fusion of the #1 and #82 routes,running from the Lido to Giardini, SanZaccaria, San Marco (Vallaresso), CanalGrande (Accademia, San Samuele, SanTomà, Rialto, Ca’ d’Oro, San Stae, SanMarcuola), train station, Piazzale Roma,Tronchetto, Sacca Fisola, San Basilio,Záttere, Giudecca (Palanca, Redentore andZitelle), San Giorgio and San Zaccaria, thenretracing its route. It runs along the wholeof the route in both directions roughly every30min, and along the Rialto to Tronchettopart every 20min. Another night serviceconnects Venice with Murano and Burano,running to and from Fondamente Noveevery 30min between midnight and 4am.

TraghettiCosting just 40cents, traghetti (gondolaferries) are the only cheap way of gettinga ride on a gondola, albeit a stripped-down version, with none of the trimmingsand no padded seats – it’s de rigueur tostand in the traghetto gondolas. The gon-dola traghetti across the Canal Grandeare as follows; in the winter months it’scommon for traghetti services to be sus-pended.

Santa Maria del Giglio–Salute(Mon–Sat 9am–7pm)

Ca’ Rezzonico–San Samuele(Mon–Sat 7.40am–1.20pm)

San Tomà–Santo Stefano(Mon–Sat 7am–8.50pm, Sun 8am–7.50pm)

Riva del Carbon–Riva del Vin(near Rialto, Mon–Sat 8am–2pm)

Santa Sofia–Rialto(Mon–Sat 7am–8.50pm, Sun 8am–7.50pm)

San Marcuola–Fondaco dei Turchi(Mon–Sat 7.30am–1.30pm)

In addition to these, some vaporetti andmotoscafi operate as traghetti: for exam-ple, if you want to go from San Zaccariaover to San Giorgio Maggiore, or from onebank of the Canal Grande to the bankimmediately opposite, you need only paythe lower traghetto fare of e1.80. If yourjourney is a short single-stop trip across abody of water, a traghetto fare almost cer-tainly applies, even if it’s not shown on thetariff list on the ticket booth.

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In an attempt to make sure that tourists goto see more than just the big central mon-uments, the city has introduced a numberof combined tickets called Museum Cards.The card for I Musei di Piazza San Marco,costing e11 (e5.50 for EU students aged15–29, EU citizens over 65 & Rolling VeniceCard holders, e3 for children aged 6–14),allows you to visit the Palazzo Ducale,Museo Correr, Museo Archeologico and theBiblioteca Marciana. The Area delSettecento card (Museums of Eighteenth-Century Culture) covers Ca’ Rezzonico,Casa Goldoni and the Palazzo Mocenigo,and costs e8/e4.50, while I Musei delleIsole (Island Museums) covers the Museodel Merletto (Burano) and the Museo delVetro (Murano), and costs e6/e4. In addi-tion to these, the Museum Pass, costinge15.50/e10, covers all the museums list-ed above. Cards are valid for three months,

allow one visit to each attraction, and areavailable from any of the participatingmuseums. The Musei di Piazza SanMarco can only be visited with a MuseumCard; at the other places you have theoption of paying an entry charge just forthat attraction. The Internet site for all themuseums mentioned above is wwww.museiciviciveneziani.it. Note also theorange version of the Venice Card (seep.168) covers all of the museums coveredby the Museum Pass.

Fourteen churches are now part of theChorus Pass scheme (wwww.chorus-ve.org), whereby an e8 ticket (e5 forholders of orange Venice Card) allows onevisit to each of the churches over a one-year period. The individual entrance fee ateach of the participating churches is e2,and all the churches (except for the Frari)observe the same opening hours: Monday

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GondolasThe gondola is the city’s biggest cliché,but it’s an astonishingly graceful craft,perfectly designed for negotiating thetortuous canals, and an hour’s slowvoyage through the city can give you awholly new perspective on the place. Tohire one costs e62 per fifty minutes forup to six passengers, rising to e77.45between 8pm and 8am; you pay an extrae31 for every additional 25 minutes, ore38.75 from 8pm to 8am. Further heftysurcharges will be levied should yourequire the services of an on-boardaccordionist or tenor. Even though thetariff is set by the local authorities (andhas stayed the same since 1997, so a risemust be imminent), it’s been known forsome gondoliers to try to extort evenhigher rates – if you do decide to go for aride, establish the charge before settingoff.

TaxisVenice’s water-taxis are sleek andspeedy vehicles that can penetrate all butthe shallowest of the city’s canals. Unfor-tunately their use is confined to all but theowners of the deepest pockets, for theyare possibly the most expensive form oftaxi in western Europe: the clock starts ate8.70 and goes up e1.30 every minute.All sorts of additional surcharges arelevied as well – e1.60 for each extraperson if there are more than four peoplein the party; e1.50 for each piece of lug-gage over 50cm long; e5.50 for a ridebetween 10pm and 7am. There are threeways of getting a taxi: go to one of themain stands (in front of the Piazzetta and atthe airport), find one in the process of dis-gorging its passengers, or call one byphone (T041.522.2303 or 041.723.112).If you phone for one, you’ll pay a sur-charge of e6.

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http://www.museiciviciveneziani.it

As recently as just one generation agoVenice was a night city, where the resi-dents of each parish set out tables on thestreet at the flimsiest excuse. Nowadays,with the pavements overrun by outsiders,the social life of the Venetians is more ofan indoor business – a restaurant meal ora drink with friends might feature in mostpeople’s diary for the week, and a conver-sational stroll is certainly a favouriteVenetian pastime, but home entertain-ment takes up most time and energy. Thatsaid, Venice’s calendar of special eventsis pretty impressive, with the Carnevale,the Film Festival and the Biennale rankingamong the continent’s hottest dates. Tofind out what’s on in the way of concertsand films, check Un Ospite di Venezia, afree bilingual magazine available from thetourist office and some of the moreexpensive hotels – it’s produced weekly inpeak season, monthly in winter.Information and listings for bars, events,festivals can also be found at wwww.govenice.com.

The Film FestivalThe Venice Film Festival, founded in1932, is the world’s oldest and the mostimportant in Europe after Cannes. Theeleven-day event takes place on the Lidoevery year in late August and/or earlySeptember. Posters advertising the Festi-val’s schedule appear weeks in advance,and the tourist office will have the Festivalprogramme a fair time before the event,

as will the two cinemas where the filmsare shown – the Palazzo del Cinemà onLungomare G. Marconi and the neigh-bouring PalaGalileo. Tickets are availableto the general public, but you have to goalong and queue for them at the Pala-Galileo on the day before theperformance. Any remaining tickets aresold off at PalaGalileo one hour before thescreening, but nearly all shows are soldout well before then.

The BiennaleThe Venice Biennale, Europe’s mostglamorous international forum for con-temporary art, was first held in 1895 asthe city’s contribution to the celebrationsfor the silver wedding anniversary of KingUmberto I and Margherita of Savoy, and isnow held every odd-numbered yearfrom June to November. The main siteis in the Giardini Pubblici, where there arepermanent pavilions for about forty coun-tries plus space for a thematicinternational exhibition. This central partof the Biennale is supplemented by exhi-bitions in larger venues all over the city,such as the salt warehouses on the Zát-tere or the colossal Corderie. In addition,smaller sites throughout the city – includ-ing the streets and parks – host fringeexhibitions, installations and performanc-es, particularly in the opening weeks.Some pavilions and other venues areused in non-Biennale years for an inde-pendent Biennale for architecture.

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172to Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sunday 1 to5pm (but closed Sunday in July andAugust). The churches involved are: SantaMaria del Giglio, Santo Stefano, SantaMaria Formosa; Santa Maria dei Miracoli,the Frari (all year Mon–Sat 9am–6pm, Sun1–6pm), San Polo, San Giacomo dell’Orio,

San Stae, Sant’Alvise, Madonna dell’Orto,San Pietro di Castello, Redentore, SanSebastiano and San GiovanniElemosinario. The Chorus Pass is availableat all of these churches, but the Fraridoesn’t issue the discounted version.

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Information on the Biennale is available atwwww.labiennale.com.

CarnevaleJohn Evelyn wrote of the 1646 Carnevale:“all the world was in Venice to see thefolly and madness . . . the women, menand persons of all conditions disguisingthemselves in antique dresses, & extrava-gant Musique & a thousand gambols.”Not much is different in today’sCarnevale, for which people arrive in suchnumbers that the causeway from themainland has sometimes had to be closedbecause the city has been too packed.Carnevale takes place over the ten daysleading up to Lent, finishing on ShroveTuesday with a masked ball for the glit-terati, and dancing in the Piazza for theplebs. During the day people don cos-tumes and go down to the Piazza to bephotographed; parents dress up theirkids; businessmen can be seen doingtheir shopping in the classic white mask,black cloak and tricorne hat. In theevening some congregate in the remotersquares, while those who have spenthundreds of euros on their costumesinstall themselves in the windows of Flori-an’s and pose for a while. But you don’tneed to spend money or try to be “tradi-tional” in your disguise: a simple blackoutfit and a painted face is enough totransform you from a spectator into a par-ticipant.

La Sensa andVogalonga The feast of La Sensa happens in May onthe Sunday after Ascension Day – thelatter being the day on which the dogeenacted the wedding of Venice to the sea.The ritual has recently been revived – adistinctly feeble procession which endswith the mayor and a gang of other digni-taries getting into a present-dayapproximation of the Bucintoro (the statebarge) and sailing off to the Lido. A gon-dola regatta follows the ceremony, but farmore spectacular is the Vogalonga (longrow), which is held on the same day.Established in 1974 as a protest against

the excessive number of motorboats onthe canals, the Vogalonga is now open toany crew in any class of rowing boat, andcovers a 32-kilometre course from theBacino di San Marco out to Burano andback; the competitors set off at 8.30amand arrive at the bottom of the CanalGrande anywhere between about 11amand 3pm.

Festa del RedentoreThe Festa del Redentore is one ofVenice’s plague-related festivals, markingthe end of the epidemic of 1576. Cele-brated on the third Sunday in July, theday is centred on Palladio’s church of theRedentore, which was built by way ofthanksgiving for the city’s escape. Abridge of boats is strung across theGiudecca canal to allow the faithful towalk over to the church, and on the Satur-day night hundreds of people row out fora picnic on the water. The night ends witha grand fireworks display, after which it’straditional to row to the Lido for the sun-rise.

The Regata StoricaHeld on the first Sunday in September,the Regata Storica is the annual trial ofstrength and skill for the city’s gondoliersand other expert rowers. It starts with aprocession of richly decorated historiccraft along the Canal Grande course, theircrews all decked out in period dress, fol-lowed by a series of races right up thecanal. Re-enacting the return of CaterinaCornaro to her native city in 1489 (seep.65), the opening parade is a spectacu-lar affair, and the races attract a sizeable(and partisan) crowd. The first race of theday is for young rowers in two-oared pup-parini; the women’s race comes next, andthen it’s the big one – the men’s race, inspecialized racing gondolas called gondo-lini.

La SaluteNamed after the church of the Salute,the Festa della Salute is a reminder ofthe plague of 1630–31, which killed one-third of the population of the lagoon.

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ACTV ENQUIRIES Piazzale Roma, daily7.30am–8pm (t041.528.7886); English-language information from Hello Venezia ont041.2424 (7.30am–8pm daily) orwwww.hellovenzia.it.

AIRPORT ENQUIRIES Marco Polo airport,t041.260.9260,wwww.veniceairport.it.

AMERICAN EXPRESS The AmericanExpress office is at Salizzada S. Moisè, SanMarco 1471, a couple of minutes’ walkwest of the Piazza (Mon–Fri 9am–5.30pm,Sat 9am–12.30pm; t041.520.0844). Theiremergency number is t800.64.046 (toll-free).

BANKS Banks in Venice are concentratedon Calle Larga XXII Marzo (west of thePiazza), and along the chain of squares andalleyways between Campo S. Bartolomeoand Campo Manin (in the north of the SanMarco sestiere). There’s not much tochoose between them in terms of commis-sion and exchange rates, and their hoursare generally Mon–Fri 8.30am–1.30pm and2.30–3.30pm. The main ones are as fol-lows: Banca Commerciale Italiana, CalleLarga XXII Marzo, San Marco 2188; Bancad’Italia, Campo S. Bartolomeo, San Marco4799; Banca Credito Italiano, Campo S.Salvador, San Marco; Banco di Roma,Mercerie dell’Orologio, San Marco 191;Banco San Marco, Calle Larga XXII Marzo,San Marco 383.

CONSULATES AND EMBASSIES TheBritish consulate is in the Palazzo Querini,Dorsoduro 1051 t041.522.7207 (by theAccademia); this office is staffed by an hon-orary consul – the closest full consulate isin Milan, at Via San Paolo 7 t02.723.001.The nearest US consulate is also in Milan,at Via Principe Amedeo t02.290.351.Travellers from Ireland, Australia, NewZealand and Canada should contact theirRome embassies: Irish Embassy, Piazza di

Campitelli 3 t06.697.9121; AustralianEmbassy, Via Alessandria 215t041.06/852.721; New Zealand Embassy,Via Zara 28 t06.441.7171; CanadianEmbassy, Via G. B. de Rossi 27t041.06/445.981.

EMERGENCIES For all emergency servicesring t113. Alternatively, dialling t112 putsyou straight through to the Carabinieri(police), t115 goes straight to the Vigili delFuoco (fire brigade) and t118 straight toPronto Soccorso Medico (ambulance).

EXCHANGE There are clusters of exchangebureaux (cambios) where most touristsgather – near San Marco, the Rialto and thetrain station. Open late every day of theweek, they can be useful in emergencies,but their rates of commission and exchangetend to be steep. The best rates are atAmerican Express and the main banks.

HOSPITAL Ospedale Civile, Campo SS.Giovanni e Paolo; emergency departmentt041.529.4516.

INTERNET ACCESS Dozens of dedicatedInternet points have opened in the last fewyears, and you’ll also find them in numer-ous cafés and shops. Most charge e3–5per half-hour, though rates usually drop thelonger you stay online.

LOST PROPERTY If you lose anything onthe train or at the station, callt041.785.238; at the airport callt041.260.6436; on the vaporetti callt041.272.2179, on the buses callt041.272.2838; and anywhere in the cityitself call the town hall on t041.274.8225.

POLICE To notify police of a theft or lostpassport, report to the Questura onFondamenta S. Lorenzo (t041.528.4666);in the event of an emergency, ring t113.

POST OFFICES Venice’s main post office isin the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, near the Rialto

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174The church was built in thanks for deliv-erance from the outbreak, and everyNovember 21 since then the Venetianshave processed over a pontoon bridgeacross the Canal Grande to give thanksfor their good health, or to pray for sick

friends and relatives. It offers the onlychance to see the church as it wasdesigned to be seen – with its main doorsopen and hundreds of people milling upand down the steps.

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bridge (Mon–Sat 8.30am–6.30pm). Anyposte restante should be addressed toFermo Posta, Fondaco dei Tedeschi, 80100Venezia; take your passport along when col-lecting your post. The principal branch postoffices are in Calle dell’Ascensione(Mon–Sat 8.10am–6pm) and at Záttere1406 (same hours). Stamps can also bebought in tabacchi, as well as in some giftshops.

PUBLIC TOILETS The lack of public toiletsin Venice used to be a common complaintfrom tourists, but AmaV (Azienda multi-servizi ambientale Veneziana) has nowinstalled facilities on or very near to most ofthe main squares, and all over the city you’llsee green, blue and white AmaV signs highon the walls, directing you to the nearestpublic toilet. You’ll need a 50cent coin, butthe toilets are usually staffed, so you canget change; note that the Venice Card (seep.168) gives free access to all staffed AmaVtoilets. The main facilities are at the train

station, at Piazzale Roma, on the west sideof the Accademia bridge, by the main touristoffice at the Giardinetti Reali, off the westside of the Piazza, off Campo S.Bartolomeo, on Campo S. Polo, CampoRialto Nuovo, Campo S. Leonardo, CampoSan’Angelo and on Campo S. Margherita.Toilets are to be found in most of the city’sbars as well; it’s diplomatic, to say the least,to buy a drink before availing yourself.

TELEPHONES Nearly all Venice’s publiccall-boxes accept nothing but phone cards,which can be bought from tabacchi andsome other shops (look for the TelecomItalia sticker); the less expensive type ofcards can be bought from machines by theTelecom Italia phone booths in Strada Nova(near S. Felice), Calle S. Luca, PiazzaleRoma and adjoining the main post officebuilding near the Rialto bridge. You’re neverfar from a pay phone – every sizeablecampo has at least one, and there arephones by every vaporetto stop.

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The basicsWhat follows is a brief pronunciation guide and a run-down of essentialwords and phrases. For more detail, get Italian: A Rough GuideDictionary Phrase Book, which has a huge but accessible vocabulary,a detailed menu reader and useful dialogues.

PronunciationItalian pronunciation is easy, since every word is spoken exactly asit’s written. The only difficulties you’re likely to encounter are thefew consonants that are different from English:c before e or i is pronounced as in church, while ch before the same vowels is hard,

as in cat.sci or sce are pronounced as in sheet and shelter respectively.g is soft before e and i, as in geranium; hard when followed by h, as in garlic.gn has the ni sound of our “onion”.gl in Italian is softened to something like li in English, as in stallion.h is not aspirated, as in honour.

All Italian words are stressed on the penultimate syllable unless anaccent (´ or `) denotes otherwise, although written accents are oftenleft out in practice. Note that the ending -ia or -ie counts as twosyllables, hence trattoria is stressed on the i.

Words and phrasesBasic words and phrases

Good morning Buon giornoGood afternoon/ Buona sera

eveningGood night Buona notteGoodbye ArrivederciYes SiNo NoPlease Per favoreThank you Grázie

(very much) (molte/mille grazie)You’re welcome PregoAlright/that’s OK Va beneHow are you? Come stai/sta?

(informal/formal)I’m fine BeneDo you speak Parla inglese?English?

I don’t understand Non ho capitoI don’t know Non lo soExcuse me Mi scusi/Prego

Excuse me Permesso(in a crowd)

I’m sorry Mi dispiaceI’m English Sono inglese

Scottish scozzeseAmerican americanoIrish irlandeseWelsh gallese

Today OggiTomorrow DomaniDay after tomorrow DopodomaniYesterday IeriNow AdessoLater Più tardiWait a minute! Aspetta!In the morning Di mattinaIn the afternoon Nel pomeriggioIn the evening Di seraHere/there Qui/LaGood/bad Buono/CattivoBig/small Grande/PíccoloCheap/expensive Económico/Caro

Hot/cold Caldo/FreddoNear/far Vicino/LontanoVacant/occupied Libero/OccupatoWith/without Con/SenzaMore/less Più/MenoEnough, no more BastaMr . . . Signor . . .Mrs . . . Signora . . .Miss . . . Signorina . . .

(il Signor, la Signora,la Signorina when speaking about someone else)

Numbers

1 uno2 due3 tre4 quattro5 cinque6 sei7 sette8 otto9 nove10 dieci11 undici12 dodici13 tredici14 quattordici15 quindici16 sedici17 diciassette18 diciotto19 diciannove20 venti21 ventuno22 ventidue30 trenta40 quaranta50 cinquanta60 sessanta70 settanta80 ottanta90 novanta100 cento101 centuno110 centodieci200 duecento500 cinquecento1000 mille5000 cinquemila10,000 diecimila50,000 cinquantamila

Some signs

Entrance/exit Entrata/UscitaOpen/closed Aperto/ChiusoArrivals/departures Arrivi/PartenzeClosed for Chiuso per restauro

restorationClosed for holidays Chiuso per ferie Pull/push Tirare/SpingereDo not touch Non toccareDanger PerícoloBeware AttenzioneFirst aid Pronto soccorsoRing the bell Suonare il

campanelloNo smoking Vietato fumare

Transport

Ferry TraghettoBus station AutostazioneTrain station Stazione ferroviariaA ticket to . . . Un biglietto a . . .One-way/return Solo andata/

andata e ritornoWhat time A che ora parte?

does it leave?Where does it Da dove parte?

leave from?

Accommodation

Hotel AlbergoDo you have Ha una cámera . . .

a room . . .for one/two/three per una/due/tre

people person(a/e)for one/two/three per una/due/tre

nights nott(e/i)for one/two per una/due

weeks settiman(a/e)with a double bed con un letto

matrimonialewith a shower/ con una doccia/

bath un bagnoHow much is it? Quanto costa?Is breakfast È compresa la

included? prima colazione?Do you have Ha niente che

anything cheaper? costa di meno? I’ll take it La prendo I’d like to book Vorrei prenotare

a room una cámeraI have a booking Ho una prenotazioneYouth hostel Ostello per la

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Questions and directions

Where? Dove?(where is/are . . ?) (Dov’è/Dove sono)

When? Quando?What? (what is it?) Cosa? (Cos’è?)How much/many? Quanto/Quanti?Why? Perché?It is/there is È/C’è

(is it/is there . . ?) (È/C’è . . . ?) What time is it? Che ora è/

Che ore sono?

How do I get to . . ? Come arrivo a . . ?What time does A che ora apre?

it open?What time does A che ora chiude?

it close?How much does Quanto costa?

it cost ?( . . do they cost?) (Quanto cóstano?)

What’s it called Come si chiama in in Italian? italiano?LA

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Menu readerThis glossary should allow you to decode most menus; it concludeswith a summary of Venetian specialities.

Basics and snacks

Aceto VinegarAglio GarlicBiscotti BiscuitsBurro ButterCaramelle SweetsCioccolato ChocolateFocaccia Oven-baked bread-

based snackFormaggio CheeseFrittata OmeletteGelato Ice creamGrissini Bread sticksMarmellata JamOlio OilOlive OlivesPane BreadPane integrale Wholemeal breadPanino Bread rollPatatine CrispsPatatine fritte ChipsPepe PepperPizzetta Small cheese-and-

tomato pizza

Riso RiceSale SaltTramezzini SandwichUova EggsYogurt YoghurtZúcchero SugarZuppa Soup

Starters (Antipasti)

Antipasto misto Mixed cold meats and cheese (and a selection of other things in this list)

Caponata Mixed aubergine, olives,tomatoes and celery

Caprese Tomato and mozzarella salad

Insalata di mare Seafood saladInsalata di riso Rice saladMelanzane in Fried aubergine inparmigiana tomato and parmesan

cheeseMortadella Salami-type cured

meat

Pancetta BaconPeperonata Grilled green, red or

yellow peppers stewed in olive oil

Pomodori ripieni Stuffed tomatoesProsciutto HamSalame Salami

Soups

Brodo Clear brothMinestrina Any light soupMinestrone Thick vegetable soupPasta e fagioli Pasta soup with beansPastina in brodo Pasta pieces in clear

brothStracciatella Broth with egg

Pasta

Cannelloni Large tubes of pasta,stuffed

Farfalle Literally “bow”-shaped pasta; the word also means “butterflies”

Fettuccine Narrow pasta ribbonsGnocchi Small potato and dough

dumplingsLasagne LasagneMaccheroni Tubular spaghettiPasta al forno Pasta baked with

minced meat, eggs,tomato and cheese

Penne Smaller version of rigatoni

Ravioli Small packets of stuffed pasta

Rigatoni Large, grooved tubular pasta

Risotto Cooked rice dish, with sauce

Spaghetti SpaghettiSpaghettini Thin spaghettiTagliatelle Pasta ribbons, another

word for fettuccineTortellini Small rings of pasta,

stuffed with meat or cheese

Vermicelli Very thin spaghetti (literally “little worms”)

Pasta sauces

Aglio e olio Tossed in garlic and olive oil

(e peperoncino) (and hot chillies)Arrabbiata Spicy tomato sauce

Bolognese Meat sauceBurro e salvia Butter and sageCarbonara Cream, ham and

beaten eggFrutta di mare SeafoodFunghi MushroomMatriciana Cubed pork and tomato

saucePanna CreamParmigiano Parmesan cheesePesto Ground basil, pine nut,

garlic and pecorino sauce

Pomodoro Tomato sauceRagù Meat sauceVóngole Clam and tomato sauce

Meat (carne)

Agnello LambBistecca SteakConiglio RabbitCostolette ChopsCotolette CutletsFegatini Chicken liversFégato LiverInvoltini Steak slices, rolled and

stuffedLingua TongueMaiale PorkManzo BeefOssobuco Shin of vealPollo ChickenPolpette Meatballs

(or balls of anything minced)

Rognoni KidneysSalsiccia SausageSaltimbocca Veal with hamSpezzatino StewTacchino TurkeyTrippa TripeVitello Veal

Fish (pesce) and shellfish(crostacei)

Acciughe AnchoviesAnguilla EelAragosta LobsterBaccalà Dried salted codBronzino/ Sea-bass

BranzinoCalamari SquidCape lungue Razor clamsCape sante ScallopsCaparossoli Shrimps

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Coda di rospo MonkfishCozze MusselsDentice Dentex (like sea bass)Gamberetti ShrimpsGámberi PrawnsGranchio CrabMerluzzo CodOrata BreamOstriche OystersPescespada SwordfishPólipo OctopusRicci di mare Sea urchinsRombo TurbotSan Pietro John DorySarde SardinesSchie ShrimpsSeppie CuttlefishSógliola SoleTonno TunaTriglie Red mullet Trota TroutVóngole Clams

Vegetables (contorni) and salad(insalata)

Asparagi AsparagusBasílico BasilBróccoli BroccoliCápperi CapersCarciofi ArtichokesCarciofini Artichoke heartsCarotte CarrotsCavolfiori CauliflowerCávolo CabbageCeci ChickpeasCetriolo CucumberCipolla OnionFagioli BeansFagiolini Green beansFinocchio FennelFunghi MushroomsInsalata verde/ Green salad/

insalata mista mixed saladMelanzana Aubergine/eggplantOrígano OreganoPatate PotatoesPeperoni PeppersPiselli PeasPomodori TomatoesRadicchio ChicorySpinaci SpinachZucchini CourgettesZucca Pumpkin

Desserts (dolci)

Amaretti MacaroonsCassata Ice-cream cake with

candied fruitGelato Ice creamMacedonia Fruit saladTorta Cake, tartZabaglione Dessert made with

eggs, sugar and Marsala wine

Zuppa Inglese Trifle

Cheese (formaggi)

Caciocavallo A type of dried, mature mozzarella cheese

Fontina Northern Italian cheese used in cooking

Gorgonzola Soft blue-veined cheese

Mozzarella Bland soft white cheeseused on pizzas

Parmigiano Parmesan cheesePecorino Strong-tasting hard

sheep’s cheeseProvolone Hard strong cheeseRicotta Soft white cheese

made from ewe’s milk, used in sweet orsavoury dishes

Fruit (frutta) and nuts (noce)

Ananas PineappleAnguria/ WatermelonCoccómero

Arance OrangesBanane BananasCiliegie CherriesFichi FigsFichi d’India Prickly pearsFrágole StrawberriesLimone LemonMándorle AlmondsMele ApplesMelone MelonPere PearsPesche PeachesPignoli Pine nutsPistacchio Pistachio nutUva Grapes

Drinks

Acqua minerale Mineral waterAranciata Orangeade

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Bicchiere GlassBirra BeerBottiglia BottleCaffè CoffeeCioccolata calda Hot chocolateGhiaccio IceGranita Iced coffee or fruit

drinkLatte MilkLimonata LemonadeSelz Soda waterSpremuta Fresh fruit juiceSpumante Sparkling wineSucco Concentrated fruit

juice with sugarTè TeaTónico Tonic waterVino WineRosso RedBianco WhiteRosato RoséSecco DryDolce SweetLitro LitreMezzo HalfQuarto QuarterSalute! Cheers!

VenetianspecialitiesAntipasti (starters) e Primi (firstcourse)

Acciughe marinate Marinated anchovieswith onions

Bigoli in salsa Spaghetti with butter, onions and sardines

Brodetto Mixed fish soup,often with tomatoesand garlic

Castraura Artichoke heartsGranseola alla Crab cooked with

Veneziana oil, parsley and lemon

Pasta e fagioli Pasta and beansSan Prosciutto The best quality

Daniele prosciuttoRisotto di mare Mixed seafood

risottoRisotto di cape Risotto with clams

and shellfishRisotto alla Risotto with

sbirraglia chicken, vegetablesand ham

Risotto alla Risotto with butter,trevigiana onions and chicory

Sopa de peoci Mussel soup with garlic and parsley

Secondi (second course)

Anguilla alla Eel cooked with Veneziana lemon and tuna

Baccalà mantecato Salt cod simmered in milk

Fegato veneziana Sliced calf’s liver cooked in olive oil with onion

Peoci salati Mussels with parsley and garlic

Risi e bisi Rice and peas, with parmesan and ham

Sarde in saor Marinated sardinesSeppie in nero Squid cooked in its

inkSeppioline nere Baby cuttlefish

cooked in its ink

Dolci

Frittole alla Rum- and anise-Veneziana flavoured fritters

filled with pine nuts, raisins and candied fruit

Tiramisù Dessert of layered chocolate and cream, flavoured with rum and coffee

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Useful stuff

Venetian namesVenice has an array of idiosyncratic names for features of thecityscape. A canal is a rio, and an alleyway that cuts through abuilding is a sottoportico or sottoportego, to give its dialect version.A street in Venice is generally a calle, but a parish’s major streetmight be a ruga or a salizzada, a small street may be a ramo, astreet alongside a body of water is a fondamenta (or a riva if it’sreally big), and a street formed by filling in a canal is customarily a rioterrà (or terà). A square is usually a campo (there’s only one Piazza –San Marco), but it might be a campiello if it’s tiny, a piscina if it wasformed by filling in a place where boats used to turn, or a corte if it’smore of a courtyard than a square.

Good morning – Buon giornoGood afternoon/evening –

Buona seraGood night – Buona notteGoodbye – Arrivederci Yes – SiNo – NoPlease – Per favoreThank you (very much) – Grázie

(molte/mille grazie)You’re welcome – PregoAlright/that’s OK – Va beneHow are you? (informal/

formal) – Come stai/sta? I’m fine – BeneDo you speak English? – Parla

inglese?I don’t understand – Non ho

capitoI don’t know – Non lo soExcuse me – Mi scusi/PregoExcuse me (in a crowd) –

PermessoI’m sorry – Mi dispiaceToday – OggiTomorrow – Domani

Day after tomorrow –Dopodomani

Yesterday – IeriNow – AdessoLater – Più tardiWait a minute! – Aspetta!In the morning – Di mattinaIn the afternoon – Nel

pomeriggioIn the evening – Di seraHere/there – Qui/LaGood/bad – Buono/CattivoBig/small – Grande/Píccolo Cheap/expensive –

Económico/CaroHot/cold – Caldo/FreddoNear/far – Vicino/LontanoVacant/occupied –

Libero/OccupatoWith/without – Con/Senza More/less – Più/MenoEnough, no more – BastaMr . . . – Signor . . .Mrs . . . – Signora . . .Miss . . . – Signorina . . .

Words and phrases

Con ten t s Use fu l S t u f f

Index andsm

all print

Con ten t s I ndex and Sma l l P r i n t

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Publishing InformationThis 1st edition published May 2004 by Rough Guides Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL.345 Hudson St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10014,USA.

Distributed by the Penguin GroupPenguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RLPenguin Group (USA), 375 Hudson Street, NY10014, USAPenguin Group (Australia), 487 MaroondahHighway, PO Box 257, Ringwood, Victoria 3134,AustraliaPenguin Group (Canada), 10 Alcorn Avenue,Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 1E4Penguin Group (NZ), 182–190 Wairau Road,Auckland 10, New ZealandTypeset in Bembo and Helvetica to an originaldesign by Henry Iles.Printed and bound in Italy by Graphicom

© Jonathan Buckley, May 2004

No part of this book may be reproduced in anyform without permission from the publisher exceptfor the quotation of brief passages in reviews.

192pp includes indexA catalogue record for this book is available fromthe British Library

ISBN 1-84353-353-7

The publishers and authors have done their best toensure the accuracy and currency of all the infor-mation in Venice DIRECTIONS, however, they canaccept no responsibility for any loss, injury, orinconvenience sustained by any traveller as a resultof information or advice contained in the guide.

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2

A Rough Guide to Rough GuidesVenice DIRECTIONS is published by Rough Guides. The first Rough Guide to Greece, published in1982, was a student scheme that became a publishing phenomenon. The immediate success ofthe book – with numerous reprints and a Thomas Cook prize shortlisting – spawned a seriesthat rapidly covered dozens of destinations. Rough Guides had a ready market among low-budget backpackers, but soon also acquired a much broader and older readership that relishedRough Guides’ wit and inquisitiveness as much as their enthusiastic, critical approach. Everyonewants value for money, but not at any price. Rough Guides soon began supplementing the“rougher” information about hostels and low-budget listings with the kind of detail on restau-rants and quality hotels that independent-minded visitors on any budget might expect, whetheron business in New York or trekking in Thailand. These days the guides offer recommendationsfrom shoestring to luxury and a large number of destinations around the globe, including almostevery country in the Americas and Europe, more than half of Africa and most of Asia and Aus-tralasia. Rough Guides now publish:

• Travel guides to more than 200 worldwide destinations• Dictionary phrasebooks to 22 major languages• Maps printed on rip-proof and waterproof Polyart™ paper• Music guides running the gamut from Opera to Elvis • Reference books on topics as diverse as the Weather and Shakespeare• World Music CDs in association with World Music Network

Visit www.roughguides.com to see our latest publications.

We’ve gone to a lot of effort to ensure thatthe first edition of Venice DIRECTIONS isaccurate and up-to-date. However, thingschange – places get “discovered”, openinghours are notoriously fickle, restaurants androoms raise prices or lower standards. If youfeel we’ve got it wrong or left somethingout, we’d like to know, and if you canremember the address, the price, the time,the phone number, so much the better.

We’ll credit all contributions, and send acopy of the next edition (or any otherDIRECTIONS guide or Rough Guide if you

prefer) for the best letters. Everyone whowrites to us and isn't already a subscriberwill receive a copy of our full-colour thrice-yearly newsletter. Please mark letters:“Venice DIRECTIONS Update” and sendto: Rough Guides, 80 Strand, London WC2R0RL, or Rough Guides, 4th Floor, 345 Hud-son St, New York, NY 10014. Or send anemail to [email protected]

Have your questions answered and tellothers about your trip atwww.roughguides.atinfopop.com

Help us update


http://www.roughguides.atinfopop.com

187S

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Jonathan Buckley wrote the Rough Guide toVenice, is the co-author of Rough Guides toTuscany & Umbria and Florence, and has

published four novels: The Biography of ThomasLang, Xerxes, Ghost MacIndoe and Invisible.

Text editor: Kate Berens

Layout: Andy Hilliard

Photography: Neil Setchfield

Cartography: Manish Chandra, Jai Prakash

Mishra, Rajesh Chhibber, Ashutosh Bharti, Rajesh

Mishra, Animesh Pathak

Picture research: Sharon Martins, Mark

Thomas

Proofreader: Diane Margolis

Production: Julia Bovis

Design: Henry Iles

Rough Guide Credits

Photo creditsAll images © Rough Guides except the following:

p.1 Venetian street sign © Jonathan Buckleyp.11 Supper in the House of Levi, 1673 (oil on

canvas) by Veronese Paolo Caliari (1528–88).Galleria dell’ Accademia, Venice Italy/BridgemanArt Library

p.17 St Mark’s Cathedral © Werner FormanArchive

p.20 The Redentore © Worldwide PictureLibrary/Alamy

p.23 Cleopatra’s Banquet by Giovanni BattistaTiepolo (1696–1770). Palazzo Labia, VeniceItaly/Bridgeman Art Library

p.29 The Last Supper 1594 (oil on canvas) byTintoretto Domenico Robusti (1560–1635). SanGiorgio Maggiore, Venice Italy/Bridgeman ArtLibrary

p.32 Venetian dialect street sign © JonathanBuckley

p.33 Facade of the Gesuiti Church © PaulaWeidiger/Corbis

p.37 Vision of St Augustine (oil on canvas) byVittore Carpaccio. Scuola di San Giorgio degliSchiavoni, Venice Italy/Bridgeman Art Library

p.42 Portrait of Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643)(oil on canvas) by Domenico Fetti (1589–1624)© Galleria dell’ Accademia, VeniceItaly/Bridgeman Art Library

p.46 The Regata Storica © Mark L.Stephenson/Corbis

p.47 La Vogalonga © Todd Gipstein/Corbisp.47 Two revellers in Carnival costume

© Massimo Mastrorillo/Corbisp.47 Festa Del Redentore © Ted Spieqel/Corbisp.54 The Mosaics © Angelo Hornak/Corbisp.56 The Sala del Maggior Consiglio © Bridgemanp.120 San Zaccaria – Madonna and child altar by

Bellini © Mimmo Jodice/Corbice

AcknowledgementsThanks to Charles Hebbert and Kate Hughes for updating; and to Katie Lloyd-Jones and Lucy Ratcliffe.

The author


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AAccademia 77–79Accademia Bridge 136ACTV enquiries 174ACTV offices 169airports 167ambulances 174American Express 174Angelo Raffaele 83apartments 162archeological museum 59Arsenale 127

BBacino Orseolo 66banks 174bars (by area):

north of the Piazza 68west of the Piazza 75in Cannaregio 113in Central Castello 123in Dorsoduro 88in Eastern Castello 130in San Polo & Santa Croce 103

bars:Ai Do Draghi 88Al Ponte 123Al Volto 68Alla Rampa 130Alla Botte 68Antico Dolo 103Bácaro Jazz 68Café Blue 103Café Noir 103Cantina del Vino già Schiavi 88Cantina Vecia Carbonera 113Cip Ciap 123Corner Pub 88Da Codroma 88Devil’s Forest 68Do Mori 103Enoteca Mascareta 123Iguana 113Il Caffè 88L’Olandese Volante 123Margaret Du Champ 88Osteria ai Ormesini da Aldo

113Osteria alle Botteghe 75Osteria da Baco 123Paradiso Perduto 113Torino 68Vino Vino 75Vitae 68

Basilica di San Marco 52–54Biennale 172

Biennale site 129Bridge of Sighs 57Burano 143–144Burano map 144bus station 167

CCa d’Oro 110, 131Ca’ da Mosto 134Ca’ Fóscari 138Ca’ Pésaro 92, 137Ca’ Rezzonico 85, 139cafés & pasticcerie (by area):

on Piazza San Marco 62north of the Piazza 67west of the Piazza 74in Central Castello 122in Dorsoduro 86in San Polo & Santa Croce 101

cafés & pasticcerie:Causin 86Didovich 122Florian 62Il Doge 86La Boutique del Gelato 122Lavena 62Marchini 67Nico 86Paolin 74Quadri 62Rosa Salva 68, 122Snack & Sweet 122Tonolo 101

Calle Larga XXII Marzo 69Campanile di San Marco 57Campo dei Mori 108Campo Manin 66 Campo Novo 73Campo San Bartolomeo 65Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio

94Campo San Luca 66Campo San Polo 95Campo Santa Margherita 83Campo Santo Stefano 72Canal Grande 131–139Canal Grande map 132Cannaregio map 104Carmini 84Carnevale 173Casa Goldoni 96Castello (central) map 115Castello (eastern) map 124Cattedrale di Santa Maria

dell’Assunta (Torcello) 145cemetery 140Central Castello map 115Chioggia 153

Chorus Pass 171churches:

Angelo Raffaele 83Basilica di San Marco 52–54Carmini 84Cattedrale di Santa Maria

dell’Assunta (Torcello) 145Frari 96–98Gesuati 81Gesuiti 111Madonna dell’Orto 109Miracoli 115Ospedaletto 118Pietà 121Redentore 150St Mark’s 52–54San Barnaba 85San Bartolomeo 66San Cassiano 92San Francesco della Vigna 126San Geremia 106San Giacomo dell’Orio 94San Giacomo di Rialto 91San Giobbe 107San Giorgio dei Greci 121San Giorgio Maggiore 148San Giovanni Crisostomo 114San Giovanni Decollato 94San Giovanni in Brágora 127San Giuliano 64San Lazzaro degli Armeni 153San Marco 52–54San Martino (Burano) 144San Maurizio 72San Michele in Isola 140San Moisè 69San Nicolò (Lido) 152San Nicolò da Tolentino 100San Nicolò dei Mendicoli 83San Pantaleone 99San Pietro di Castello 128San Pietro Martire (Murano)

142San Polo 96San Rocco 99San Salvador 64San Sebastiano 82San Simeone Profeta 95San Stae 93San Trovaso 82San Zaccaria 119San Zan Degolà 94San Zanipolo 116San Zulian 64Sant’Alvise 108Sant’Elena 129Santa Fosca (Cannaregio) 110Santa Fosca (Torcello) 145Santa Maria dei Miracoli 115Santa Maria del Carmelo 84Santa Maria del Giglio 71Santa Maria del Rosario 81Santa Maria dell’Assunta

(Torcello) 145

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Santa Maria della Assunta(Cannaregio) 111

Santa Maria della Fava 119Santa Maria della Salute 80Santa Maria della Visitazione

121Santa Maria di Nazaretta 105Santa Maria Formosa 118Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari

96–98Santa Maria Mater Domini 92Santi Apostoli 110Santi Giovanni e Paolo 116Santi Maria e Donato

(Murano) 143Santo Stefano 72Scalzi 105Tolentini 100Zitelle 150

Clock Tower 58Colleoni monument 117consulates 174Correr Museum 59

DDogana di Mare 139Doge’s Palace 54–57Dorsoduro map 76

EEastern Castello map 124embassies 174emergency phone numbers

174

FFenice 70, 75Festa del Redentore 173Festa della Salute 173Festa della Sensa 173festivals 172–174Film Festival 172Fondaco dei Tedeschi 134Fondaco dei Turchi 94, 137Fondamenta Nove 111food & drink (vocabulary)

181–184Fortezza di Sant’Andrea 152Fortuny Museum 66Frari 96–98

GGalleria Giorgio Franchetti 110

Galleria Internazionale d’ArteModerna 92

Gesuati 81Gesuiti 111Ghetto 107Giardinetti Reali 61Giardini Garibaldi 128Giardini Pubblici 128Giardino Papadopoli 100Giudecca 150glass-making 142Gobbo di Rialto 92gondolas 170Guggenheim Collection 79

Hhospital 174hostels:

Domus Ciliota 163Domus Civica 163Foresteria Valdese 163Ostello Santa Fosca 163Ostello Venezia (HI hostel)163Suore Canossiane 163

hotels (by area):north of the Piazza 157west of the Piazza 158in Cannaregio 160in Central Castello 161in Dorsoduro 159in Eastern Castello 162in San Polo & Santa Croce 159

hotels:Abbazia 160Accademia Villa Maravege 159Adua 160Agli Alboretti 159Ai Do Mori 157Al Gallo 159Al Leon 161Al Saor 160Ala 158Alex 159Art Deco 158Bernardi Semenzato 160Ca’ Fóscari 159Ca’ Pisani 159Canada 161Caneva 161Casa Linger 162Casa Martini 160Casa Petrarca 158Casa Querini 161Casa Verardo 161Danieli 161Del Ghetto 160Doni 161Falier 159Fiorita 158Flora 158Gabrielli Sandwirth 162Giorgione 160Gritti Palace 158Kette 158

La Calcina 159La Residenza 162Locanda Leon Bianco 161Locanda Salieri 160Messner 159Monaco and Grand Canal 158Noemi 158Novecento 158Novo 160Orseolo 158Paganelli 161Pausania 159San Barnaba 159San Cassiano-Ca’ Favretto

160Scandinavia 161Sturion 160Villa Rosa 161

Iinformation offices 167Internet access 174Italian words and phrases

179–184

LLibreria Sansoviniana 61Lido 151lost property 174

MMadonna dell’Orto 109Malamocco 152Marco Polo airport 167menus (vocabulary) 181–184Mercerie 63Miracoli 115modern art museum 92Mulino Stucky 151Murano 141–143Murano map 141Murazzi 153Museo Archeologico 59Museo Correr 59Museo del Settecento

Veneziano 85Museo del Vetro (Murano) 142Museo di Dipinti Sacri

Bizantini 121Museo di Storia Naturale 94Museo di Torcello 145Museo Diocesano 119Museo Ebraico 108Museo Fortuny 66Museo Goldoni 96Museo Orientale 93


Museo Storico Navale 128Museum Cards 171museums & galleries:

Accademia 77–79archeological museum 59Ca’ d’Oro 110Ca’ Rezzonico 85Galleria Giorgio Franchetti 110Galleria Internazionale d’Arte

Moderna 92Guggenheim 79modern art museum 92Museo Archeologico 59Museo Correr 59Museo del Settecento

Veneziano 85Museo del Vetro (Murano) 142Museo di Dipinti Sacri

Bizantini 121Museo di Storia Naturale 94Museo di Torcello 145Museo Diocesano 119Museo Ebraico 108Museo Fortuny 66Museo Goldoni 96Museo Orientale 93Museo Storico Navale 128natural history museum 94Palazzo Mocenigo 94Pinacoteca Querini-Stampalia

119Scuola dei Merletti (Burano)

143Scuola di San Giorgio degli

Schiavoni 126Scuola Grande dei Carmini 84Scuola Grande di San Rocco

98–98

Nnatural history museum 94

Oopera house 70, 75oriental museum 93Ospedaletto 118

PPalazzi Barbaro 136Palazzi Giustinian 138Palazzo Balbi 138Palazzo Contarini-Fasan 136Palazzo Corner della Ca’

Grande 136Palazzo Corner della Regina

137Palazzo Dario 139

Palazzo dei Camerlenghi 138Palazzo Ducale 54–57Palazzo Farsetti 135Palazzo Grassi 135Palazzo Grimani 135Palazzo Labia 106, 131Palazzo Loredan 135Palazzo Mocenigo (San Marco)

135Palazzo Mocenigo (San Polo)

94Palazzo Mocenigo Vecchio 135Palazzo Mocenigo-Nero 135Palazzo Pisani (at Santo

Stefano) 73Palazzo Querini-Stampalia 119Palazzo Vendramin-Calergi

131Palazzo Venier dei Leoni 139Parco delle Rimembranze 128Pellestrina 153Pescheria 90phones 175phrases 179–184Piazza San Marco 51–62Piazza San Marco map 51Piazzale Roma 167Piazzetta 60Pietà 121Pinacoteca Querini-Stampalia

119police 174Ponte Calatrava 131Ponte degli Scalzi 131Ponte dei Pugni 84Ponte dei Sospiri 57Ponte dell’Accademia 136Ponte di Rialto 134post offices 174Procuratie Nuove 59Procuratie Vecchie 58public toilets 175

Rrailway station 167Redentore 150Regata Storica 173restaurants (by area):

north of the Piazza 68west of the Piazza 74in Cannaregio 111in Central Castello 122in Dorsoduro 87in Eastern Castello 129in San Polo & Santa Croce 101on Giudecca 154on Burano 146on Murano 147on Torcello 147

restaurantsAciugheta 122

Acqua Pazza 74Ae Oche 101Ai Cugnai 87Ai Pescatori 146Ai Quattro Ferri 87Al Bacco 111Al Conte Pescaor 68Al Gatto Nero 147Al Ponte del Diavolo 147Alla Madonna 101Alla Vedova 111Alle Testiere 122Altanella 154Anice Stellato 112Antica Mola 112Anzolo Raffael 87Bancogiro 101Bentigodi 112Busa alla Torre 147Casa Mia 112Casin dei Nobili 87Corte Sconta 129Da Carla 74Da Fiore (San Marco) 74Da Fiore (San Polo) 102Da Gianni 88Da Remigio 123Da Sandro 102Dai Tosi 130Do Mori 154Fiaschetteria Toscana 123Harry’s Bar 74Harry’s Dolci 154Il Refolo 102Il Sole sulla Vecia Cavana 112Jazz Club 900 102La Colombina 112La Piscina 88La Zucca 102Le Bistrot de Venise 68Osteria al Ponte, “La Patatina”

103Osteria Sant’Elena 130Ribò 103Rosticceria Gislon 68Vini da Gigio 112

Rialto Bridge 134Rialto market 89, 138Riva degli Schiavoni 120Rolling Venice card 168room-booking service 157

SSt Mark’s 52–54San Barnaba 85San Bartolomeo 66San Cassiano 92San Francesco della Vigna 126San Geremia 106San Giacomo dell’Orio 94San Giacomo di Rialto 91San Giobbe 107San Giorgio dei Greci 121San Giorgio Maggiore 148

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San Giorgio Maggiore map148

San Giovanni Crisostomo 114San Giovanni Decollato 94San Giovanni in Brágora 127San Giuliano 64San Lazzaro degli Armeni 153San Marco 52–54San Marco: North of the

Piazza map 64San Marco Piazza map 51San Marco: West of the Piazza

map 70San Martino (Burano) 144San Maurizio 72San Michele 140San Michele in Isola 140San Moisè 69San Nicolò (Lido) 152San Nicolò da Tolentino 100San Nicolò dei Mendicoli 83San Pantaleone 99San Pietro di Castello 128San Pietro Martire (Murano)

142San Polo 96San Polo map 90San Rocco 99San Salvador 64San Sebastiano 82San Simeone Profeta 95San Stae 93San Trovaso 82San Zaccaria 119San Zan Degolà 94San Zanipolo 116San Zulian 64Sant’Alvise 108Sant’Elena 129Santa Croce map 90Santa Fosca (Cannaregio) 110Santa Fosca (Torcello) 145Santa Lucia train station 167Santa Maria dei Miracoli 115Santa Maria del Carmelo 84Santa Maria del Giglio 71Santa Maria del Rosario 81Santa Maria dell’Assunta

(Torcello) 145Santa Maria della Assunta 111Santa Maria della Fava 119Santa Maria della Salute 80Santa Maria della Visitazione

121Santa Maria di Nazaretta 105

Santa Maria Formosa 118Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari

96–98Santa Maria Mater Domini 92Santi Apostoli 110Santi Giovanni e Paolo 116Santi Maria e Donato

(Murano) 143Santo Stefano 72Scala del Bovolo 66Scalzi 105Scuola degli Albanesi 72Scuola dei Merletti (Burano)

143Scuola dei Tiraoro e Batioro 93Scuola di San Giorgio degli

Schiavoni 126Scuola di San Giovanni

Evangelista 99Scuola Grande dei Carmini 84Scuola Grande di San Marco

118Scuola Grande di San Rocco

98–99scuole 98Sensa 173shops (by area):

on Piazza San Marco 61north of the Piazza 67west of the Piazza 73in Central Castello 121in Dorsoduro 86in San Polo & Santa Croce 100on Burano 146on Murano 146

shopsAlberto Valese 73Barovier & Toso 146Berengo Fine Arts 146Bottega dei Mascareri 100Ca’ Macana 86Coin 121Costantini 73Domus Vetri d’Arte 146Fantoni 67Filippi Editore Venezia 121Francis Model 100Goldoni 67Jesurum 61Kerer 122L’Isola 74La Nave d’Oro 86La Scialuppa 100Legatoria Piazzesi 73Libreria della Toletta 86Marina Barovier 74Missiaglia 61

MondoNovo 86Murano Collezioni 146Paolo Olbi 67Penso Davide 146Polliero 101Sansovino 67Scuola dei Merletti 146Seguso 61Tragicomica 101Valeria Bellinaso 101Venini 146

Sottomarina 153Squero di San Trovaso 81Strada Nova 109

Ttaxis (water taxis) 171Teatro Malibran 114, 123telephones 175toilets 175Tolentini 100Torcello 144–146Torcello map 144Torre dell’Orologio 58tourist information 167traghetti 170train station 167transport 168–171Treviso airport 167

Vvaporetti 169Venice airport 167, 174Venice Card 168Via Garibaldi 128Vogalonga 173

Wwaterbuses 169

ZZáttere 81Zecca 61Zitelle 150


N

0 500 m

VENICE

VENICE

NORTHERNISLANDS

SOUTHERNISLANDS

Lido

MuranoBurano

MestreTorcello

SanMichele

Redentore

Zitelle

S. Michelein Isola

S. GiorgioMaggiore Giardini

Pubblici

CENTRALCENTRALCENTRALCASTELLOCASTELLOCASTELLO

Car Park

Piazzale Roma(Car Park &Bus Station)

TrainStation

StazioneMarittima

S. Sebastiano

Ghetto

FrariS. Rocco

Ca' Rezzonico

Madonnadell'Orto

Rialto

Salute

Miracoli

S. MariaFormosa

S. Marco

PalazzoDucale

SS. Giovannie Paolo

Pieta


Arsenale S. Pietrodi Castello

S. Elena

Ca'd’Oro

Accademia

CAMPOS. POLO

CAMPOS. MARGHERITA

CAMPOS. STEFANO

PIAZZOSAN

MARCO

DORSODURODORSODURODORSODURO

SAN POLO &SAN POLO &SAN POLO &SANTA CROCESANTA CROCESANTA CROCE

SANSANSANMARCOMARCOMARCO

CANNAREGIOCANNAREGIOCANNAREGIO

EASTERNEASTERNEASTERNCASTELLOCASTELLOCASTELLO

Scuoladi S.

Giorgio

La Giudecca

ZATTERE AL GESUATI

S. Maria dellaVisitagiore

Gesuati

S. Agnese

Casa degli Incurabili

CALLE LARGA SAN MARCO

SAL MALI PIER

O

CALLE

TREVISAN

A

C. VERONA

P. DEILEONCINI

C. PO D. G

UERRA

MERC. D. CAPITELLO

PISC.

S. ZU

LIAN

C. FIUBER

A

C. BA

LLOT

TE

C. DEI FABBRI

CAMPO S.GALLO

PIAZZA SAN MARCO PIAZZETTA

MOLO

C. DEL ASCENSION

SAL S. MOISE

CAMPO S. MOISE

C. D. RIDOTTO

CAMPOS. FANTIN

CAMPOS. LUCA

CAMPOMANIN

CAMPOS. ANGELO

C. D.FENICE

CAMPO S.MAURIZIO

CAMPOSANTO

STEFANO

CAMPO PISANI

CAMPODEL

TRAGHETTO

PONT

E D.

ACCA

DEM

IA

C. D. TE

ATROCAMPO S.

SAMUELE

P. S. SAMUELE

C. NUOVOC. BOTTEGHE

CAMPODI SAN POLO

CAMPOS. SALVADOR

C. DEI FABBRI

MER

CERI

A 2 A

PRILE

PONTE DIRIALTO

CAMPO S.BARTOLOMEO CAMPO

DI SANTAMARIA

FORMOSA

CAMPODEI FRARI

CALLE SPECCHIERI

C. D.VESTE

C. DE CAFFETTIER

C. VALLARESSO

CALLE

DEG

LIA

LBAN

ES I

FREZZARIA

C. D. PESTRIN

C . DEI AVOCATI

SAL S. SAMUELE

CAMPO DELLASALUTE

RIO TERÀ DEI CATECUMENI

RIOTERÀ

DEI CATECUMENI

RIO TERÀ DI SAN VIO

FONDAMENTA VENIER

FON

DA

MEN

TAD

E L L AF O

R NA

C E

R IO

TERÀ

ANTO

NIO

FOSC

ARIN

I

FOND

AMEN

TADE

CA' B

RAGA

DIN

CAMPO DISANT' AGNESE

PISC

INA

VEN

IER

CALLE

GIUSTIN

IAN

C. FRUTTARÒL

CORTE STORZA

CALLE MOCENIGO CA' VECHIA

SALIZZ. CHIESA E TEATRO

C. D. MANDOLA

C.GOLDONI

C. DEI FUSERI

R.T.ASSASSINI

CAMPOS. VIO

C. LARGA XXII MARZO

M. DE

OROLOGIOC. SPADARIA

RIO T. D . COLO

NNE

R. dei Ferai

SALIZZ. S. PRÓVOLO

C. DEL MONDO NOVO

SAL DI S. LIO

CAMPO DISANTO MARINA

CAMPO SANTOGIACOMO DI

RIALTO

CALLEDEI PARADISO

CALLEDEL STURION

SANSILVESTROCAMPO

DI SANSILVESTRO

CAMPOSAN TOMÀ

CALLEDEL

TRAGH

ETTO

C.GR

ITTO

OD.

CAM

PAN

ILE

PISCINA DI FREZZERIACALLE VENIÈR

FREZZERIA

FONDAM. ORSÉOLO

C. D. STAGNERI

CALLE

DEI BOTERI

CAMPOSANSTIN

CAMPOSAN

AGOSTIN

C. DEL SCALETER

C. DE L'AGNELLA

RUGHETTA DEL RAVANO

RUGAVECCHIA

S. GIOVANNI

Frari

San Polo

PalazzoBalbi

Ca'FoscariPalazzi

Mocenigo

PalazzoCorner Spinelli

S. Benedetto

MuseoFortuny

OratorioAnnunziata

S. Stefano

PalazzoGrassi

S. SamueleCa’ Rezzonico

Ca'delDuca

S. Vitale

PalazzoPisani

PalazzoLoredan S. Maurizio

S. Mariadel Giglio

PalazzoCorner della

Ca'Grande

GuggenheimCollection

S. Mariadella Salute

PalazzoGiustinian

S.Moise

Zecca

ProcuratieVecchie

Campanile

Libreria Sansoviniana

PalazzoPalazzoPalazzoDucaleDucaleDucale

Palazzod. Prigioni

Torredell'

Orologio

S. Giuliano

PalazzoQuerini-

Stampalia

S. MariaFormosa

S. Mariadella Fava

S. Lio

S. Salvador

S. Bartolomeo

Fondaco d.Tedeschi

RialtoMarket

S. Silvestro

PalazzoGrimani

PalazzoLoredan

(Municipio)

TeatroGoldoni

PalazzoFarsetti

S. Luca

Scala delBovolo

AteneoVeneto

S. Fantin

MuseoGoldoni

Accademia

La Fenice

Doganadi Mare

ProcuratieNuove

San Marco

Ponte deiSospiri

PalazzoAvogadro

PalazzoMorosini

Ca’ Giustinian

S. Gregorio

Magazzinidel Sale

S.Samuele

82, N

S. Tomà1, 82, N

Ca' Rezzonico1

Rialto1, 82, N

S. Silvestro1

S. Angelo 1

Accademia1, 82, N

S. M. delGiglio 1

Salute 1

S. Marco1, 82, N

Pontedella

PagliaGiardinettiReali

Rio di S. P

olo

R. di S. Apollin

are

Rio di S. Polo

Rio di S. Stin

R. d. Frari

R. di S. Tomà

R. della M

adonnetta

R. dei Meloni

Traghetto

Traghetto R. di Ca Gazoni

Rio di Ca Santi

R. di S. Angelo

Traghetto

R. del Duca

R. S

. Vid

al

R. d

ell ’

Orso

R. d

i S S

tefa

no

R. C

orne

r Zaq

uri

R. d

i S. M

. Zob

enig

o

Traghetto

Rio dei S. Moise

R. d. FeniceR. d. Veste

E.dei Barcaroli

R. della Verona

Bacino OrseoloR. di S. Luca

R. dei Fuseri

R. d

ei

Scoac

amin

i

R. del Cavalletto

R.de

lCap

pello

Rio della GuerraRio dei S. Salvador

R.de

lla F

ava

R. d. Guerra

Rio di Palazzo

Rio de

i

Bar

ettar

i

R. della Zecca

R. della Madonnetta

R.di Ca Michiel

R. d. Fontego d. Tedeschi



i

i

0 100 m

N

SAN MARCO

1

LN T

MAIN WATER BUS SERVICES

LN

LN

LN

MURANO

GIUDECCA

TORCELLO

BURANO

S. ERASMO

LIDO5251

S. AlviseMadonnadell'Orto

Tre Archi

S. Marcuola

Ca' d'Oro

Fondamente Nove

Ospedale

Cimitero

Colonna

Faro

SerenellaVenier

Museo

Navagero

Mazzorbo

Burano

Vignole

S. Servolo

S. Giorgio

ZitelleRedentorePalanca

SaccaFisola

S. Marta

S. Basilio

Zattere

Ca' Rezzonico

S. SilvestroRialto

S.Samuele

Giglio

Arsenale

Giardini

S. Elena

Piazzale Roma

TronchettoFerrovia

S. Stae

Rivadi

Biasio

S. Zaccaria

Vallaress

o (S. M

arco)

Torcello

Punta Vela

Chiesa

Capannone

41 42

41 42

41 42

41 42

41 42

41 42

Guglie

1

5251 82 N41 421

5251 82 N

82 N

82 N41 42

13

T

13

13

13

13LN 525141 42

525141 42

525141 42

525141 42

525141 42

41 42

82 N1

N1

N1

82 N1

1

S. Angelo 1S. Tomà

82 N1

Accademia82 N1

82N

11

Salute1

1 82 N

82 N41 42

82 N41 42

82 N41 42

525141 42

82 N

Celestia

525141 42

Bacini

525141 42

S. Pietro

82 N

5251 82 N

120 41 42

5251 82 N

525141 42

N1

52511 41 42

20

S. Lazzaro20

41 4213

41 421

525141 42

LN

LN

Treporti13

PuntaSabbioni

S. MariaElisabetta

1 205251 N

N

Water bus routeWater bus route numberWater bus stop

82

http://www.hotelconnect.co.uk

ISBN 1-84353-353-7


Rough Guide Directions VENICE

Documents

Transcript of Rough Guide Directions VENICE