Venice is a particularly attractive place to walk around due to the lack of cars and bicycles. The largest historical centre in the world, Venice offers a wide variety of fascinating places to discover through an incredible labyrinth of narrow streets. Depending on where you are setting off from, it is easy to visit the neighbourhoods on either side of the Grand Canal.
SAN MARCO
We will start our visit from the La Fenice Theater , which, together with the Scala in Milan, is fundamental for the history of opera . Verdi composed La Traviata and Rigoletto for this theater. We will continue to the Scala del Bovolo , the most beautiful tower in the city, set in an enchanting secret corner.
CANNAREGIO
A walk around Cannaregio gives you the chance to see what living in Venice really means. Situated in the northwest part of the city, it is the most densely populated neighbourhood. It contains a system of straight and parallel canals, with wide and airy canal sides that flow south, all connected by narrow streets that intersect this neighbourhood of artisans’ homes punctuated by magnificent palaces and gardens. The most famous palace is Ca’ d’Oro, home to a branch of the noble Contarini family and now a museum. Together with the Doge’s Palace, it is the most famous example of Venetian late Gothic architecture.
The area is also famous for the churches of S. Maria dei Miracoli , dei Gesuiti , della Madonna dell? Orto and the Ghetto , with its synagogues from the 16th century, the neighborhood where a community lived which greatly contributed to the life of the Serenissima.
CASTELLO
The largest and most variegated of the neighbourhoods, it is home to the Arsenale, hidden behind its crenelated walls like a forbidden city. The foundation of this shipbuilding area, which was the basis of the Serenissima Republic’s military power and the largest medieval industrial complex in Europe, had a huge influence on the urban development of this area.
We will visit the Church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, the largest church in the city, built by the Dominicans and used for Doges’ burials. Outside stands Verrocchio’s superb bronze statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni, an absolute masterpiece of Renaissance equestrian statuary.
Standing alongside the church is the solemn marble façade of the Scuola di San Marco, an ancient confraternity, and now home to Venice’s general hospital.
