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| (1).Peak into one of the few Venetian parks at Parco Savorgnan (2).Enjoy the joyful majolica reliefs at church of San Giobbe and unusual three-arched bridge Ponte Dei Tre Archi (3).Visit the first ghetto in the world for a glimpse of Jewsih culture (4).Stop by church Sant'Alviso and have a picnic surrounded by sculptures at Parco Groggia (5).Visit the tomb of Tintoretto (and more of his paintings) at Madonna dell’Orto then check the sculptures of brothers who tried to fool Mary Magdalene (6).Snap the views of Sacca dell Misericordia with yachts in the foreground and island of San Michele in the background (7). Look at the Scuola Nuova della Misericordia with a tumultant past and uncertain future (8). Stop for a pasta and a glass of prosecco on the side of canal at Trattoria Misericordia (9). Find a well-hidden rat graffiti at Fondamenta del Traghetto (10). Find the eyes of Saint Lucy on the plate in the Church of Santi Apostoli (11).Visit ‘the Ice palace’ at Gesuiti church |
For the name of almost every street or campo in Venice there is a legend, for some – more than one. The name Cannaregio has two versions: one stems from the fact that the islands that now form the sestiere used to be covered with cane – canna. The second version links the name with the fact that back in the days Canale di Cannaregio was the most important entrance to the city and was called Canal Regio – Royal channel. With time Venetians, with their tradition to shorten and merge the names, transformed it into Cannaregio.
From the Piazzale Roma cross the Grand Canal by Ponte della Costituzione, the 4th bridge linking the two sides of the Grand Canal in the strategic point between bus station and train station. There was a lot of controversy about its construction but nevertheless it was built and is there to use.
Walk quickly past the train station – nothing exciting here unless you want to take a daytrip to Padua, Verona or Bassano del Grappa…
Right next to the station on your right you will see the church of Scalzi – literally ‘church of the Barefoot or Discalced Monks’ – is called so because it used to belong to the Order of Barefoot Carmelites. The name might suggest that the church should be humble and modest but modesty is very far from its pompous XVII century Rococo façade and XVII century Baroque interior designed by Baltasare Longhena, the author of Ca’Rezzonico and Santa Maria della Salute among others.
If you don’t know you probably won’t pay attention to a little nameplate in the floor of the second chapel from the left: it says ‘cineres Manini’ – Manin’s ashes – and thus marks the resting place of Lodovico Manin, the last Doge who gave up The Republic without any resistance.
Here is how it happened: Napoleon was following retreating Austrians and was absolutely determined to enter the Vienna first as another French general was approaching from the North. But the shortest route across the Alps is controlled by Venice who (as always in attempt to outsmart everybody) announced it was neutral. Those who know a bit about Napoleon personality wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Napoleon did not give too much about Venetian protests, entered their territory, occupied Verona and other cities under Venetian rule and continued moving towards Alps (having left garrisons in every city, of course). Then a few incidents happened – real or provoked – when French soldiers were insulted, an ultimatum to Doge was sent and… the French entered Venice. Not even Napoleon himself but one of his officers with a handful of soldiers. Proud Venetian nobles together with Doge ran away from the last Senate meeting (where the ultimatum was read) leaving behind their mantles and famous Doge’s hat.
The French happily burned the hat in front of San Marco and started robbing the city just like Venetians themselves had robbed Constantinople and Byzantine Empire. This was the end of thousand years history of the Serenissima. Soon after that it became one of the provincial cities first of Austrian empire, then of united Italy and its development stopped.
Keep walking, don’t lose the speed, nothing interesting awaits you on Rio Terrà Lista di Spagna: the name suggests that here used to be Spanish embassy but nowadays it is one never-ending sandwich-and-souvenir-selling stall. Walk past people trying to roll their suitcases in various directions, people trying to find their hotel on the map, people trying to figure out how the vaporetti work, people trying to sell you useless souvenirs (I still have no idea why someone might wish to buy these sticky blob toys reminding the Slimer from ‘Ghostbusters’) – everything that makes Venice a not pleasant place to be. So rush through and you will be awarded by piece, quiet and beauty.
Venetian outskirts are not any less beautiful than the crowded main spots. In other cities there is bright city center and gray faceless suburbs, the product of globalization. In Venice not only are they beautiful with its monuments, bridges and churches but also with the beauty of real everyday life going on right next to the monuments. This is truly Venice for Venetians, out of under 60,000 Venetians around 20,000 live here.
For example, where else can you see such a way of treating morning hangover?
Across from the church there is a tiny side street that will take you to Parco Savorgnan (1) (see map). First you have to cross a kids’ playground but keep walking and you will find yourself in an empty park with the remains of a fountain and pavilion. You shouldn’t be too tired yet but we thought it is good to know where it is as parks are a pretty rare occurrence in Venice. By the way, the park is open until 19:30 so you might still stop here on the way back or simply keep it mind if you need a quiet place next to the hustle of main streets.
From campo San Geremia it is very short walk to Cannaregio canal and photogenic Ponte de le Guglie with 4 obelisks so there definitely is a temptation to follow the crowds
Instead turn left and follow Fondamenta Venier Sebastiano. It will then changes its name to Fondament Savorgnan and finally – after a cute little bridge – to Fondamenta San Giobbe. Soon you can see the second bridge across the Cannaregio canal (there are only two of them) – the famous three-arched bridge with a self-explanatory name Ponte dei Tre Archi.
Right next to it – the campo and church San Giobbe (2) (see map) dedicated to St. Job with whom Venetians felt they had a lot in common as this character from Old Testament suffered of purulent sores and cankers and thus could protect the Venetians from plagues, syphilis or malaria. This church was also built after an onset of plague together with a shelter for the sick.
Instead turn left and follow Fondamenta Venier Sebastiano. It will then changes its name to Fondament Savorgnan and finally – after a cute little bridge – to Fondamenta San Giobbe. Soon you can see the second bridge across the Cannaregio canal (there are only two of them) – the famous three-arched bridge with a self-explanatory name Ponte dei Tre Archi.
Right next to it – the campo and church San Giobbe (2) (see map) dedicated to St. Job with whom Venetians felt they had a lot in common as this character from Old Testament suffered of purulent sores and cankers and thus could protect the Venetians from plagues, syphilis or malaria. This church was also built after an onset of plague together with a shelter for the sick.
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| Campanile of San Giobbe seen from across the canal |
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| The only interesting detail on the facade was the capital with the cow scull and snakes coming out of eye sockets. |
You can visit San Giobbe Mo-Sa:10:00-12:00 and 15:00-18:00 Su: 15:30-18:00.
Now it is time to cross the Ponte dei Tre Archi and visit Venetian ghetto. Originally this word did not have such a grim appeal that it received during World War II. And originally Jews did not even live here. First they lived on Giudecca island (well, to be exact, a chain of 8 islands) that was then called Spinalunga (Long Thorn) and apparently the modern name reflects precisely the fact that it was inhabited by Jews (giudei in Italian). First Jews were respected by locals and the only difference from locals was the requirement to wear a piece of yellow fabric attached to their clothes which was replaced by a red hat starting from the XVI century. Their relationship with the Republic was complicated throughout the XV century: at some point the Jews were expelled, then – as Republic needed money – they returned them back. After a while Venetian citizens who could not pay back their loans were outraged why Christians had to pay money to Jews and the Jews were again expelled (good trick to avoid your creditors). This happened several times.
But then in XV-XVI century the situation in other European countries started to get worse so crowds of Jews from Spain, Portugal and Central Europe flocked into Venice attracted by the atmosphere of tolerance. As the Jews were banned from engaging in most crafts hey excelled in what was allowed: medicine, banking, law. The city needed them so when in 1516 the Pope’s decree ordered separation of Jews and Christians and demanded to expel the Jews from Venice a compromise was found: all the Jews were gathered on the isolated island Ghetto Nuovo in the middle of the city (if you look at the map you will see how really easy it was to isolate the area). The island was the location of former facility where they used to melt metals – ‘gettare metalli’ so it was called getto (and read [djetto]) and as it was a new location then Nuovo was added. But the German Jews were reading it their way so an ‘h’ was added to match the existing pronunciation. So the word that now echoes with horror in the hearts of people from all over the world was actually the mispronounced melting house…
If you have a chance to visit Ghetto on Saturday you might for a moment even forget that you are in the XXI century.
The restrictions of life in ghetto were caused in equal share by the Christian population fear of ‘aliens’ but also the desire of Jews to keep their traditions and way of life. The entrance to the ghetto was patrolled by the Christian guards who were paid for by ghetto inhabitants as protection from pogroms yet the inhabitants themselves were not allowed to leave the ghetto at night. The inhabitants were allowed to leave its vicinity only during the day, after dark the gates closed, the drawbridge lifted. The Republic imposed on Jews many restrictions: they had to wear yellow scarves for men and hats for women (so even here Hitler did not invent anything new), were not allowed to own property or practice most jobs (that’s why they excelled in trade, medicine and banking). Sexual relationship with a Christian was punished by death penalty. However bankers and doctors were categorized as ‘useful Jews’ and were given the greatest honor of wearing black hats like other Venetians. At the same time already in XVII century ghetto became a tourist attraction (especially, for British for whom apparently it was the only place to see Jews). It was en vogue to visit a service at a synagogue and peek at some big-eyed Jewish Rachel wearing traditional clothes with long train and covered with silver jewels. It was also popular to visit rabbis for guidance, for example even Henry VIII of England came to ghetto for an advice on his divorce. Wonder what the rabbi advised…
Despite all the restrictions the living conditions were not the worst ones so people kept coming soon Ghetto Vechhio (old) and Novissimo (newest) were added. These names of the ghetto sections are misleading, as they refer to an older and newer site of the foundries: in terms of Jewish residence, the Ghetto Nuovo is actually older than the Ghetto Vecchio. Here – they say – the first skyscrapers appeared as there was nowhere else to grow the houses started to grow taller reaching 8-9 stories. It must have looked pretty gloomy as it was not allowed to have windows facing the Christian part of the city. By mid XVII century this tiny patch was occupied by over 5,000 people.
When Napoleon came to Venice in 1797 he took all the restrictions off. In the glorious celebration ceremony the Ghetto gate was burned. Then Austrians – who came next – reinstated the restrictions and finally in 1866 all the citizens of Venice were finally considered equal.
Now there around 600 Jews living in Venice and not all of them in Ghetto but this community is very active and the national flavor is still here. There are a couple of kosher shops, Jewish bakery and library, yeshiva, Jewish museum and memorial to Jews taken to German camps during World War II (during the brief period of friendship between Il Duce and Führer the lives of Venetian Jews were in danger but luckily it did not go to far). Old times there were 5 synagogues for different branches: German (the Scuola Grande Tedesca), Italian (the Scuola Italiana), Spanish and Portuguese (the Scuola Spagnola), and Levantine Sephardi communities (The Scola Levantina). The fifth, the Scuola Canton, was private for 4 families that founded its construction. As Jews were not allowed to practice arts, all of them were designed by Christian architects. Even now, despite a relatively small number of Jews there are still two active synagogues (the other 3 can be visit with a tour from Jewish Museum) as apparently each Jew needs at least two synagogues: one to pray in and the other one ‘to never ever set my foot in there!’.
A short detour could bring you back to Cannaregio Canal and the photogenic Ponte de le Guglie, here it is lively day and night:
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| Dog expresses his opinion about the skills of a street musician on Fondamenta Pescaria |
Next stop – church of Sant’Alivse. As always in Venice there is more than one way to get there but none of them is straight. The easiest will be to follow Calle Ghetto Vechhio, turn right at the Fondamenta Ormesini and then left on the street with a promising name of Calle Larga Malvasia and after crossing another small canal you will find yourself on the Campo sant’Alvise with eponymous church. It was built in 1388 and dedicated to – surprise – St. Louis of Toulouse (go figure how Venetians were to male Alvise out of Louis), a French prince of XII century who refused the crown, became a monk and then archbishop of Toulouse and died at the age of 23. In 1383 a rich and pious Venetian lady Antonia Veiner, the daughter of Doge, saw him in her dream and obviously after that the construction of the table became inevitable. And again the brick hangar-like exterior and simple façade do not reflect the richness and beauty of the interior and makes the impression even stronger.
The painted ceiling from XVII century with architectural optical effects, wooden gallery for the nuns with wrought grille and eight naïve paintings on the back wall that were mistakenly considered the works of Carpaccio in childhood (until now some tourists keep looking for ‘baby Carpaccio’). Top it with three huge unusual Tiepolos and you have a good reason for a visit. Do not miss two canvases by Pietro della Vecchia to the right of the entrance: these are cartoons for mosaic decoration of St. Mark's Basilica depicting Theft of the body of St. Mark and The Saracens refuse to inspect the basket with the body of St. Mark.
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| Exit from the campo Sant'Alvise |
And since you already know how difficult it is to find a supermarket in Venice, there is a useful supermarket to get your picnic stuff necessities in the area.
It is not that easy to find it (in fact, even knowing that it must be somewhere here we were still able to miss it a couple of times). For those who are not sure in their search skills you can stock up in advance in the Coop store near Piazzale Roma on Fondamenta Santa Chiara.
After a little picnic continue to Madonna dell’Orto: as nice as it is to stay in the park but remember that the Chorus churches will close at 5 and we still have a few to cover).
But in XV century an unfinished statue of Virgin Mary in their nearby orchard (orto in Italian) starting producing miracles so the church had to be rebuilt and rededicated as Madonna dell’Orto (Our Lady of the Orchard), the miracle-working statue found its place in San Mauro chapel. Inside it is a spacious Gothic temple full of masterpieces mostly because of the works of Jacopo Comin first nicknamed Robusti (as his father defended gates of Padua in a robust way) and then called Tintoretto as his father was a dyer, tintore, his son was naturally tintoretto – ‘little dyer’ or ‘dyer’s boy’. Tintoretto lived nearby (we will see his house in just a short while), considered this church ‘his’, created many paintings for it and was buried here (as well as his kids Domenico and Marietta, both artists) in the chapel in the right nave.
Legend has it that Tintoretto was commissioned a doge’s portrait but after it was rejected by its subject the artist added cuckold’s horns to it. Obviously, the doge got furious so the artist had to seek refuse in his church. The doge eventually agreed to forgive the insult under the condition that Tintoretto decorated the interior hoping it would keep him quiet for a few years. However Tintoretto emerged after surprisingly short six months with huge paintings The Last Judgment and The Making of the Golden Calf where he apparently depicted himself (fourth from the right), Giorgione, Titian and Veronese as the carriers and Sansovino as Aaron (pointing on the right). In addition to that several interesting smaller tintorettos as well as small Tobias and the Angel by Titian.
The façade is not less interesting and of course there is a legend about it. The sculptures of 12 apostles adorning the façade were commissioned by a family of sculptors who had their atelier nearby. Paolo, the youngest of the family, was – without the knowledge of his father and uncle – a member of one of secret cults that worshipped devil. The devil met with young Paolo, gave him one of the coins that Judas received for betraying Christ with a drop of Judas blood. In exchange Paolo had to put the coin inside one of the sculptures and make it resemble Judas (traditionally, in artworks Judas who was present at the Last Supper is replaced by Saint Matthew). Everything was going according to the devil’s plan and the time to strike was during the Good Friday celebrations until a young girl noticed that Paolo was possessed by devil, a priest sprinkled him with holy water and the young soul was saved. As to the statue, they kept it as it was not harmful anymore. But once a year, on Good Friday, the statue of Judas disappears from its niche and goes to the patch of land once owned by Judas in Jerusalem where all the 30 silver coins must gather on that night. Judas is accompanied by the statue symbolizing Faith and Justice that are usually located on the roof. But by the morning everything returns to its place.
Madonna dell’Orto is a part of Chorus system and can be visited Mo-Sa: 10:00-17:00 and Su 13:00-17:00.
Next to Madonna dell’Orto lays Campo dei Mori that – as many objects in Venice – has two versions of its name. One says that here used to be Fondaco degli Arabi – Arab warehouses and as Venetians called all dark skinned foreigners mori – moors (just like the ones on Torre dell’Orologio (Clock Tower) on Piazza San Marco) – the name got attached to the area. Some say that a family from Morea (medieval name for Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece) came to Venice, took name Mastelli and built a palazzo here. But since no one knew their real name, the area where they lived was called ‘square of Morea’ which with time shorted to simply mori. Palazzo Mastelli is decorated with a relief depicting a merchant with a camel giving the palazzo its second name – Palazzo del Cammello. Local legend has it that the merchant together with the camel disappear for one night at midnight on Epiphany but reappears the next morning. Locals believe that this is one of the three Magi who disappears to visit baby Jesus.
On the square there are the figures of the Mastelli brothers themselves: Rioba, Sandi and Afani, the fourth brother Sior Antonio Rioba has his name carved on the load he is carrying on his shoulders. Legend has it that the brothers had a cloth store and were notorious cheaters. Once a woman came over asking their advice and the brother figured out they could give her some cheap material and charge as for expensive one. When the lady asked if the material was good Rioba swore that his hand would turn into stone if this were not true. ‘So be it’ – the woman said and his hand started turning into stone. Then Rioba himself together with his brothers turn into stone as the lady happened to be no other than Saint Magdalene herself. They say that in February, when the days are colder than the stone Rioba’s statue cries and if you place your hand on its chest you can feel its heart beat.
Venice’s malicious citizens used to leave denunciations at the feet of Rioba’s statue and spread vindictive verses signed with his name.
There are also more contemporary stories about Rioba. As recently as spring 2010 Rioba’s head went missing. The owner of a nearby Osteria Rioba swore that at 2am the head was still there. Other locals did not notice anything either until two French tourists started questioning locals about the missing head. Immediately started embroilment involving press and police and only on the 4th day early in the morning the head was found by l'operatore ecologisto di Veritas or simply janitor who has been sweeping the area since he was 17. The head was in a garbage bag mere 400 meters from the beheaded statue. This made headlines of all morning news, the janitor was proclaimed a hero, his hand was shaken by the chief of local police and picture was in every newspaper.
Anyway, it is still not quite clear who these figures depict as there were only 3 Mastelli brothers (and three figures facing the campo date back to XIII century) but there is also a fourth figure facing the canal that dates back to XV century.
This last statue – even though newer than others – is not any less famous because it decorates the house where Tintoretto was born, lived his entire life and died.
Pay attention to a small figurine of Hercules on the house: legend says that a witch tried to trick the artist’s daughter Marietta into stealing breads from Holy Communion. Tintoretto exposed the witch and she disappeared but the artist still put this figurine on the façade of his house as a reminder: next time I see you the consequences will be serious.
This last statue – even though newer than others – is not any less famous because it decorates the house where Tintoretto was born, lived his entire life and died.
Pay attention to a small figurine of Hercules on the house: legend says that a witch tried to trick the artist’s daughter Marietta into stealing breads from Holy Communion. Tintoretto exposed the witch and she disappeared but the artist still put this figurine on the façade of his house as a reminder: next time I see you the consequences will be serious.
Return to the church and follow Fondamenta Contarini to the end. The corner building (#3539) is a giant XVI century Palazzo Contarini dal Zaffo with Zaffo meaning Jaffa, port in Israel where the family had lands. Suddenly a view of Sacca della Misericordia (6), Venetian lagoon and the cemetery island of San Michele in the background. Be it full of yachts or empty and open to the play of winds and waves, it will be an impressive sight.
By Corte Vecchia reach Fondamenta Abazia Campo, turn left, go through a shady gallery and you will find yourself on campo della Abbazia (7) where corner-to-corner stand the church of Santa Maria della Misericordia with white XVII century façade and ascetic Scuola Vecchia della Misericordia.
The gallery you came by is also a part of the scuola, inside is a cute little garden surrounded by arched galleries: normally it is closed but we were lucky to sneak a peek as the door was open for restoration workers as Both buildings are not being used as a restoration center.
We do not know why we like this spot as neither of the buildings is particularly lovely. Maybe because it is so quiet and peaceful and makes you think of the times when these islands could only be reached by boat and each church stood on its own island. Or maybe because there is no one around and you can take pictures without being pushed and squeezed. Maybe because it feels so good to be the only visitor and touch warm bricks. Or maybe because looking at the columns eaten by the passage of time you understand why old times monks came to the remote islands of Northern Cannaregio to think of eternity.
The gallery you came by is also a part of the scuola, inside is a cute little garden surrounded by arched galleries: normally it is closed but we were lucky to sneak a peek as the door was open for restoration workers as Both buildings are not being used as a restoration center.
We do not know why we like this spot as neither of the buildings is particularly lovely. Maybe because it is so quiet and peaceful and makes you think of the times when these islands could only be reached by boat and each church stood on its own island. Or maybe because there is no one around and you can take pictures without being pushed and squeezed. Maybe because it feels so good to be the only visitor and touch warm bricks. Or maybe because looking at the columns eaten by the passage of time you understand why old times monks came to the remote islands of Northern Cannaregio to think of eternity.
If you walk to the end of Fondamenta towards the lagoon, from the very corner you can see the building of Casino Degli Spiriti that is only visible from here or vaporetto. Despite its suggestive name this was not a gambling establishment: casino in Italian (originally) is diminutive from casa (house) and simple means 'little house' so in this context a more appropriate translation would be 'Summerhouse of the Spirits'. Casini, suits for private entertainment (of all sorts, some including gambling) were a feature of many Venetian palaces.
This summerhouse belonged to Palazzo Contarini with the park (behind the wall) stretching all the way to the lagoon and served as meeting point for the men of letters of the time. Tintoretto, Sansovino and others would gather here, the casino was exquisitely decorated but none of the decor has survived. Nowadays it has a rather gloomy notoriety as this remote location was used as an undercover mint.
This summerhouse belonged to Palazzo Contarini with the park (behind the wall) stretching all the way to the lagoon and served as meeting point for the men of letters of the time. Tintoretto, Sansovino and others would gather here, the casino was exquisitely decorated but none of the decor has survived. Nowadays it has a rather gloomy notoriety as this remote location was used as an undercover mint.
A narrow bridge will take you to Scuola Nuova della Misericordia, the new building that was started after the scuola became ‘grande’ and the old building was not ‘grande’ enough. The plans were grand too: it was designed by Sansovino and more than 50 years passed between it was started and the grand opening. However it was never completed probably because the members of the scuola ran out of money and could not accomplish the ambitious project that included embellishment of façade and pompous interior. The building was then used for anything, even basketball court and as we saw workers carrying around sound equipment it will be a concert hall or something similar.
The only person who benefited from the construction of the new school was the ever-present Tintoretto who used huge upper hall to set up the canvasses for Paradiso commissioned for Palazzo Ducale.
Enough walking for now, time for pasta. From the Scuola Nuova follow the Fondamenta Misericordia and soon you will see a little bridge and the first three tables after the bridge belonging to Trattoria…? You guessed it right, Misericordia.
The place first attracted us by its peaceful location, canal-side seating, light breeze that was very much welcome after a day of walking and the sounds of bells from the nearby church of San Marziale. But we were totally conquered when – before we even ordered (!) – the waiter brought us two glasses of prosecco as aperitif on the house. Moreover, while waiting for our pasta we received another treat: bruschetta with a spread made of marinated fish fried with onion. So even before we received our pasta we were already the most faithful customers and advocates of this trattoria.
Trust us, it is not easy to find a place in Venice where you will get ANYTHING for free. Even the right to sit at the table will cost you: most places will charge you ‘covert’, even a drink will cost you 1-1.5€ more if consumed at the table and not quickly shoved in at the counter. Many places also charge you some sort of ‘service percentage’ and other ‘taxes on being a tourist’ that your final bill might differ drastically from what you computed in your mind. So can you imagine our surprise when we were served prosecco even before we ordered (what if we only took a coffee?). Another thing Venice is notorious for is arrogant and condescending attitude of its wait staff. And this is true for the restaurants next to main tourist attractions San Marco and Rialto as well as on the newest Venetian street Strada Nuova. On one hand you can understand them: when a waiter standing under the sign ‘To San Marco’ is asked five-hundred- thirty-seventh time in one day how to find San Marco all they can do is leniently wave in the right direction. But it is enough to turn away from these two sources of contemptuous waiters to discover that there are restaurants with smiles, professionalism and nice touch.
Of course, do not forget excellent pastas:
Bear with us, there are still a few places to visit before the dark. Cross Ponte Marziale (the Marziale Bridge), follow calle Zancani and after another bridge you will find yourself in the hustle and bustle of Strada Nuova. If you walk a few steps to the right you will see the church of Maddalena - beautiful, but not typical for Venice. So snap a picture and return: if you continue going right you will return back to railway station.
Cross Rio di Noale, on your left you will see one of the rare Venetian supermarkets. Soon on your right you will see Calle Traghetto an unremarkable alleyway going to the right, towards the Grand Canal to Fondamenta Traghetto. It is a cute little hideaway: you are right next to the city’s main water artery and the main pedestrian thoroughfare yet it is very quiet.
It is also remarkable for having an unusual rat graffiti on one of the columns. If we trust the date carved above it (in Roman Numerals) then it has been here for almost 400 years, since 1644. Even it is not that old rats are a big part of Venetian life: since the Middle Ages when they brought devastating plague epidemics and until now they are numerous in the city. It is estimated that there are approximately 5 rats per each Venetian citizens (the growth of their numbers is mostly due to the recently launched cat sterilization program). But don't you worry: Venice does not look like a rat-infested city from apocalyptic movies, in fact this rat is the only one we saw in the city.
It is pleasant to stop here for a while, look at the gondolas floating nearby…
…and the Rialto market (that we will visit next time) across the Grand Canal.
But do not linger too long for we have a plan to follow: two more amazing (and free!) churches.
Go back to Strada Nuova and after a few ‘blocks’ (not sure exactly if the term can be applied to Venice) you will find yourself on Campo Santi Apostoli. It is one of the lively spots shared by a coffee shop, zoo store, funeral home and even a store selling brooms of all sorts. The campo is dominated by the church that – as you can probably guess – is named after Saint Apostles (Santi Apostoli). This is one of the most ancient churches in Venice founded in VII century by tireless St Magnus, the Bishop of Oderzo, who came to the lagoon and founded eight churches. Of course, each of them was accompanied by a vision so when he saw the Twelve Apostles who commanded him to build a church on the place where he sees 12 cranes he naturally proceeded with it.
Its impressive campanile has a clock. Its face is divided into 24 hours just like on Torre dell’Orologio on Piazza San Marco only this clock is simpler and does not show the moon phase or zodiac sign. Also instead of Roman numerals from I to XXIV there are two sets of Arabic numerals 1 to 12 one on the left side for the night and morning hours, and another set on the right side for the afternoon and evening hours. There is only one hand for the hours so to figure out the minutes you have to extrapolate. Judging by the picture, it was quarter to five in the afternoon…
Go in and you will see that the church is full of artworks of all genres, epochs and techniques.
One of the most impressive masterpieces is located in the chapel of Cornaro family (capella Cornaro) with the Last Communion of St. Lucy by Tiepolo.
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| Last Communion of St. Lucy by Tiepolo |
As always, there are several versions of what actually happened to the Saint: one legend has it that Saint Lucy suffered tortured by eye-gouging. Another bloody version says that when an admirer complimented on the beauty of Lucy’s eyes she took them out herself. Look closer and you can see them on the plate next to the Saint.
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| Last Communion of St. Lucy by Tiepolo (fragment) |
Whatever happened in reality – nobody knows, but the absence of eyes did not stop Saint Lucy from being patron saint of The Arts. Santi Apostoli is open Mo-Sa 8:30-11:30 and 17:00-19:00.
From Campo Santi Apostoli take Salizada del Pistor and continue North towards the lagoon (as always in Venice, there is no straight route) until eventually you find yourself on Salita Specchieri and notice that some figures ‘wave’ at you from the roof of one of the buildings as if they were inviting you to join them. These is the sculpture group L'Assunzione della Vergine Maria (The Assumption of the Virgin Mary) and the roof they are waving from belongs to the church of Santa Maria Assunta better known simply as I Gesuiti (Jesuits). As you remember from our walk in Dorsoduro, there is a church with a similar name I Gesuati so do not confuse the two.
The monastery on this site existed as early as XII century and back then it was surrounded by grounds, bodies of water and wetlands. In XVI century Saint Ignazio di Loyola visited the city of Venice with a group of friends, who already called themselves the Society of Jesus (Jesuits - Gesuiti in Italian), and here they were ordained as priests.
In 1606 the Jesuits were exiled from Venice due to some tension with the Pope. But in 1657 the Jesuits triumphantly returned: the old church was not large enough so they knocked it down and built their own temple that was supposed to be something not seen before. To accomplish the task it was determined that only Domenico Rossi, who designed the Church of San Stae, was the ideal architect to do the work.
The façade is decorated with the statues of twelve apostles – eight of them atop the columns on the second level…
…and Saint James the Greater, Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Matthew the Evangelist in the niches on the sides of the main entrance (go figure who is who).
The church was definitely designed to make an impression on Venetians who were traditionally cautious of Jesuits’ close relationship with papacy. And of course even though the pompous façade was not built in a day, the main effort went into the stupefying interior. It is very rich and intense with white-and-green ornaments resembling swags of damask covering the walls. The swirls on the walls remind plush fabric and ice palace at the same time, the decor drags you in until it reaches its culmination in the altar with canopy on 10 twisted columns of dark granite and Jesus carrying the cross atop the globe.
If you visit in the afternoon, right before the closing, the light will fall exactly on the globe and the cross leaving the columns in mysterious shade and this way underlining the message.
The rest of the interior is richly decorated but there are not many notable artworks.
One painting worth attention is Assumption of Mary (1555) by Tintoretto in the far left.
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| Assumption of Mary (1555) by Tintoretto |
The first altar on the left supposedly contains the other noteworthy painting is Martyrdom of St. Lawrence by Titian, a horrifying scene with the Saint being grilled alive, but unfortunately it was under restoration. However those who like bloody scenes might still enjoy an unidentified piece with a chopped head and fountains of blood in one of the altars on the right.
Do not miss the not very obvious entry into the sacristy with ceiling and walls covered with twenty paintings by Jacopo Palma il Giovane.
If you liked Palma's style (and it is Friday or Saturday) you can visit the nearby Oratorio dei Crociferi located almost opposite the I Gesuiti. It is the remnant of convent of the order of Crociferi (The Bearers of the Cross) covered with Palma's cycle Scenes from the History of the Order of the Crociferi. The Oratorio is open only April to October, Friday and Saturday 15:30 to 18:30 and the admission is 2€.
The church of I Gesuiti is free and open 10.00-12.00, 16.00-18.00.
Did we cover the entire Cannaregio? Of course, not.
There is the church of San Marcuola with hangar-looking facade (that was never completed, just like the facade of San Pantalon in Dorsoduro sestiere) but with large collection of sculptures and paintings including Last Supper by Tintoretto. There is San Giovanni Grisostomo with pink belltower, works by Bellini and two canvasses (formerly organ doors) depicting among others Saint Onuphrius, patron saint of the tentori (fabric dyers) with the Saint's finger kept here as well. There is Ca' d'Oro ('golden house') with a small inner courtyard that can be admired from Calle Traghetta now housing a public gallery which used to be the private art collection of its last owner, baron Giorgio Franchetti.
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| Inner yard of Ca' d'Oro |
There is Ca' Vendramin Calergi housing two very different establishments: the Wagner Museum (Museo Wagner) - as apparently the great composer died here - and the Venice Casino (Casinò di Venezia).
There is San Marziale with ceiling frescoes by Sebastiano Ricci...
There is a beautiful gem of Renaissance architecture Santa Maria dei Miracoli (part of Chorus syste
There is much more to see in Venice and we cannot wait to come back, in a month or in a year.
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