What to see in Venice, two-day itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest, including Piazza San Marco, Basilica San Marco and Palazzo Ducale.
Tourist information
City of Veneto with a unique beauty, Venice with its lagoon is located in the middle of the sea, where the land is there but is hidden, a flagship for Italy in the world.
The lagoon city, developed on 118 islands separated by canals and connected by numerous bridges, is divided into the six districts of San Marco, Castello, Cannaregio, San Polo, Santa Croce, Dorsoduro.
Must see Grand Canal, St. Mark's Square, St. Mark's Basilica, St. Mark's Bell Tower, Doge's Palace, Santa Maria Della Salute Church, Santa Maria dei Frati Church, San Giorgio Maggiore Church, Santa Maria dei Miracoli Church, Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, La Fenice Theater, Palazzo Grassi, Palazzo Papadopoli, Bridge of Sighs, Rialto Bridge and Clock Tower.
The district of San Marco, which constitutes the heart of the city, includes Piazza San Marco, which is the only Piazza in Venice, since the other spaces in the shape of a square are called fields.
The square, with the Basilica of San Marco in the background and the bell tower in an isolated position, is made up of three parts:
- The square itself, corresponding to the space in front of the Basilica enclosed by the Procuratie Vecchie (flanked to the east by the clock tower), the Procuratie Nuove and the Napoleonic Wing, a building added in 1810 that joins the two Procuratie, on the minor side of the square.
- The small San Marco square in front of the Doge's Palace and the Sansoviniana Library, opens onto the San Marco pier with the two columns placed by the shore, on which the statues of the Lion of San Marco and San Todaro (the first patron of the city) are placed ).
-The Piazzetta dei Leoncini located to the left of the Basilica, in front of the Patriarchal Palace, characterized by two statues of crouching lions that delimit the central elevated part.
- The Basilica of San Marco is one of the most important symbols of the history of this city. It was founded in the 9th century to guard the body of the evangelist Mark, taken away from Alexandria in Egypt. The complex and articulated structure, with its characteristic Byzantine profile, reflects the different construction phases. Rebuilt several times, the current Basilica dates back to 1094, the year of consecration. Over the centuries, Gothic and 16th century interventions were added to the first Romanesque-Byzantine elements. The Basilica has always mirrored the grandeur of Venice, and has always been enriched by works of art and artifacts that the Venetians reported from their travels to distant places. Inside, the splendid decoration with golden mosaics is striking.
- The Doge's Palace, located near the Basilica of San Marco and is the symbol of the ancient Republic, home of the doge and seat of the judiciary, is a masterpiece of Venetian Gothic architecture. It was built in the 9th century as a castle, in the 14th and 15th centuries it assumed its current structure. At the beginning of the 1600s, the so-called new prisons were built beyond the canal. The building was connected to the palace via the Bridge of Sighs, through which the condemned men passed, when they were taken to the prisons from the palace, the seat of the courts. In 1797, with the fall of the Republic of Venice, the palace was no longer the seat of the prince and the judiciary, but was intended for use by the administrative offices of the Napoleonic and Habsburg empires, while the prisons, called leads, continued their function. When Venice was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy, the building underwent major renovations and in 1923 it was used as a civic museum, a destination it still has today.
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In the San Marco district there is also the Teatro la Fenice, built in 1790 on a project by the architect Selva, but destroyed by fire twice, in 1836 and recently in 1996.
Rebuilt as it was before the fire, it was reopened in 2003.
What see
- The Sestiere Castello takes its name from the castle that once stood there, built to defend itself from attacks from the sea. Here is the large complex of the Arsenale. To visit the Cathedral of San Pietro di Castello, the Ancient Arsenal, the Church of San Francesco della Vigna, the School and Church of San Giorgio dei Greci, the Church of San Zaccaria, the Church of Santa Maria Formosa, the Palazzo Querini Stampalia , the Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, the Naval History Museum, the Church of San Giovanni in Bragora, the Church of the Visitation or of the Pietà.
- The Sestiere Cannaregio, the etymology of the name can derive from Canal Regio, the main channel connecting to the mainland, or from the presence of the large extensions of reeds existing in the past.To visit the Church of Santa Maria di Nazareth or Dei Discalced Carmelites, the Campo and Church of San Geremia, Palazzo Labia, the Church of San Giobbe, the Ghetto, the Fondamenta degli Ormesini and Palazzo Mastelli, the Church of the Madonna dell ' Orto, the Vendramin Calergi Palace, the Cà d'oro, the Oratorio dei Crociferi, the Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli.
- The San Polo district is the smallest district and takes its name from the large field and the church dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle. To visit the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista, the Basilica dei Frari or Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, the Campo and the Chiesa San Polo, the Chiesa di San Giacometto, the Chiesa di San Aponal, the Chiesa of San Cassiano, the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi, the Rialto Bridge, the New Factories, the Casa del Goldoni.
- The Sestiere Santa Croce, the name derives from the Monastery of Santa Croce, demolished in 1810 and replaced with the Papadopoli Gardens. To visit the Church of San Nicolò di Tolentino, the Church of San Simeone prophet or San Simeone Grande, the Church of Santi Simeone and Giuda Apostoli or San Simeone Piccolo, the Campo and Church of San Zuane Degolà, the Fondaco di Turchi, the Church of San Giacomo Dall'Orio, the Palazzo Mocenigo, the Church of San Stae Eustachio, the Ca 'Pesaro, the Church of Santa Maria Mater Domini, the Palazzo Corner della Regina.
- The Sestiere Dorsoduro takes its name from the large and sunny Zattere pier, where the timber from the Cadore landed transported on large rafts. To visit the Church of the Gesuati, the Church and Squero of San Trovaso, the Church of San Sebastiano, the Church of the Angelo Raffaele, the Church of San Nicolo ', the Palazzo Zenobio, the Scuola Grande dei Carmini, the Campo Santa Margherita, the Ca 'Rezzonico, the Campo San Barnaba and the Ponte dei Pugni.
Lagoon and islands
To complete the visit to Venice, an excursion into the fascinating landscape of the lagoon, with its islands and its history.
- The island of Murano, located north-east of Venice, is famous for its glass processing. This art developed on the island at the end of the thirteenth century, when the glassworks were moved from Venice to remove the implicit fire risk from the city. To visit the Church of Santi Maria e Donato, a masterpiece of medieval Venetian architecture and the Church dedicated to St. Peter the martyr.
- The island of Burano, north-east of Venice, less than 10 km from the bell tower of San Marco, is the island of lace, colorful houses, fishing boats moored in the canals and small squeri construction sites. Burano is connected by a bridge to Mazzorbo, an island with a solitary landscape. Of its past, the Church of Santa Caterina remains (14th century), with the oldest bell in the lagoon.
To the north of Burano is Torcello, the island that housed one of the oldest settlements in the lagoon, its decline that began in the fifteenth century was caused by the predominance of nearby Venice and the change in environmental conditions. A few architectural examples such as the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the Church of Santa Fosca and the Ponte del Diavolo have survived.
