THE THOMS SUNDAY TRAVEL SECTION
Venice Italy. Last week we took a more in-depth look into the San Marco sestieri (neighborhood).
This week, let’s check out the three neighborhoods on the other side of the Grand Canal from San Marco. I find them interesting for different reasons.
Dorsoduro
The Dorsoduro neighborhood has the Grand Canal on its east side and the central basin along the south edge. The districts of San Polo and Santa Croce define its northern boundary.
Let’s start at the mouth of the Grand Canal.
- Punta della Dogana Art Museum – is in the old Sea Customs House, right on the very point where the Grand Canal begins. It is the companion Museum to the Palazzo Grassi offering temporary exhibitions of contemporary and modern art.
- Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute (Salute) – is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in the Baroque style. The church, dating from 1687, is giving thanks to the Virgin Mother for saving the city from the terrible plague. And a prayer to protect it from future epidemics. The church is free to enter. The museum of treasures has a small entrance fee. Many afternoons at 3:30, there are organ vespers. It is two-minutes west of the art museum.
- Peggy Guggenheim Collection – is in the last home of American heiress Peggy Guggenheim. Today, the Guggenheim Foundation operates the collection by Italian futurists and American modernists. The pieces include examples of Cubism, Surrealism, and abstract expressionism.
Ponte dell’Accademia Bridge
- Gallerie dell’Accademia – The Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia dates from circa 1756. Circa 1777, they begin art restoration. Today, the collection contains masterpieces of Venetian painting up to the 18th century.
- Squero di San Trovaso – is a Dorsoduro boatyard dating to the late 1600s. They are one of the last boatyards repairing and building gondolas. The boatyard is not open to the public, but private tours are available with reservations. From across the canal, you can see into the boatyard. It is an eight-minute walk south from the Accademia.
- Ca’ Macana – dating from 1986 is one of the older workshops, and one of only a few still in the city. The founders were art students who took the time to learn the traditional techniques and material to use. The shop gets many tour groups. Try to hit it in between or later in the day. It is a three-minute walk from the Scuola Grande.
Hidden Venice
Across the canal from Ca’ Macana is Chiesa di San Barnaba. This former church from 1776 now houses a collection of Da Vinci exhibits. Katherine Hepburn fans may recognize the piazza as the one where she falls in the canal in the movie Summertime. The facade of the church was a library in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
- Ca’ Rezzonico Art and Furniture Museum This jewel of the Dorsoduro area dates from 1756. Later owners include painter Robert Barrett Browning, and a count.
Renters include painter John Singer Sargent and composer Cole Porter. Porter’s grandfather was one of the richest men in Indiana. (I like the sound of that.) Cole came into a large inheritance upon his grandfather’s death in 1923. For the next four summers, he and his “wife” would rent the palazzo for $4,000 a month. That’s about $59,000 in today’s dollar.
This figure did not include the parties for close to 1000 guests where mere alcohol and cocaine were ample. Rumor is neither of these gave him a kick at all.
It was during one of these parties in 1927 when he became persona non grata in Venice. If not for the mayor or police chief’s nephew being a guest, Cole might have had a new Venice address.
There is NO mention of him in Venice. It seems silly in a town once known for its parties and merry-making.
Today, it is a museum of Venetian art from the 18th century. One minute east of Ca Macana.
San Polo Neighborhood
The next neighborhood along the canal from Dorsoduro is San Polo. If you have been to the Rialto bridge, you probably set foot in San Polo.
- Rialto Mercato – is the fresh seafood and produce market that pops up on the west side of the Rialto bridge every morning except Sunday. It is a great people show or place to get the freshest ingredients if you are cooking.
In the late afternoon, Cicchetti (chi-KET-tee) bars start opening drawing a large selection of locals, especially students. Cicchetti is the Venetian Tapas (small plates). A great stop on the way to dinner.
- San Giacomo di Rialto – probably dates from circa 1071, although some say earlier. It is one of (the?) oldest churches in Venice. The Gothic porch on the front is one of the few surviving in Venice. This porch is probably where the bankers and money changers set up shop. The market sprang up around this. The 15th-century clock is impressive, but do not use it to tell time.
Campo San Polo
This campo (field) is the largest in Venice and the second-largest public square after St Mark’s. Why do they call them fields? Because up until the 1400s, they were neighborhood farms and livestock areas.
A need for fresh (rain) water pushes the city to dig cisterns in these areas and cover them with piazzas.
- Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (Frari,) – is a minor Franciscan basilica dating from 1338. Much of today’s building is from the 1400s. The campanile is the second tallest in the city. Works of art inside include pieces by Lombardo, Donatello, and Titian. It is four-minutes walk west of San Polo.
- Leonardo da Vinci Museum – is a smaller version of the one in Florence. Models, some life-size, of his inventions are on display. Delve into his artwork through high-resolution digital reproductions. The museum is on the west side of Frari, next to the Chiesa di San Rocco.
Santa Croce
This neighborhood is somewhat of a ghost to most visitors. It is just north of Dorsoduro and right next to San Polo. Unless you are walking from the train station, or have a hotel here, there is little to see. It differs from Dorsoduro and San Polo, That’s why I love it. There is a small university for architecture, and much of the rest is a traditional neighborhood full of locals.
There are not many sites here, but they are quality.
- San Simeone Piccolo – is a church dating from 1738, making it one of the newest churches in Venice. The interior is interesting for its Neoclassical architecture. Why is it one of the most photographed churches in Venice? Is it the artwork inside or the green dome? No. It’s the first thing you see when you exit the train station directly across the Grand Canal.
- Museo di Storia Naturale di Venezia – is the natural history museum. It is in the Fondaco dei Turchi, a palace dating from the 13th-century. The Venetian Republic buy it for a place for visiting dignitaries. Later it will become a single building “ghetto” for Ottoman and then German merchants. The museum has an extensive collection from the local area and an aquarium. The museum is a ten-minute walk from San Simeone.
- The Church of San Stae (Saint Eustachius) – dating from the 11th-century has a striking facade facing the Grand Canal. The interior shows the influence of Palladio, who was changing architecture on the mainland.
Other Museums in Grande Buildings.
- Museo di Palazzo Mocenigo – is a gothic palazzo behind the Church of San Stae. Rebuilt extensively in the 1600s, it was the home of the Mocenigo family, a leading family of the city. Seven family members would become the Doges. Today, the palace is home to the Museum and Study Centre of the History of Fabrics and Costumes. For a look into the clothing of Venice, this is an essential stop.
- Ca’ Pesaro International Gallery of Modern Art – is in a beautiful Baroque marble palace dating from 1710. It was one of many Pesaro family residences. Since 1902, it has been housing a modern art collection. Pieces from the 19th-century include works by Klimt, Rodin, Wildt, and Balla. The 20th-century collection contains works by Carrà, De Chirico, Sironi, Morandi, and more.
The second floor is home to temporary exhibitions. On the third floor is the Museum of Oriental Art, a museum within a museum.
Dorsoduro, San Polo, Santa Croce Summary
WOW, there’s a lot to Venice, isn’t there? The Dorsoduro neighborhood is right next to the cruise pier and most people just motor past without seeing it.
And we still did not touch the Cannaregio or Castello neighborhoods. They are both a part of Venice proper and fascinating. One has the original ghetto, the other the shipyards, and arsenal buildings of one of Europe’s most substantial naval powers.
Then there are the islands of Murano, Burano, Giudecca, Torcello, and more.
You can go to Venice to see its church and bridge, but don’t you want to see more?
Read more about Venice
“See Olympia” Continued on Page T3 “Taste Rhodes” Continued on T11
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