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(see Accademia Galleries).

Aptly named after the Arab word darsina’a (house of industry), Venice’s formidable Arsenale shipyards at one time employed an army of 16,000 to produce the fleets that sailed the Mediterranean, spreading the influence of the Republic through trade deals and naval superiority. Justifiably proud of its innovative assembly-line system, the Arsenale could construct a galley in a matter of hours, notably in 1574 while the French king Henry III was enjoying a banquet. Ringed by walls and towers bearing the winged lion, some of its ancient docks and workshops are now being adapted as exhibition and performance venues (see Arsenale). The row of stone lions which are guarding the entrance hail from various Greek islands looted by Venetian commanders.

Popularly referred to as “il Santo”, Padua’s revered site of pilgrimage was built in the 13th century to safeguard the mortal remains of St Anthony, a Franciscan monk and miracle worker from Portugal. Worshippers visit his gleaming tomb, encircled by burning candles, but his tongue is guarded in an intricate reliquary in the Treasury, recently recovered after being stolen. In architectural terms the basilica blends Romanesque, Gothic, Islamic and Byzantine elements with elegant arched loggias, minarets and domes, and is a treasure trove of art works by Sansovino, Tiepolo and Titian (see Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)).

The original lectern where Galileo Galilei held his lessons between 1592 and 1610 can be seen on the guided tour of Padua’s historic university, founded in 1222 and second only to Bologna as Italy’s oldest. The institution boasts the world’s first anatomy theatre (1594) where dissections had to be carried out in great secrecy as the church forbade such practices. Other illustrious scholars of the university have included astronomer Copernicus (1473–1543), Gabriel Fallopius (1523–62), who discovered the function of the Fallopian tubes, and Elena Lucrezia Corner Piscopia, the world’s first woman graduate (see Elena Lucrezia Corner Piscopia).

A haven for artists, brightly painted houses, fish and lace-making are the pride of Burano. The islanders cherish an old legend about a faithful sailor who resisted the Sirens’ call and was rewarded with a magnificent veil of magical foam for his bride, later worked into lace, a trade that brought worldwide fame and fortune to the isolated fisherfolk. These days, although old women still strain their eyes with patient stitches, many articles are in fact imported from abroad. The island’s dramatically leaning bell tower is visible from afar.

In this odd funnel-shaped square your attention is drawn to three statues of Arabian-style “Moors” – but neither North African nor Muslim, they hailed from Morea in Greece. Rioba, Sandi and Afani Mastelli were medieval traders who made their home in the family palace around the corner. Next to the bridge over Rio della Sensa is a doorway marked No. 3399, once the residence of the renowned 16th-century artist Tintoretto (see Jacopo Tintoretto)

Nowadays a modest square dotted with some low-key bars, its main attraction is a colourful moored barge loaded high with shiny fresh fruit and vegetables – a must for photographers. Its history has not always been so peaceful, however – the square used to be the arena for fierce rivalries between the city’s working class bands, the Nicolotti and Castellani, who would fight it out on the Ponte dei Pugni (see Ponte dei Pugni). On a more forgiving note, the rather nondescript church used to take in disgraced and bankrupt nobility.

This lovely square undergoes a series of transformations, from attractive theatre or dance area during Carnival, to open-air cinema through the summer months, and playground for bicycle- and scooter-mad kids the rest of the year. It has never been particularly quiet – it was once a venue for bullfights and bird-netting, extravagant parties with fireworks displays and even crime. In 1548 Florentine writer in hiding Lorenzino de’ Medici was stabbed to death here on orders from the great Cosimo de’ Medici. It was punishment for the assassination of Cosimo’s cousin Duke Alessandro, which brought the Medici line to an end.