DK Travel : Venice : Places of interest

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Play Areas

Children tired of art and architecture can release their energy at well-equipped playgrounds with slides, swings and frames at Parco Savorgnan near Ponte delle Guglie in Cannaregio and the fenced-in waterfront park at Giardini in Castello (see Via Garibaldi and Giardini). The vast shady green expanse of Sant’Elena even boasts a modest skating rink and an artificial climbing wall. Otherwise make friends with the city kids as they kick footballs or cycle around Campo San Polo (see Campo San Polo) of an afternoon.
Punta Sabbioni

This locality clings to the promontory extending westward from the mainland – a continuous string of beach resorts equipped with spacious camp sites. Alongside sleepy backwaters and canals is Punta Sabbioni (“big sandy point”) a busy bus-ferry terminal that bustles with summer holiday-makers. It came into being as sand accumulated behind the 1,100-m (3,600-ft) breakwater erected to protect the port mouth and littoral, and offers lovely seaside strolls.
Rialto Market

(see Rialto Market).
Rio Terrà dei Catecumeni

This reclaimed thoroughfare between the Zattere and Santa Maria della Salute is dominated by a long building, now a school, where prisoners-of-war of the Republic who did not profess the Christian faith would be held captive until they converted. This quiet backwater comes alive on 21 November when the Salute festivities are in full swing (see Madonna della Salute).
Riva degli Schiavoni

Thronging with tour groups and packed with souvenir stalls, this quayside affords a lovely promenade past majestic palaces (now mostly hotels) and a much photographed 1887 monument to the first king of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele. It is linked to Piazza San Marco by the elegant Istrian stone bridge Ponte della Paglia, named after the straw (paglia ) once unloaded from barges here. This is also the best place for taking pictures of the Bridge of Sighs. At the eastern end is the Ca’ di Dio (“house of God”), a 13th-century hospice for pilgrims en route to the Holy Land.
San Basilio Port Zone

The vast docks occupy a good part of the northwestern continuation of the Zattere waterfront, and are usually crowded with trucks and cars queueing up to board the ferries to Greece. The modern terminal also handles the increasing cruise liner traffic, whereas the former industrial structures such as the cotton mill and cold stores are being converted for use by Venice University (see Historic Conversions). The outstanding 17th-century pastel portrait artist Rosalba Carriera (see Portraits by Rosalba Carriera) was born in the San Basilio parish and returned there to die, destitute and totally blind, in 1757.
San Francesco del Deserto

A short distance from Burano, this attractive island of cypress trees is home to a Franciscan monastery. According to legend it was founded by St Francis in person, on his way back from preaching missions in Egypt and Palestine in 1220. In May, clad in their brown habits and sandals, the monks attend the Vogalonga in their heavy-duty boat, to the delight of the Venetians (see Vogalonga).
San Giorgio

The island of cypresses is separated from the main body of Venice by St Mark’s Basin and retains a quiet meditative air, unconcerned with the bustle in the city. An ancient vineyard and salt pans were replaced by a landmark church by Andrea Palladio, adjoining an elegant Benedictine monastery. It is now a scientific and cultural foundation and conference centre. At the rear is the open-air amphitheatre Teatro Verde, revived by the Biennale for performances of contemporary dance and music (see Biennale Art Exhibition).
San Lazzaro degli Armeni

Venice made a gift of this erstwhile leper colony to the Armenian monk, the Venerable Mechtar, forced out of the Peloponnese during one of his country’s diasporas. Intent on fostering the Armenian culture and language, he founded a religious community here and set up a printing press which operated until 1994, publishing works in 36 languages. Multi-lingual monks instruct visitors in their history and lead guided tours through a small museum and an impressive library of more than 100,000 volumes and precious illuminated manuscripts.
San Michele

San Michele became the city cemetery in 1826, in the wake of a hygienic Napoleonic decree that the dead should be buried far from the dwellings of the living. Entry to the cemetery is via a lovely Gothic portal surmounted by St Michael at odds with a dragon, and through the monk’s colonnaded cloister. But don’t neglect to visit the pretty marble-façaded church next door, designed by Mauro Coducci in 1469. On All Souls’ Day (2 November), the place is crowded with relatives paying a visit to their dear departed. However unless you’re a famous resident like Ezra Pound, Stravinsky or Diaghilev, your bones are dug up after 10 years and placed in an urn to make room for someone else.