Top 10 Hidden Venice
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1. Parco Savorgnan
A well-hidden haven of chirping birds in towering shady trees, signposted from Campo San Geremia and Fondamenta Savorgnan. Part of the park once belonged to Palazzo Savorgnan, now a school, which backs on to it, and boasted statues, citrus trees and Roman stonework.
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2. Rio Terrà Rampani
This quiet thoroughfare, around the corner from Ponte delle Tette, is usually referred to as the “Carampane” (Ca’ Rampani), alias the red-light district as of 1421. Venice had some 11,600 officially registered courtesans in the 1500s. A particularly narrow alley, Calle della Raffineria, site of a 1713 sugar refinery, runs off it.
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3. Corte del Duca Sforza
A picturesque courtyard opening onto the Grand Canal, it was named after the duke of Milan who took over a partially constructed palace here in 1461. However, work did not go much further than the diamond-point ashlar on the façade. The artist Titian used it as a studio when working on the Doge’s Palace.
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4. Celestia to Bacini
A lengthy atmospheric walk-way in a somewhat neglected zone of Castello, fronting the lagoon. The path clings to the wall of the ancient Arsenale shipyards (see Arsenale), and leads to a cluster of workers’ dwellings.
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5. Corte dell’Anatomia
This quiet courtyard took its name from the anatomy theatre which existed here as of 1368. In 1671, a College of Anatomy was also established over the bridge in Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio, now an isolated building with a pretty vine-covered trellis.
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6. Campiello del Remer
This delightful square faces the Grand Canal and took its name from the local oarmakers. It boasts several Byzantine features, notably the wellhead of Verona stone and pointed ogee arches from a 13th-century palace.
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7. Cloister of Sant’Apollonia
Venice’s only authentic Romanesque cloister has a courtyard with twin-columned arcades, now part of a church museum.
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8. Campo della Celestia
Now a tranquil residential square, in the 13th century it saw plenty of action when the sisters of a Cistercian convent gained a riotous reputation. Under Napoleon an archive of city affairs took over the building.
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9. Calle del Paradiso
Though slightly lop-sided, a delicately sculptured 15th-century arch representing the Virgin and her devotees never fails to delight. The attractive alley is lined with medieval-style timber overhangs.
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10. Campo della Maddalena
Unchanged since medieval times, this lovely raised square often doubles as a film set. Its modest houses are topped with chimneys in varying styles.
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International Theatre FestivalVenice's International Theatre Festival, directed by Maurizio Scaparro in 2007, features shows, installations and performances at the Piccolo Teatro Arsenale, developed around a central theme of... Read more
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