After the busy day we had yesterday, we took it easy on ourselves and planned a very light agenda - a leisurely walk in the Castello district.
On the way there we passed thru the busy street market in Cannaregio and couldn’t resist the temptation. A couple of wallets and a belt later, we resumed our walk and arrived at Campo Santa Maria Formosa named after the church located there.
We wondered thru the maze of streets and bridges over the narrow canals and found ourselves in the Riva Schiavoni, the beautiful waterfront area. This wonderful promenade has long been one of the most picturesque and popular in Venice. It is surrounded by beautiful palaces, some of which have been converted into high-end hotels. It offers a great view of the lagoon and some islands, including the most impressive view of the island of San Giorgio Maggiore.
From the Ponte della Paglia (Straw Bridge) we admired another famous bridge - the Bridge of Sighs, or Ponte dei Sospiri in Italian. It was built in 1600 to connect Doge’s Palace with the prisons. The name was invented later to suggest that condemned prisoners would sigh at their final view of the beautiful Venice. We walked across it during our Doge’s palace visit.
We walked around the Doge’s Palace and strolled thru the Piazza San Marco before heading to our next destination.
We stopped for lunch at the Piramidi restaurant specializing in pizza. They had three pages of the menu listing various pizzas being offered. The “Vegeterian” that we chose with grilled zucchini, eggplant and peppers was delicious.
After lunch we visited Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo. The Basilica di Santi Giovanni e Paolo is a great Gothic church built in 14th century. It is known as Pantheon of Venice because it holds the tombs of 25 doges. Another highlight of the square is the equestrian statue of the mercenary Colleoni by Andrea Verocchio.
On the way back we walked across Rialto Bridge. We admired it from the vaporetto and from the shore but didn’t cross it until today. The shops on and around Rialto Bridge cater mostly to tourists but it is hard to pass the displays of incredibly beautiful glass without stopping to admire it.
