Vanishing Venice

The Campo San Trovaso apartment is one of the best places we have ever rented in Europe. The beautiful apartment, located in central but quiet position, immersed in the mystic atmosphere of Venice, offers its guests serene, silent and welcoming surroundings. The San Trovaso apartment located on the second floor (European first) in the 3-storey house, in the quiet and charming area of Dorsoduro, only a few steps from San Trovaso Church and the Zattere promenade on the lagoon. Location could not be better - on a quiet canal Rio Ognissanti (All Saints) near the Squero di San Trovaso - a picturesque gondola-maker’s workshop, one of the most significant sites in Venice. It is here that gondolas are made and repaired by skilled craftsmen, whose art has been handed down from father to son since the 17th century.

From the apartment its guests can easily get to the famous Venice’s landmarks: just 15 minutes walk from Piazza S. Marco, 5 minutes on foot from Madonna della Salute, and the Accademia delle Belle Arti is 200 m away. Boat stop "Zattere" with services to the railway station and Piazza Sam Marco 150 m. The Billa supermarket, the cheapest and the best in Venice, is only 300 m away.

The three-room apartment is huge by Venetian standards - 90 square meters. This charming property has been furnished and equipped to meet high standards. The high ceilings, comfortable furniture, outdoor terrace and airy rooms create a very relaxing environment. First you see the entrance hall with dining table and TV (local channels). First bedroom with two beds. Small living room with balcony overlooking the canal. Master bedroom has queen bed and exit to the terrace. On the terrace you'll find a table, four chairs and sunshade overlooking the alley and the Rio Ognissanti canal. The terrace offers fantastic view over the picturesque canal and the neighbor palaces. You can spend hours drinking your coffee / wine / tea / having meal and watching as the world goes by. Fully equipped kitchen with oven, microwave and fridge. Lovely decorated bathroom with bath , shower, bidet, washing machine and WC. Second WC (separate). Terrace with table, four chairs and sunshade overlooking the alley and the canal.

A word of advice – if you decide to stay here, then book the apartment several months in advance.

The tavern of San Trovaso is one of the most popular establishments in Venice. Moderately priced (under €15), this restaurant is a "can't miss" choice. You’ll be able to tell by all of the young locals and visitors alike crowding here (the tavern is always packed, but table turnover is fast). You can sample here an authentic Venetian pesce (fish) dish. A wide choice of Venetian dishes served in robust portions, economical prix-fixe menus at both lunch and dinner, delicious pepperoni pizzas, and house wine by the glass or pitcher keep this two-floor tavern busy. Two steps from the Campo San Trovaso with its famous church and the gondola yard, and 5 min. walk from the Gallerie dell'Accademia, this is a good place to slip into while sightseeing in Dorsoduro, or for an early evening aperitif and some cicheti.

The six districts into which Venice is divided are called sestieri; three per side of the Grand Canal (Dorsoduro, Santa Croce and San Polo to the left and Castello, San Marco and Cannaregio to the right). We stayed in the sestiere of Dorsoduro.

The area between the Accademia and San Trovaso is Venice’s most elegant and artisty quarter, home to many artists and writers. Some of the finest domestic architecture in Venice is concentrated here. The reason is simple - there were not many places among the lagoon's mud-banks where Venice's early settlers could be confident that their dwellings wouldn't slither down into the water, but with Dorsoduro they were on relatively solid ground (the sestiere's name means "hard back"). During the day the paintings of Dorsoduro's art galleries and religious institutions that draw most visitors across the Ponte dell' Accademia. The Gallerie dell'Accademia is the area's number one destination, and figures on most itineraries as the place to make for when the Piazza San Marco sights have been done. The huge church of Santa Maria della Salute is the most beautiful church in Venice.

We rented an apartment near the San Trovaso campo, along the Rio Ognissanti. The area around the square is famous due to the gondola yard and the beautiful church. The gondola workshop is on the corner of the Rio Ognissanti and Rio di San Trovaso. This picturesque squero is one of the remaining gondola yards in Venice.

And now let’s visit the church. There was no saint Trovaso – the Venetians merged the names of Saint Gervasio and Saint Protasio, two locally popular but historically questinable saints. Since its 10th century foundation the church has had a turbulent history, falling down once, and twice being destroyed by fire; this is the fourth incarnation, built in 1584–1657. Venetian folklore has it that this church was the only neutral ground between the Nicolotti and the Castellani, the two factions in to which the working-class citizens of the city were divided. The former, coming from the west and north of the city, were named after the church of San Nicolò dei Mendicoli, the latter, from the district of Dorsoduro, San Marco and Castello, took their name from San Pietro di Castello.

The rivals celebrated inter-marriages and other services here, but are said to have entered and departed by separate doors: the Nicolotti by the door at the east end, and the Castellani by the door on the south side.

We visited the church several times and found inside a pair of small fine paintings by Tintoretto: The Temptation of St Anthony the Abbot and The Last Supper in the chapel to the left of the Altar. There are also three paintings by his son Dominico. In my opinion the most interesting painting in the church is "St Crysogonus on Horseback" by Michele Giambono (1450). You will find the painting in the chapel at ninety degrees to the first one. The two large pictures on each side of the choir, The Adoration of the Magi and The Expulsion from the Temple, were begun by Tintoretto at the very end of his life. In the right transept, in the Clary Chapel (next to the south door) you'll find a marble altar-front carved with angels (1470).

Beyond the church, along the Rio di San Trovaso there are some fine Gothic and Renaissance palaces used today as a university building.

The vast Campo Santa Margherita, ringed by houses that date back as far as the 14th century, is the heart of Dorsoduro. In the morning you will find here daily market. Students from the nearby university hang out in the square's bars and cafés. The church that gives the campo its name was closed in 1810 and is now a university auditorium. You will notice the dragons in the decorative stonework on the former church. As the legend goes, Saint Margaret emerged unscathed after the dragon that had swallowed her exploded. A miraculous escape from the dragon’s guts makes her the patron saint of pregnant women.

If you have enough time than look around you will see the dragon features on the campanile. Saint Margaret also stands on the beast between the windows of a house at the northern end of the square.

One day we decided to visit Ca’ Rezzonico. Cutting down the side of the Carmini church we came over the Rio di San Barnaba, along which a fondamenta runs to the church of San Barnaba. It was this very canal that Katherine Hepburn fell into in the movie Midsummer Madness, causing permanent damage to her sight. Just before the end of the fondamenta, on the left, there is famous bridge - the Ponte dei Pugni. Originally built without parapets, the bridge was the site of ritual battles between the Castellani and Nicolotti; this one is inset with marble footprints marking the starting positions. These massed brawls took place between September and Christmas, and obeyed a well-defined etiquette, the aim of which was to gain possession of the bridge. The fatalities were commonplace, therefore in 1705 the punch-ups were finally banned, and less dangerous forms of competition, such as regattas, were encouraged instead. Unfortunately, the famous bridge was under restoration during our visit and the tourists now take the shots of the San Barnaba grocery barge moored at the foot of the bridge. The San Barnaba Church, next to the bridge, was built in 1749. It has ceiling painting of St Barnabas in Glory by Cedini, a follower of Tiepolo. In Indiana Johns and the Last Crusade, Harrison Ford entered the church and later emerged from the pavement near one of the bars.

The Ponte di Rialto (Rialto Bridge) is the true heart of Venice and the city’s landmark. It is one of the two bridges in Italy that has the shops on it. The current bridge was built in just three years, between 1588 and 1591. It remained the only way to cross the Grand Canal on foot until the Accademia Bridge was built in 1854. The architect, Antonio da Ponte ("Anthony of the Bridge,") competed against such famous designers as Michelangelo and Palladio for the contract.

The bridge has three walkways: two along the outer balustrades, and a wider central walkway leading between two rows of small shops that sell jewelry, linens, Murano glass, and other items for the tourist trade.

In an attempt to make sure that tourists go to see more than just the Palazzo Ducale and San Marco, the city of Venice invented several museum passes. We stayed a week in town therefore our obvious choice was the Museum Pass. Costing in May 2004 €15.50 for adults, €10.00 for students, the tickets allowed us visit to each of the following attractions: the Museums of St Mark’s Square (Palazzo Ducale, Museo Correr, Museo Archeologico, Biblioteca Marciana), the Museums of the 18th century culture (Ca’ Rezzonico, Palazzo Mocenigo, Casa Goldoni), and the Islands Museums - Museo del Merletto (Burano) and Museo del Vetro (Murano). If you are going to be in Venice 2 or 3 days then the Museum Card is for you. It costs €11.00 for adults, €5.50 for students and gives access to the Museums of St Mark’s Square (Palazzo Ducale, Museo Correr, Museo Archeologico, Biblioteca Marciana).

In the Venetian dialect, squero means workshop. The Squero di San Trovaso is a boat- builder shop, more exactly a gondola repair and construction yard. There are not many left in Venice, and the most famous (and most picturesque) is the Squero di San Trovaso. The alpine-style workshop, window sills clad with geraniums is a throw back to the first occupants who came from the mountainous Cadore region north of Venice. It is not open to the public, but we passed the squero numerous times and saw gondolas being worked on outside all the time across the Rio di San Trovaso canal. Directions: Just off the Zattere in Dorsoduro - turn off Zattere at Ponte Lungo, along Fondamenta Nani.

For most North Americans, flying to Italy means booking a ticket to Milan or Rome. But Venice's Marco Polo International Airport (VCE) at Tessera, on the mainland just north of Venice, is a more convenient gateway for many travelers. We took a flight from Venice to London and greatly enjoyed it. The aerial view of Venice was breathtaking. You'll see the beautiful city, with instantly recognizable landmarks like the Grand Canal and the Campanile San Marco. You'll see the Venetian Lagoon, the Dolomites and of course the Adriatic Sea. It is a 20-minute road trip from the city's Piazzale Roma. Two different bus routes are available, and both are inexpensive. Bus ATVO (blue bus) offers a direct connection from the airport to Piazzale Roma that takes about 20 minutes; buses leave every half an hour. The ticket costs €4 and includes luggage. Bus ACTV No. 5 (orange bus) is a public transport bus and therefore makes several stops before reaching Piazzale Roma (it takes approximately 45min). The bus runs frequently between 4:05 a.m. and 12:10 a.m. The ticket is quite cheap - it costs around €1, but does not include luggage transport. You have to purchase an extra ticket for each suitcase you're carrying on the bus (the same price as for passengers). If you aren't carrying a lot of luggage and aren't traveling at rush hour, this public bus is a good way to reach the city. You can also ride the boat from the airport to the Piazza San Marco for 10 € - and you'll get a sightseer's view of the Venetian lagoon during the 40-minute ride.