Venice, 10 interesting and little-known places that you should see

Whenever we travel to a destination for the first time we usually focus on what is most important.

But if you have traveled several times, as is our case with Venice, has allowed us to visit several very interesting but little-known places

Venice It is a city with amazing places.

The city itself, due to its location, is already spectacular, with all the canals that surround it, and even if it did not have any monuments, simply because of its network of canals it would be a place that must be visited.

But if you add to that the fact that Venice has been the cradle of cultures for hundreds of years, it makes the city even more interesting.

On several trips we have been able to see the points of greatest interest, such as the Plaza de San Marcos and the Great channel, which is where the main monuments of the city are located, about which you have information in these two articles.

• Tips for traveling to Venice
• 10 essentials: what to see and do in Venice in 2 or 3 days

But on these trips we have also been able to see other places that are not usually seen on a first trip, but many of them are truly amazing.

Get ready because some of these corners may end up adding to your list of priorities, as happened to us.

Campo San Polo, the carnival square

El sestiere de San Polo comes to occupy the geographical center of the city of Venice and The main square that you will see is Campo San Polo, the largest after that of San Marcos, and which maintains the tradition of hosting the great venetian carnival celebrations.

Precisely because of its great spaciousness and location in a very central point of Venice, Campo San Polo It has been a square with an important function in the history of the city.

We must know that this large square was paved in 1493 and one of the first fountains in Venice was installed there, and due to its dimensions, Campo San Polo It has been used for numerous events and celebrations, including bullfights.

But the true prominence of Campo San Polo in Venice is marked by the large carnival celebrations, with masquerades and markets, which remain until today.

Also, during the Venice Film Festival, films are shown outdoors in Campo San Polo.

If we are not going to Venice during carnival timeAs was my case, we will arrive at a large square, with two or three trees and a fountain that is not at all pompous.

San Giacomo di Rialto, oldest church in Venice

When we visit the Rialto bridge, in the Grand Canal of Venice, we will have the opportunity to discover what they say is the oldest church in the city of the channels.

This is the church of San Giacomo of Rialto.

Being on the Rialto bridge, when crossing the shore of the sestiere de San Polo, heading towards the Rialto Market, we can see it on the esplanade where said market is located, next to the Camerlenghi Palace.

The building, quite original, may not seem like a church if it were not for the bell tower that is at the top of it.

But, above all, we will know that we are facing the church of San Giacomo of Rialto its huge clock of the main façade, although its gothic portico.

It is a very small church, hence its other denomination of San Giacometto, whose origins date back to the year 421.

It was subsequently renovated on several occasions, so that the current building dates back to the 11th century, although the last renovation dates back to the 15th century.

The huge facade clock It is precisely from the 15th century.

Leaning tower of the church San Giorgio de Greci

In our walk through Venice We can also find an important example of an Orthodox church. It's about the Orthodox Cathedral of San Giorgio de Greci, which we can see in the Castello district, next to the San Lorenzo canal.

It will be easy for us to identify this church on our walk through Castle thanks to its bell tower, which is found clearly inclined over the canal.

La church of San Giorgio de Greci It was built in the 16th century, once in that area of Venice A large community of Greeks was established, who went to the city of canals after the occupation of Constantinople in 1453 by the Ottoman Empire.

In orthodox church San Giorgio de Greci in VeniceIn addition to its leaning tower, its large central dome stands out. The architectural style of this Orthodox church is the characteristic Venetian Renaissance.

Former Jewish Ghetto of Venice

While Venice It is one of the most touristic cities in the world, and it is easy to understand it when we have the opportunity to travel to this beautiful Italian city, in it we can also get lost popular streets where we will hardly find tourists.

The best excuse to walk through these alleys, where the canals remind us that we are in Venice, is to visit the former Jewish Ghetto of the 16th century, in sestiere de Cannaregio, located north of the city.

A good way reach the Jewish Ghetto of Venice is leaving from the Santa Lucia train station, and enter the Cannaregio district along the Fondamenta de Santa Lucía, an alley full of shops and small hotels that runs parallel to the Grand Canal.

This continues along the alley called Rio Tera List of Spain which takes us to a wide canal that we must cross.

In this way we are already in the neighborhood of the former Jewish Ghetto, which has two zones, the Old Ghetto and the New Ghetto, which are characterized by their narrow alleys, with many passageways and small canals and, specifically, by their multi-story houses, which are called the Venice skyscrapers.

We will understand this last characteristic better by knowing the history of the Jewish Ghetto of Venice.

It was in the year 1561 when the Christian ecclesiastical authorities decreed that the Jews of Venice should concentrate on a islet of the Cannaregio sestiere, which was surrounded by canals and its only two entrances, guarded by guards, and which could only be abandoned during the day.

In the ghetto area, various Jewish communities accumulated, known as the Spanish (Sephardic), Levantines, Italians and Ashkenazim, with their own differentiated synagogues.

Due to the increase in population, the original ghetto expanded, but houses with greater heights also began to be built, those now known as the skyscrapers of Venice.

We must take into account that in the 17th century the Jewish Ghetto of Venice once had more than 4.000 inhabitants.

I didn't go until year 1797 , with the conquest of Venice by Napoleon, when the doors of the ghetto were opened and the Jewish population of Venice was now able to leave the ghetto area, although until 1866 the Jews were not completely free.

Currently, very few Jews live in Venice and almost none in the ghetto, but this neighborhood continues to maintain a characteristic Jewish atmosphere, even with two synagogues that hold religious services.

In our visit to the Jewish Ghetto of Venice, in addition to going through alleys and passages, we will have to go to the Nuovo Ghetto Camp, which is the central square of the neighborhood, and where due to the style of the houses, we will not have the feeling of being in Venice.

Contarini spiral staircase

One of the corners that may catch your attention during your trip to Venice It's the one with the spiral staircase Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo.

This small 15th century Venetian palace which is located in Manin Field, near to Rialto bridge, in the Grand Canal of Venice, owes its relevance to the curious spiral staircase which is located on its external façade.

Bliss spiral staircase It presents a succession of arches that are combined with the arches of the galleries on its different floors.

The result is an original and beautiful design, although the Palazzo Contarini is surrounded by an environment of unattractive buildings.

The name of this palace in Venice is due to the fact that it was the Contarini family which commissioned its construction, and the name Bovolo comes from its meaning of snail.

Accademia Gallery

La Accademia Gallery It is the most important museum you can visit in your trip to Venice, in Italy. It is a gallery that collects more than 800 paintings by Venetian artists, from 1200 to the XNUMXth century.

The origin of the Accademia Gallery is in the Venice School of Fine ArtsKnown as The Academy, which was created in 1750 by the Republic of Venice with the purpose of being a school of painters and sculptors.

During that time, works by Venetian artists from previous centuries began to be collected.

Later, in 1807, during the Napoleonic occupation, it was decided to establish a suitable headquarters to exhibit the works.

This headquarters was the result of the integration of three buildings of religious origin, the Scola Grande of Santa María della Caridad, the attached church of the same name and the Monastery of the Canonici Lateranensi.

In this way, you will find the Accademia Gallery in the sestiere of Dorsoduro, next to the Great channel, in front of Accademia Bridge.

With this new headquarters, the Accademia Gallery It expanded its collections by incorporating the collections of various churches and convents that disappeared, such as those of Molin, Contarini and Renier, as well as works from Austria.

If you are interested in visit the Accademia Gallery, you can see, for example, works from the Byzantine or Gothic eras, as well as the Venetian Renaissance.

And as for artists, you can see works by Bellini, Tiziano, Tintoretto and Tiepolo.

Santa Lucia train station in Venice

A key point in Venice is the Santa Lucia railway station, which becomes the access to the city through the Great channel.

Those who have decided to stay in a hotel outside of Venice, for example, in the very nearby town of Mestre, the Santa Lucia Station is the gateway to Venice.

From Mestre to Saint Lucia There are trains with a frequency of more or less ten minutes.

The train can take a quarter of an hour to cross the length Liberty Bridge which allows you to go over the lagoon to reach the island of Venice.

Si vas a get to Venice via Santa Lucia, you will find a large railway station, with a fairly modern design, even though it was built shortly after World War II.

When leaving the Santa Lucía station we find ourselves directly on the Grand Canal, where the Ferrovia vaporetto stop, the name by which the railway station is also known.

From this point we can begin our visit to venice, or taking a vaporetto that takes us through the Great channel, or after crossing the Scalzi Bridge, enter the alleys of the district of Santa Croce.

If from the station we go to the right, a little more than a hundred meters away we will find the Rome Piazzale, entry point by road, and where the bus stops are located, including the one that can take us directly to the airport.

To get to this large square, we will have to cross the Constitution Bridge, designed by the Spanish architect Calatrava.

And if from the exit of the Venice Santa Lucia Station We head to the left, we will enter the district of Cannaregio because of the very populous Rio Tera street Lista de Spagna, which is full of shops and small hotels.

Baroque church of the Scalzi

When trips to Venice, if you arrive by car or bus in the Rome Piazzale, or by train on the Santa Lucia Station, immediately to the left of this railway station you will find one of the great baroque churches of the city, known as Saint Mary of Nazareth or Church of the Scalzi.

Located in the sestiere of Cannaregio, in front of one of the most beautiful bridges that cross the Grand Canal of Venice, el Scalzi Bridge, this church was built between 1656 and 1672 at the request of the Carmelite monks.

Although its initial name was Santa María de Nazareth, over time this monumental church became better known as the Church of the Scalzi (Barefoot) for belonging to the congregation of barefoot Carmelites.

What will catch your attention the most about this church is its impressive baroque marble façade, which was completed in 1680. Its interior consists of a single nave and has two side chapels.

It should also be noted that this church was known by a Tiepolo fresco what was inside, which was damaged by bombing. His remains are preserved in the pictorial gallery of the Accademia of Venice.

Basilica San Giovanni and Paolo, Pantheon of the Doges of Venice

On your walk through the alleys and canals of Venice, one of the most outstanding churches that you will be able to visit is found in the sestriere de Castle.

This is the Basilica of San Giovanni and Paolo, popularly known as San Zanipolo.

When you arrive at this church, which is considered a minor basilica, it will remind you a lot of the church of Santa María de Frari, of the sestriere of San Polo, both for its exterior characteristics and for the layout of its interior.

La Basilica of San Giovanni and Paolo in Venice It was built between the 13th and 14th centuries by the Dominicans.

Its austere exposed brick façade has an Italian Gothic style with Renaissance influences, and its large central rose window stands out.

As a curiosity, the marble columns that are located on both sides of the main door were brought from the church of Santa Maria della Assumption of Torcello.

But the greatest importance of church of San Giovanni and Paolo is that from the 15th century it became the Pantheon of the Doges of Venice.

In this way, 25 doge of the Republic of Venice They were buried over the centuries in this Venetian basilica.

During your visit you will see this by the large and, in some cases, opulent tombs that are arranged in the different chapels of San Giovanni and Paolo, with a combination of medieval and Renaissance style.

In this regard, highlights the Tomb of Pietro Mocenigo, which is a masterpiece from the year 1481 by the Italian architect Peter Lombard.

In the front of the interior nave, you can see the baroque-style main altar, and two chapels on each side, with a layout similar to that of the aforementioned Frari Basilica.

In one of these chapels you find the Tomb of Andrea Vendramin, also by Lombardo.

El Visiting hours of the Basilica of San Giovanni and Paolo is from 7,30:18,30 a.m. to 2,5:XNUMX p.m., and to access the interior they charge you XNUMX euros.

Church Madonna dell Orto, paintings by Tinroretto

On sestiere from Cannaregio, north of the city, almost on the shores of the lagoon, you can visit a venetian gothic style church, the Madonna dell Orto, where you can see paintings by the Venetian artist Tintoretto, as well as his grave.

The origin of the church of the Madonna dell Orto in Venice dates back to XIV century, when a church dedicated to San Cristóbal was built to protect sailors who went to the north of the lagoon.

But a century later, in an orchard a image of the Virgin, and since then the church was dedicated to the Virgin of the Garden (orto, in Italian).

This Venetian church over the centuries has had various reforms, due to the great instability of the soil. The first was already carried out as soon as it was built.

Then, in 1841, another major reconstruction was carried out by the Austrians occupying Venice. And the last one dates back to 1966, after some floods.

The current façade of the church of the Madonna dell Orto It is from the 15th century. Built of exposed brick, when you stand in front of it, the portico and the large rose window draw your attention.

At the top of the sides of the façade you will see the statues of the twelve apostles.

Externally, the tower of the Bell tower, which although it has a square shape, is crowned with a rounded dome of oriental shape, making the general aesthetics of this Venetian church quite peculiar.

El interior of the church of the Madonna dell Orto of Venice is spacious and bright, and is also made of exposed brick.

The highlights of it are the various works of Tintoretto, a 16th century painter who was a parishioner of this church.

His tomb is marked by a plaque, inside a chapel to the right of the presbytery.

In one of the chapels you can also see the image of the Virgin that caused the church to be dedicated to the Madonna dell Orto.