Venice - sightseeing

The Giudecca is a big island which is part of the main body of Venice, but is not connected to it by bridges. It is right in front of San Marco, and you have to take a boat to get there.

It is an interesting place to visit, since it is not very full of tourists, there’s a wonderful church by Palladio, and if you walk to the side of the island towards the lagoon, you will have a wonderful view of it and of the many small islands that are not easy to see from elsewhere. There are a number of gardens, where you can sit on a bench and read comfortably.

Venice, even if there’s not much to be proud of, is the city where the word ’ghetto’ was first used, and one of the first cities in Europe where the Jewish population were confined to a small area and allowed out of it only at certain times of the day. This explains why the houses in the Ghetto are taller than in the rest of Venice, and often feature seven floors in a height that would normally host four.

The Ghetto is quite close to the Station, and can be reached from the Fondamenta di Cannaregio. It is a beautiful area, still home of a vital Jewish community, with Jewish shops and Kosher restaurants. The atmosphere is very interesting, and quite different from the rest of Venice. Definitely worth a visit.

San Zaccaria is a church not far from San Marco. Founded in the Ninth Century, its facade was rebuilt in the Fifteenth Century, and features a nice mixture of Gothic and Renaissance styles.

It is one of the most interesting "minor" monuments in Venice (and a very beautiful church), and is a good testimony of the historical and artistic tradition of Venice.

The most interesting thing are a wonderful altarpiece by Giovanni Bellini, painted in 1505, as well as paintings by Palma il Giovane and Jacopo Tintoretto.