This is the most important means of communication in the city. Almost four hundred meters long, thirty to seventy meters wide, it divides the historic center into two parts and is traversed via vaporetti and traditional gondolas. Along its banks the most beautiful Venetian palaces from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth century have been built. Departing from San Marco bridge, we can admire in succession the Gothic Ca’ Giustinian, the baroque church of S. Maria Della Salute, and the Venier dei Leoni Palace, headquarters of the famous Peggy Guggenheim art collection, containing works by Picasso, Klee, Kandinskij. Crossing the Accademia Bridge, one of three that cross the Grand Canal, we find the Accademia Gallery, which holds a vast collection of Venetian painters from the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Continuing on, we find the baroque Ca’ Foscari, which houses some University departments. On the opposite bank rises the classical-style Grassi Palace, exposition site for shows of national and international fame. Still farther, we can admire the Renaissance-style Corner-Spinelli Palace and the Grimani Palace.

We then arrive at the arcades of the celebrated Rialto Bridge (built between 1588 and 1592), which is situated halfway along the route of the Grand Canal. Almost fifty meters long and seven meters high at water level, it is traversed by three sets of stairs. After the Rialto Bridge, we meet the Ca’ d’Oro, one of the most beautiful monuments of Venice. Built in gothic style in the fifteenth century, it is now the seat of the Franchetti Gallery. The baroque Ca’ Pesaro follows, with two levels of arcades, then the modern art gallery, the Renaissance palace Vendramin Calergi, where the German composer Richard Wagner died in 1883. Next comes the oriental-style Turkish Foundation, headquarters of the Museum of Natural History, and finally, the Scalzi Bridge, the last one crossing the Grand Canal.

This is one of the most famous piazzas in the world. Its history began in the ninth century, at which time it was chosen as seat of the Venetian government and the Doges’ Palace and Basilica of San Marco were built.
The piazza was at that time narrower than it appears today, although the lagoon still floods a large part of the present Piazzetta San Marco. Its present appearance dates to the twelfth century when, at the height of its power, Venice wanted to create an architectonic space worthy of its fame. The old church of San Geminiano was demolished and the Batario Canal filled in; the Basilica of San Marco was then enlarged, as was the Doge’s Palace. Today the piazza is bordered by the Procuratie Vecchie (Old Law Courts) (sixteenth century), flanked by the Clock Tower with its statues of the Moors marking the hours, and on the opposite side, the Procuratie Nuove (New Law Courts, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries). The eighteenth-century Napoleonic Wing is located on the shorter side, in front of the Basilica.

The Procuratie Vecchie, which once housed the attorneys’ homes, appears as an uninterrupted series of fifty arcades on ground level and one hundred windows in the two upper floors. The attorneys of San Marco also resided in the Procuratie Nuove, an imposing structure with rows of doorways and two levels of loggia. When the Republic fell in 1797, the building was used as the Royal Palace. The Napoleonic Wing finally was built by Napoleon Bonaparte to house a majestic ballroom.

This artistic little piazza opens onto the left side of the Basilica at the entrance to the basin of San Marco. The two columns that preside over it, one topped by the Winged Lion in bronze, the other by the statue of San Teodoro with a dragon, are from the twelfth century. On one side of the little piazza one faces the Doge’s Palace, which was the headquarters of the city government and residence of the Doges. Inside, the splendid rooms merit a visit, especially the Grand Council Chamber. Through the Charter Doorway, so called because the Doges had governmental decrees affixed on it, one reaches the interior of the Courtyard of the Doges, where one can admire the size of the Giants and the colonnade of the Gallery. On the east side of the Doge’s Palace, after the Paglia Bridge, we find the famous Bridge of Sighs, so called because over this passed prisoners entering court to face the judgement of the inquisitors. On the opposite side from the Doge’s Palace, the little piazza is enclosed by the Old Library, the work of Sansovino.

A monumental church in gothic style that faces the fields of the Frari, Santa Maria dei Frari contains numerous works of art, including the altarpiece of the Assumption by Titian and a wooden statue by Donatello. In the adjacent Scuola Grande of San Rocco are gathered numerous canvasses by Tintoretto.