Duration: 3 Hours
A sestiere (plural: sestieri) is a subdivision of certain Italian towns and cities. The word is from sesto (‘sixth’), so it is thus used only for towns divided into six districts.
Castello is the eastern “sestiere” of Venice and it covers a wide area of the island, Castello is still densely populated and yet has somewhat maintained the look & atmosphere of a little village.
Your walking tour route today, starts from Piazza San Marco, where you will proceed eastwards through Campo Santa Maria Formosa and Campo Santissimi Giovanni e Paolo, the second most important open-air section of the island & home to the gothic Basilica founded by the Dominicans and the magnificent Scuola Grande di San Marco.
Leaving behind the impressive baroque façade of the church of Santa Maria dei Derelitti and getting to the Palladian church of San Francesco della Vigna, the exploration of the furthest boundaries include a stop in front of the imposing entrance to the Arsenal, once the shipyard of the Republic of Venice, and another along Via Garibaldi, a colorful and lively area, to end up on the small, secluded island of San Pietro, owning its name to the former cathedral of Venice before the Basilica di San Marco became itself the seat of the bishop at the beginning of the XIX century.
Castello is the Venice, which is still for the Venetians, a bordering area in which the daily rhythms of life in its narrow lanes and squares have not changed significantly despite the advent of mass tourism and which precisely for this reason offers a charming perspective of life, of the work, chat and ease of the elderly inhabitants seated outside their houses.
Inclusions:
- Private expert English-speaking local walking guide
