 | Venice Campos, Calles and Canals Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 183 |  |
 | |  |  | Campos, Calles and Canals: Campi - Structural units of Venice | Tip Rating:   |  |  | |  |
Strolling around Venice, we find many Campi like this and it was interesting finding out that they were, actually, the basic structural unit of the city.
Going back to the 5th century after the fall of the Roman Empire, invaders' attacks ( Goths, Visigoths, Huns, to mention a few... ) towards Italy's major cities forced people to find refuge at islands in the saltwaters of Adriatic Lagoon.
Along with their prayers for survival, they brought with them no more than their faith, business aknowledge and family ties. With no hope to return home, they started building a new one.
Crossing a small canal ( rio - pl. rii ), finding a field ( campo - pl. campi ) they began to sit the focal points of their lives. Homes ( Casa or Ca' ), a church and a Pozzo ( Well ) in the middle, to collect rain water.
These small communiites sprung up on the islands and by growing and growing they endded up forming the sestieri or neighborhoods. There are six sestieri in Venice; Cannaregio, Castello, Dorsoduro, Santa Croce, San Marco and San Polo.
As the city grew, it became unified under an republican government. From unification came organization. Larger canals and bridges were built and many smaller canals were filled in to create paved streets. Leave a Comment Directions: Spread across Venice
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| | | | Campos, Calles and Canals: Campo Santa Margherita (I&V) | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Campo Santa Margherita is among the largest Venice squares with Campo San Polo and Campo Francesco Morosini, and just after the largest one – Piazza San Marco. It owes its name to the Church Santa Margherita, closed in 1810. Campo Santa Margherita has its present-day form more than 1200 years, as the rivers which had flowed together through the square had been filled in the 9th century.
Early in the morning Campo Santa Margherita is an open-air market. During the rest of the day and often by night too – it is the place with "atmosphere of cheerfulness" produced mainly by the students, as the University is just a few meters away, and on the square itself there are many bars, cafes, beer pubs, restaurants… In general – it is one of the nicest squares in Venice, place full of locals as well as tourists, but never as crowded as Piazza San Marco.
For similar, but somehow diminished and less touristy atmosphere look for Campiello dei Squelini located nearby. Leave a Comment Address: Campo Santa Margherita, DorsoduroDirections: The nearest vaporetto station to Campo Santa Margherita is "Ca' Rezzonico".
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| | | | Campos, Calles and Canals: Campo Santa Maria Formosa (I&V) | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Campo Santa Maria Formosa is certainly one of the more important squares in Venice as well as one of the largest. The three areas of Venice – Castello, Cannaregio, and San Marco converge on it. Approximately equally distant from the Piazza San Marco, San Zanipolo and Ponte Rialto, it is a major confluence of pedestrian routes on the east side of Canal Grande, and one of the most attractive and atmospheric squares in Venice. It is known that the square was definitely formed by the year 1500 and that can be seen in the famous "Plan of Venice", woodcut by Jacopo de Barbari.
The square is dominated by the church of the same name, one of the oldest in the city, rebuilt in the late 15th and the 16th century by the designs of Mauro Codussi. The buildings that border the square are a stunning samples of Venetian architecture, with palaces in a variety of styles from Romanesque to Baroque. Among them are Vitturi Palace, Dona a Santa Maria Formosa Palace, Bembo Malipiero Palace, Priuli Ruzzini Loredan Palace and 16th century Querini Stampalia Palace which houses Fondazione Querini Stampalia – library, museum and gallery. Leave a Comment Address: Campo Santa Maria Formosa, San MarcoDirections: Campo Santa Maria Formosa north from the Piazza San Marco, south from Campo San Zanipolo and east from Ponte Rialto.
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