Venice: Campo Santo Stefano to Campo San Giacomo dell' Oro

Campo Santo Stefano

We were having coffee in a cafe in Campo Santo Stefano and wondering where to walk today. Looking at our walk book, an answer emerged: to start where we were, walk south to Dorsoduro and then swing north into the San Polo sestiere (district).

We started by revisiting the church of Santo Stefano, a fine 15th century gothic structure with a magnificent ship's keel roof. Photographs were not allowed unfortunately.

Then we crossed the Grand Canal at Accademia bridge and took a slightly different classic photograph (than the one we took yesterday on our Grand Canal walk) looking down the Grand Canal towards the Salute.

We then found our way towards the Fondamenta Nani, with the campanile of the church of San Trovaso looming at the end of the narrow street we were walking along.

Turning left into the Fondamanta, we soon came abreast of the Squero de San Trovaso, one of the few remaining workshops in Venice to make and repair gondolas.

At the end of the Fondamenta you reach the Zattere, the wide promenade beside the Guideca canal, where we walked yesterday. We made a short detour to the right to see the Molino Stucky on the island of Guideca opposite. One of the few industrial buildings in the the core of Venice, it is now a five star Hilton hotel.

From here we headed back to the rio de Trovaso, and walked up the other side, passing close by the church. We then headed north west to reach the small Campo de San Barnabo and cross the celebrated Ponte del Pugni (the bridge of the boxers).

In former times, there was intense rivalry between the Castellani, who lived in the southern and eastern sestieri of San Marco, Dorsoduro and Castello, and the Nicoletti, who lived in the the northern and western sestieri of Santa Croce, San Polo and Cannaregio. Ponte del Pugni was where this antagonism was played out in the form of mass fist fights.

Carrying on broadly the same direction, we next came to the triangular Campo Santa Margharita, one of Venice's largest. The rectangular building in the centre is the Scuola dei Varotari (leatherworkers) - one of the innumerable confraternity buildings which are scattered across Venice.

A little further on we reached one of Venice's greatest churches, Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, the Frari for short. It was begun in 1340 and completed a century later. The massive campanile is 70m high.

We did go inside for once and admired the imposing space and, among a number of artistic delights, the magnificent Assumption by Titian and a superb tryptic by Giovanni Bellini.

After a restorative lunch in the Campo San Polo, we headed on to our final destination, Campo San Giacomo dell' Oro. This houses the very old, but rather unimpressive-looking church and was a veritable hubbub of activity, including a group of kids having a lively game of football. There was no evidence of a higher skill level than you would see in a comparable English location.

Conditions: sunny, hot in the open, cool in the narrow streets.

Distance: about 3 miles.

Rating: four stars.