The
sestiere of San Polo is the smallest area. In this district it was customary to 'live over the shop', i.e. dwellings and workplaces were often combined. On the Rialto and everywhere else we find an old and noble Venetian vocation: that of good food. the enjoyment of food is honoured here, even in its most simple and popular forms. All around the area we find 'osterie and bacari', taverns that also provide ready-made dishes including saòr, bigoi, in salsa, tripe, liver alla veneziana, fish fries, as well as the typical 'cicheto' (a morsel on a stick).
Rialto Bridge
The Ponte di Rialto is the oldest bridge and spans the Grand Canal. It probably dates back to 1172 and was originally in wood. In 1557 the Venetian Republic put out a tender for rebuilting the bridge in stone. The architects who competed for the tender includes Palladio and Sanmichieli. The tender was awarded by Antonio da Ponte and in 1591 the bridge was inaugurated.
Palace of Camerlenghi
The Palazzo dei Camerlenghi is located on the right of Rialto Bridge, the palace derives its name from the Camerlenghi, officials who were responsible for raising revenue for the Venetian Republic. The ground floor contained the cells of the tax evaders.
Church of San Giacometto
The Chiesa di San Giacomo di Rialto is perhaps the oldest church in Venice. It is still laid out in the form of a Greek cross. Opposite, we have the'Gobbo di Rialto' which was built by Pietro da Salò in 1541. Next to it, there is the 'Pietra del bando' from which the decrees of the Venetian Republic were read out. This was the commercial heart of Venice, where merchants met to hammer out their agreements and where the Banco Giro was located. This bank was already in existence in the twelfth century and enabled credit to circulate.
Church of San Aponal
The Chiesa di Sant'Aponal dates back to the eleventh century and was built by a family that came from Ravenna. Today it is deconsecrated and closed.
The Fabbriche Nuove
The Fabbriche Nuove were designed by Sansovino in 1555 and housed the governament departments that supervised trade.
Church of San Cassiano
The Chiesa di San Cassiano may have been built in the tenth century. It contains paintings by Jacopo Tintoretto and Andrea Schiavone.
San Polo Square
Campo San Polo gives its name to the district. It was given its present appearance in 1750 when Sant'Antonio canal was filled in. The palazzi that surround it offer a fine view. Races, bullfights and masked carnival balls were held here.
Church of San Polo
The present Chiesa di San Polo (San Paolo) is the result of different work done in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Paintings by Tintoretto, Palma il Giovane and Gian Domenico Tiepolo, with 14 canvases of the Stations of the Cross.
Goldoni House
Casa Goldoni is a fifteenth-century palazzo. It was probably here that the eighteenth century playwright Carlo Goldoni was born. Today it is a theatre-museum and contains documents on Goldoni's art and life.
Church of the Frari
The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari was built in the fourteenth century by the Franciscans, who settled in venice from about 1222. Rebuilt in the fifteenth century, it bears witness to the Venetian Republic with paintings by Titian and Bellini. It is an example of Gothic architecture from the middle of the fifteenth century, and has one of the highest belltowers in Venice, which was started in 1361.
Scuola Grande di San Rocco
The confraternity Scuola Grande di San Rocco is located in the campo bearing the same name. It was founded in 1478 as a charitable institution. The present building was started in 1489 and finished in the sixteenth century by the architect Giangiacomo dei Grigi. It is famous for a series of paintings by Tintoretto that adorn the rooms. Next to the school there is the church, which is also dedicated to San Rocco. It was built in the sixteenth century and was renovated by Giovanni Scalfurotto in the eighteenth century.
Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista
The confraternity Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista was founded in 1307. The headquarters was built in the fifteenth century and in 1481 the Bottega dei Lombardi built the impressive gateway in Renaissance style. In 1512 Mauro Codussi rebuilt the great internal staircase. After the school was suppressed by the napoleonic edicts of 1806 it was acquired by private individuals in 1856 and is still a confraternity today.
