Madonna dell'Orto
This lovely Gothic church was founded in the mid 14th Century and was dedicated to St Christopher, patron saint of travellers, to protect the boatmen who ferried passengers to the island in the northern lagoon. The dedication was changed and the church reconstructed in the early 15th Century, following the discovery, in a nearby vegetable garden (orto), of a statue of the Virgin Mary said to have miraculous powers. However, a 15th Century statue of St Christopher, newly restored, still stands above the portal.

The interior, faced almost entirely in brick, is large, light and uncluttered. The greatest treasures are the works of art by Tintoretto, who was a parishoner of the church. His tomb, which is marked with a plaque, lies in the chapel to the right of the chancel. The most dramatic of his works are the towering paintings in the chancel. On the right wall is the 'Last Judgment'. In the painting 'The Adoration of the Golden Calf', on the left wall, the figure carrying the calf, fourth from the left, is said to depict Tintoretto himself.
Inside the chapel of San Mauro you can see the statue of the Madonna which inspired the reconstruction of the church. To the right of the entrance is Cima da Conegliano's magnificent painting, 'St John the Baptist and Other Saints'. The vacant space opposite belongs to Giovanni Bellini's 'Madonna with Child' which was stolen recently.

Campo dei Mori
According to popular tradition, the 'Mori' were the three Mastelli brothers who came from the Morea, the Peleponnese. The brothers, who were silk merchants by trade, took refuge in Venice in 1112 and built the Palazzo Mastelli, recognisable by its camel bas relief, which once backed onto the square. Their weathered stone figures can be seen embedded in the wall of the campo on its eastern side. The corner figure with the makeshift rusty metal nose is 'Signor Antonio Rioba' who, like the Roman Pasquino, was the focus of malicious fun and satire. A fourth oriental merchant wearing a large turban faces the Rio della Sensa on the facade of Tintoretto's house.

Fondamenta della Sensa
When the marshy lands of Cannaregio were drained in the Middle Ages, three long, straight canals were created running parallel to each other. The middle of these is the Rio della Sensa, which stretches from the Sacca di Sant'Alvise at its western end to the Canal della Misericordia in the east. The Fondamenta cuts through a quiet quarter of Cannaregio, where daily life goes on undisturbed by tourism. With its small grocery shops and simple local taverns, the neighbourhood feels removed from San Marco.

This is one of the poorer areas of the city, though the buildings are interspersed with fine, although slightly neglected, palaces that belonged to wealthy Venetians. Abbot Onorio Arrigoni lived at No.3336 with his collection of antiques, and Palazzo Michiel, No. 3218, is an early Renaissance Palace which became the French Embassy.

San Marziale
Is currently a ruined mediaeval church.

Fondamenta Nuove
The Fondamenta Nuove or New Quays are actually over 400 years old. This chain of waterside streets borders the northern lagoon for over half a mile from the solitary Sacca della Misericordia to the Rio di Santa Giustina in Castello on the eastern side.

Before the construction of the quays in the 1580s, this was a desirable residential area where the air was said to be healthy and the houses had gardens sloping down to the lagoon. One of the residents was Titian, who lived from 1531 to 1576 in a now demolished house at Calle Larga dei Botteri.

The quaysides provide splendid views of the northern lagoon and on clear days, the Dolomites. The island most visible from the quays is San Michele in Isola, its stately cypress trees rising high above the cemetery walls.

Oratorio dei Crociferi
Founded in the 13th Century as a hospital for returning Crusaders, the Oratorio dei Crociferi (built for the Order of the Bearers of the Cross) was turned into a charitable institution for old people in the 15th Century.

Between 1583 and 1591 the artist Palma il Giovane, commissioned by the Crociferi, decorated the chapel with a glowing cycle of paintings depicting the crucial events in the history of this religious order.

The inscriptions on the walls of some of the surrounding houses in the square are those of art and crafts guilds, such as silk weavers and tailors, whose works formerly occupied the buildings.

Santa Maria Assunta
This 12th Century church belonged to the Order of the Crociferi. Titian's 'Martyrdom of St Lawrence', above the first altar on the left has been described as "the first successful nocturne in the history of art".

Santa Maria dei Miracoli
An exquisite masterpiece of the early Renaissance, the Miracoli is the favourite church of many Venetians and the one where they like to get married. Tucked away in a maze of alleys and waterways in eastern Cannaregio. It is small and somewhat elusive. Often likened to a jewel box, the facade is decorated with various shades of marble, with fine bas reliefs and sculptures. It was built in 1481 to 1489 by the architect Pietro Lombardo and his sons to enshrine 'The Virgin and Child' a painting believed to have miraculous powers. The picture, painted by Nicolo di Pietro in 1408, can be seen above the altar.

The interior of the church which is best visited when pale shafts of sunlight stream in through the windows, is embellished by pink, white and grey marble and crowned by a barrel vaulted ceiling which has 50 portraits of the saints and prophets. The balustrade, between the nave and the chancel, is decorated by Tullio Lombardo's carved figures of St Francis, Archangel Gabriel, the Virgin and St Clare. The screen around the high altar and the medallions of the Evangelists in the cupola spandrels are also by Lombardo. Above the main door, the choir gallery was used by the nuns from the neighbouring convent, who entered the church through an overhead gallery.

San Giovanni Crisostomo
This pretty little terracotta coloured church lies in a bustling quarter close to the Rialto. Built between 1479 and 1504, the church was the work of Mauro Coducci. The interior, which is built on a Greek cross plan, is dark and intimate. Above the first altar on the right is Giovanni Bellini's 'St Jerome with Saints Christopher & Augustine'. Influenced by Giorgione, this was probably the last work done by Bellini, executed in his 80s. Sebastiano del Piombi's 'St John Chrysostum and Six Saints', which hangs over the high altar, was also influenced by Giorgione and some believe that he actually painted the figures of St John the Baptist and St Liberal.

Santi Apostoli
The Campo Santi Apostoli is a busy crossroads for pedestrians en route to the Rialto. Its church is unremarkable architecturally and was executed by Mauro Coducci, who produced this enchanting church. The corner chapel within, located on the right of the nave, contains the tomb of Marco Corner probably by Tullio Lombardo, and an inscription to Corner's daughter, Caterina Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus who was buried here before she was moved to the church of San Salvatore.

Palazzo Labia
The Labias are a wealthy family of merchants from Catalonia who have bought their way into the Venetian 'nobility' in 1646. They have begun to layout their palazzo overlooking the Canal di Cannaregio.

Palazzo Contarini
In 1420 the wealthy patrician, Marino Contarini, commissioned the building of what he was determined would be the most magnificent palace in the city. The decoration and the intricate carving were executed by a team of Venetian and Lombard craftsmen, and he had the facade adorned in ultramarine, gold leaf and vermilion. The Ca D'Oro as it became known is the finest example of Venetian gothic architecture in the city. The facade with its finely carved ogee windows, oriental pinnacles and exotic marble tracery, has an unmistakable flavour of the East. The open stairway and the wellhead in the courtyard were executed by Bartolomeo Bon.

The first floor's pride of place is given over to Andrea Mantegna's 'St Sebastian' (1506), the artist's last painting. The portego, or gallery, opening on to the Grand Canal is a showroom of sculpture. Among the finest pieces are bronze reliefs by the Paduan sculptor, Il Riccio(1470 to 1532), Tullio Lombardo's marble 'Double Portrait' (1493) and Sansovino's 'Madonna and Child' (1530). Rooms to the right of the portego have some fine Renaissance bronzes and among the paintings, an 'Annunciation' and 'Death of the Virgin' both executed in 1504 by Vittore Carpaccio and assistants. A room to the left of the portego is devoted to Non-Venetian painting and includes Luca Signorelli's 'Flagellation' (1480).

San Giobbe
The church of San Giobbe stands in a remote campo full of cats. The early Gothic structure of the church was modified in the 1470s by Pietro Lombardo who added Renaissance elements such as the figures of saints over the portal. The Martini Chapel, second on the left, is decorated with Della Robbia style glazed terracotta. The altar pieces are by Giovanni Bellini and Vittore Carpaccio.

The Ghetto
In 1516 the Council of Ten decreed that all Jews in Venice were to be confined to an islet of Cannaregio. The quarter was cut off by wide canals and the two water gates were manned by Christian guards. The area was named the Ghetto, after a foundry, geto in the Venetian dialect, which formerly occupied the site. The name was subsequently ascribed to all Jewish settlements throughout the World. by day Jews were allowed out of the ghetto, but had to wear identifying badges and caps. The only occupations they could pursue were trading in textiles, money lending and medicine.

The rising numbers of Jews forced the Ghetto to expand. Buildings rose upwards into the so called 'skyscrapers' of Venice and spread into the Ghetto Vechio in 1541 and the neighbouring Ghetto Novissimo in 1633. By the mid 17th Century the Jewish population numbered over 5000. This quarter has a distinctive feel to it with kosher food shops and two synagogues (one German and one Spanish/Levant).