San Zaccaria
Set in a quiet square just a stone's throw from the Riva degli Schiavoni, the church of San Zaccaria is a successful blend of flamboyant Gothic and classical Renaissance styles. Founded in the 9th Century, it was completely rebuilt between 1444 and 1515. Antonio Gambello began the facade in Gothic style and when he died in 1481, Mauro Coducci completed the upper section, adding all the Classical detail.
On the right of the church is a door to the Chapel of St Athanasius which leads to the Chapel of San Tarasio. The chapel is decorated with vault frescoes (1442) by Andrea Castagno of Florence, and Gothic polyptychs painted in 1443 to 1444 by Antonio Vivarini and Giovanni d'Alemagna. The relics of eight Doges lie buried in the waterlogged crypt.

The adjoining Benedictine convent, which had close links with the church, became quite notorious for the riotous behaviour of its nuns. The majority were from families of Venetian nobility, many of them sent to the convent to avoid the expense of the dowry. Every Easter the Doge came with his entourage to San Zaccaria, a custom which originated as an expression of gratitude to the nuns, who had relinquished part of their garden so that Piazza San Marco could be enlarged. The artistic highlight of the interior is Giovanni Bellini's sumptuously coloured and superbly serene 'Madonna and Child with Saints' (1505) located in the north aisle.

San Giorgio dei Greci
The most remarkable feature of this 16th Century Greek church is the listing campanile which looks ready to topple into the Rio dei Greci at any moment. A characteristic feature of the interior is the matroneo, the gallery where in Greek Orthodox custom, the women sat apart from men. Note also the iconostasis, separating the Sanctuary from the nave. The nearby Scuola di San Nicolo dei Greci is associated with the church.

La Pieta
The church of La Pieta (or Santa Maria della Visitazione) originally dates from the 15th Century. La Pieta started its life as a foundling home for orphans. It proved so popular that a warning plaque was set up on the side wall threatening damnation to parents who tried to pass off their children as orphans.

Palazzo Dandolo
Built in the 14th Century it became famous for being the venue for the first opera staged in Venice, Monteverdi's 'Proserpina Rapita' in 1630. Doge Vitale Michiel II was stabbed to death outside this palace in 1172. Three centuries earlier, in 864, Doge Pietro Tradonico had suffered the same fate in nearby Campo San Zaccaria.

Riva degli Schiavoni
The sweeping promenade that forms the southern quayside of Castello was named after the traders from Dalmatia (Schiavonia) who used to moor their boats and barges here. For those who arrive in Venice by water, this long spectacular intorduction to the charms of the city. At its western end, close to Piazza San Marco, the broad promenade teems during the day. Nothing can detract, however, from the lagoon to the island of San Giorgio Maggiore.
The Riva degli Schiavoni has always been busy with boats.

Ponte della Paglia and Bridge of Sighs
The Ponte della Paglia whose name may derive from the boats made of straw (paglia) that once moored here, was originally built in 1360.

According to legend the Bridge of Sighs, built in 1600 to link the Doge's Palace with the new prisons, takes its name from the lamentations of the prisoners as they made their way to the offices of the State Inquisitors. Cloister of Sant'Appolonia The cloister is one of the only Romanesque buildings in the city. Only a few steps from St Mark's, the cloister provides a quiet retreat from the hubbub of the Piazza. The monastery was the home of Benedictine monks.

Campo Santa Maria Formosa
Large, rambling and flanked by handsome palaces, the market square of Santa Maria Formosa is one of the most characteristic campi of Venice. On the southern side, distinctive for its swelling apses, stands the church of Santa Maria Formosa. Built on ancient foundations, it was designed by Mauro Coducci in 1492 but took over a century to assume its current form. Unusually it has two main facades, one overlooking the campo and one overlooking the canal. The church has no campanile and its other notable feature is the truly grotesque stone face that decorates its foot.
Inside, Palma il Vecchio's polyptych, 'St Barbara and Saints' (1510), ranks among the great Venetian masterpieces. Palma il Vecchio's portrayal of the handsome and dignified figure of St Barbara glorifies Venice's ideal female beauty. She is surrounded by saints, with a central lunette of the pieta above. St Barbara was the patron saint of soldiers : in wartime they prayed to her for protection, in victory they came for thanksgiving.

Statue of Colleoni
Located in the Campo of Santi Giovanni e Paolo is a statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni, the famous condottiere or commander of mercenaries, left his fortune to the Republic on condition that his statue was placed in front of San Marco. A prominent statue in the Piazza would have broken with precedent, so the senate had the statue raised in front of the Scuola di San Marco instead of the Basilica. A touchstone of early Renaissance sculpture, the equestrian statue of the proud warrior is by the Florentine Andrea Verrocchio (1481 to 1488) and, after his death was cast in bronze by Alessandro Leopardi. The statue has a strong sense of power and movement which arguably ranks it alongside the works of Donatello.

Scuola Grande di San Marco
Few hospitals can claim as rich a facade as that of Venice's Ospedale Civile. It was built originally as one of the six great confraternities of the city. Their first headquarters were destroyed by fire in 1485, but the Scuola was rebuilt by the end of the 15th Century.
The delightfully asymmetric facade, with its arcades, marble panels and trompe l'oeil designs, was the work of Pietro Lombardo working in conjunction with his sons and Giovanni Buora. The upper order was finished by Mauro Coducci in 1495. The Scuola has an extensive library with a finely carved 16th Century ceiling and the hospital chapel, the Church of San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti, has early works by Tintoretto and a Veronese.

Ospedaletto
Beyond the south flank of Santi Giovanni e Paolo is the facade of the Ospedaletto or, more correctly, Santa Maria dei Derelitti. The Ospedaletto was set up by the Republic in 1527 as a charitable institution to care for the sick and aged, and to educate orphans ad abandoned girls. Such an education consisted mainly of studying music. The girls became leading figures in choirs and orchestras, with concerts bringing in funds for the construction in 1630 of a salla del musica, which became the main performance venue. The elegant room was frescoed by Jacopo Guarana.

San Francesco della Vigna
The name 'della Vigna' derives from a vineyard which was bequeathed to the Franciscans in 1253. The church which the order built here in the 13th Century was rebuilt by Jacopo Sansovino in 1534, with a facade added in 1562 to 1572 by Palladio.
The interior has a rich collection of works of art, including sculpture by Alessandro Vittoria, Paolo Veronese's 'The Holy Family with Saints' (1562) and Antonio da Negraponte's 'Virgin and Child' (1450). The 'Madonna and Child with Saints' (1507) by Giovanni Bellini hangs near the cloister.

San Lorenzo
The only claim to fame of this church is as the burial place of Marco Polo. During refurbishment in 1592, however, his sarcophagus disappeared and a number of paintings 'dispersed'. The church was built on the foundations of two earlier churches, dating from 850 and the late 12th Century. The foundations of the present mediaeval structure are threatened by the slow but steady seepage of water from the canal.

Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni
Within this surprisingly simple scuola are some of the finest paintings of Vittore Carpaccio, which were commissioned at the height of his career by the Schiavoni community in Venice. From the earliest days of the Republic, Venice forges trade links with the coastal regions of Schiavonia (Dalmatia) across the Adriatic. By 1420 Venetian rule was permanently established, and many of the Schiavoni came to live in Venice. By the mid 15th Century the Slav colony had grown considerably and the State gave permission for them to found a confraternity.
The Scuola was established in 1451. It is a delightful spot to admire Carpaccio's really exceptional works of art and has changed little since it was rebuilt in 1551. The exquisite frieze, executed between 1502 and 1508, shows scenes from the lives of favourite saints: St George, St Tryphon and St Jerome. Each episode of the narrative cycle is remarkable for its vivid colouring, minutely observed detail and historic record of Venetian life. Outstanding among them are 'St George slaying the Dragon', 'St Jerome Leading the Tamed Lion to the Monastery', and 'The Vision of St Jerome'.

San Giovanni in Bragora
The foundations of this simple church date back to ancient times but the existing building is essentially Gothic (1475 to 1479). The intimate interior has major works of art which demonstrate the transition from Gothic to early Renaissance. Bartolomeo Vivarini's altarpiece, 'Madonna and Child with Saints' (1478) is unmistakably Gothic. Contrasting with this is Cima da Conegliano's 'Baptism of Christ' (1492 to 1495), which adorns the main altar. This large scale narrative scene, set a precedent for later Renaissance painters.

Arsenale
The heart of the city's maritime power, the Arsenale was founded in the 12th Century and enlarged in the 14th and 16th Centuries, to become the greatest naval shipyard in the world. The word Arsenale derives from the Arabic dar-sina'a or house of industry. At its height in the 16th Century, a workforce of 16,000 known as the Arsenelotti worked here building, repairing and outfitting the great Venetian galleys. One of the first production lines in Europe, it was like a city within a city, with its own foundries, workshops, warehouses, factories and docks.

The surrounding crenelated walls and the huge gateway are indicators of its splendour also this has faded some over the last few decades, and the Arsenelotti now numbered a little over 1000. The gateway, in the form of a triumphal arch, was built in 1460 by Antonio Gambello and is often cited as Venice's first Renaissance construction. A bald lion guarding the entrance was pillaged from Byzantium and bears runic inscriptions upon its haunches thought to have been carved by the Scandinavian mercenaries used by the Byzantine Emperor in 1040 to put down some rebellious Greeks.

The Cabot Townhouse
The eastern parishes of Castello are quieter than the western ones. On the corner of the Rio di Sant'Anna and Riva dei Sette Matiri is the townhouse of the Cabot family, the Italian family of navigators who discovered the coast of Labrador whilst looking for Cathay in the service of the English King.

The island of San Pietro
The old church of San Pietro di Castello and its free standing, tilting campanile overlook a grassy square. The island, once occupied by a fortress was one of Venice's earliest settlements. The church, which was probably built in the 7th Century became the cathedral of Venice. The church was rebuilt by Palladian in the mid 16th Century and has several notable features. These include the Lando Chapel, the Vendramin Chapel and the marble throne from an Arabic tomb said to be the Seat of St Peter. In the south of the square, Mauro Coducci's elegant stone campanile was built in 1482 to 1488.
Beside the church, the Palazzo Patriacarle is the Bishop's residence.

Monastery of Sant'Anna
Next to the Ponte di Quintaville, a coloured wooden bridge, is the church and monastery of Sant'Anna.

Marshes of Eastern Castello
Beyond the Church of San Giuseppe is marshland with only the 13th Century Gothic church of Sant'Elena to break it up.

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