Among Venetian sights it is the oldest and most famous.
Like a hamlet in the heart of Venice, with just over four thousand inhabitants, San Marco borders with the Castles and Cannaregio districts, is bathed by the Grand Canal, connected to the San Polo district via the Rialto Bridge, and the Dorsoduro Bridge with the Academy Bridge.
At the San Marco sestiere we land after having steered it in the vaporetto, and walked across the Grand Canal.
San Marco’s heart, which is also the island of San Giorgio, is the homonymous square, known as “the living room of the world”, the seat of the most important political and religious events of the Serenissima and the heart of Venetian life for almost a millennium.
Among the finest squares in the world, the elegant showcase of the city, is an authentic art and culture trip, mosaic of marvelous civil and religious buildings.
The most scenic of the access to the sestiere is the one from the lagoon, which offers a wonderful glimpse into the Ducal Palace, the bell tower, the loggia, the basilica and the Clock Tower.
Photo by @liddymac4 (#yallersveneto)
It’s the Riva degli Schiavoni to give us the first approach to the square. We continue to his heart, crossing the extraordinary complex of the Ducal Palace, home of the government of the Serenissima Republic of Venice, erected in the 15th century with Istria’s marbles.
Colonnades, ogival windows, inlaid marbles, crockery and cuspuses make it one of the most extraordinary architectural jewels in the world.
In front of the Ducal Palace is the Marciana National Library, one of the main Italians, with its elegant sixteenth-century façade, while at its side stands the Campanile, called by the Venetians, the Paron de Casa, with its Loggetta at its feet. decorative elements.
Photo by @robigri (#yallersveneto)
The religious heart of Venice is the Basilica of San Marco, a façade that looks like an immense polyptych with deep arches of entry, pinnacles, columns, sculptures and the balconate with balustrade, all elements that characterize the exteriors.
Inside, the glitter is dominated by the magnificent mosaic of vaults and domes inspired by Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic art, and the marvelous polychrome mosaics covering the floor.
On the side of the basilica there is the clock tower, with the sculptures of the Lion of Saint Mark on the facade, the statues of the moons, the clock and the figures of the Magi. At the bottom, the arch on the Mercerie, which leads from the square to Rialto, between lanes filled with shops and premises.
Photo by @francescavalandro (#yallersveneto)
In front of the Basilica opens the immense space of the square, bordered to the left by the New Procuratie and right from the Old. You can not miss a stop at the historic Caffè Florian, the oldest Italian coffee in its long history with great historical figures including Rousseau, Goethe, Foscolo, Parini, Pellico, Lord Byron and Casanova.
On the opposite side of the basilica is the Napoleonic Wing, which houses the Correr Museum, where the history, civilization and art of Venice are told.
San Marco stretches between the Grand Canal and the Rio de San Luca, the Rio de Santa Moise and the Alboros, that of the Duke and the Vesta, and at every corner of the city reveals enchanting views among churches, bridges, staircases, calli and campielli, historical buildings, noble buildings and monuments, but also taverns, shops, wine shops and baraques, typical Venetian taverns.
In its geographic heart is the La Fenice theater, Venice’s leading opera house and one of the most famous in the world, while two steps into the most beautiful and evocative fields of the city, Campo Santo Stefano and Campo Sant’Anzolo.
To see the church of San Moisè, example of baroque architecture, and that of San Giorgio Maggiore, on the homonymous island located in front of Piazza San Marco.
You can not miss a delightful stopover to enjoy a fish fry or a dish of sardines in saor, the typical fried sardines immersed in the onion dropped on a slow fire in the same oil used to fry sardines, raisins and pine nuts, then watered with vinegar.
Another typical dish to taste is the excellent Venetian liver, liver veal cooked with white onions, extra virgin olive oil and a drop of white wine.
Photo by @alanisko (#yallersveneto)
The last greetings at San Marco’s sestiere can only be in Rialto, the monumental bridge in the heart of the Grand Canal that connects it to the nearby San Polo sestiere.
