The Zattere itinerary involves a walk along that far end of the Dorsoduro sestiere leading up to the Dogana. A particularly calm and beautiful part of the city that enjoys wonderful views, this area has always been favoured by wealthy foreigners when staying in Venice. However, when the heart of Venice was at Rialto, this area was rather out of the way and became the site of numerous religious foundations and public buildings; those large warehouses and vast convent and hospital structures are still awaiting reconversion to more functional uses. The itinerary starts in Campo della Caritˆ (1) at the foot of the Accademia Bridge. Going down Calle Gambara, you pass the street entrance to Palazzo Contarini degli Scrigni (2) to reach the fondamenta and the Ponte delle Maravegie (3) over the San Trovaso canal. On the other side you can see the grassy area that is a sort of churchyard for the Church of San Trovaso (4) - the name being a compound of San Gervasio and San Protasio. The fondamenta leads down to the fondamenta delle Zattere, passing by the fascinating Squero of San Trovaso (5). The wide waterfront of the fondamenta delle Zattere was built for the unloading of cargo ships (work began at the beginning of the 16th century). The name comes from the zattere ("rafts") which had formerly been anchored along this waterfront, laden with timber brought down the River Piave from the forests of the Cadore. Sheltered fromn the northern wind and enjoying a southern prospect, this waterfront has a genuinely Venetian atmosphere: locals come here for a walk in the sunshine, for a coffee or for a "gianduiotto" (the local ice-cream) at one of the bar terraces built out over the water. The view from the Zattere is unbeatable: one can see the whole of the Giudecca - from the church of the Zitelle (6) to the austere Stucky Mill (7) - and on a clear day one can see the Euganean Hills beyond the industrial site of Marghera. The Giudecca Canal is the dominant feature of the whole place: the largest in Venice, it is the main shipping route from the city's port to the open sea. The shift in scale between the large cruise ships and Venetian palaces along the sides of the canal can create rather odd visual effects.
A masterpiece of 18th-century Venetian architecture, the Church of the Gesuati (9) stands on the Zattere ai Gesuati - alongside the Oratory of Santa Maria della Visitazione (10). At the foot of the Ponte della Calcina (11) stands the old pensione of the same name, where the great writer and historian of Medieval Venetian art, John Ruskin stayed. Walking along in front of the high garden walls you come to the Zattere allo Santo Spirito, where stands the former Ospedale degli Incurabili (12). Built towards the middle of the 16th century, it is attributed by some to Jacopo Sansovino. The view from here is doubly wonderful because it comprises the whole of the other side of the canal, dominated by Pallado's Church of the Redentore (13). The famous "Zattere Condominium" - built in 1954-57 by the architect Ignazio Gardella - stands a little further ahead (at number 401). Rather accurately described as "the Ca' d'Oro of the Modern Movement" by Giulio Carlo Argan, the building was for a long time at the centre of a heated architectural debate. Shortly after it, one comes upon the Renaissance facades of the Church and Scuola of Santo Spirito. This is also the spot at which the pontoon bridge is anchored which links the Zattere with the Giudecca on the occasion of the Feast of the Redentore (the third weekend in July). The next section of the Zattere is lined by the so-called "Saloni" (15) - the Salt Warehouses, which give their name to this Zattere ai Saloni. These nine warehouses with fine truss roofs were built in the 14th century and were still in use at the beginning of this century as a deposit for the salt produced by the various saltworks scattered around the lagoon. A government monopoly, salt was a thriving industry, the duty from which supplied the coffers of the Republic with a healthy income (managed by a special body of the magistrature that enjoyed a certain prestige). Destined for some sort of cultural use (there is talk of them being run by the City Council, by the Biennale or by the Guggneheim Foundation), the buildings are at present occupied by rowing clubs (specializing in Venetian rowing, sailing and canoeing). One frequently sees people here jogging and doing other forms of open-air exercise.
The last bridge on the Zattere gives a view of the apse of the Church of the Salute. The end of the waterfront is entirely occupied by the buildings of the Dogana da mar (16), set up here when the Venetian Republic decided to divide its customs offices into two sections: the Dogana da tera, at the Rialto, dealt with goods arriving from the mainland, whilst the Dogana da mar dealt with those arriving by sea. The present appearance of the Dogana Point is the result of work started in 1677 as part of a project from the redevelopment of the whole island. On the whole, the visual effect is rather pleasing, even if part of the external facades of the warehouses are the result of 19th-century work. The porticoed tower is very original. It is surmounted by an allegorical statue by Bernardo Falcone: the golden globe represents the earth, borne up by two atlantes and surmounted in is turn by the allegorical statue of Fortune, which turns in the wind. This is where the Giudecca Canal runs into the Grand Canal, and the view goes from St. Mark's to the Lido, from the Island of San Giorgio to the Giudecca. One hundred metres or so on the other side of the Dogana Point one gets another dramatic view - of the Campo and Church of Santa Maria della Salute (17). Wheter one likes this kind of architecture or not, there is no denying that is one of the most successful pieces of urban set-design in all Baroque art. To the left of the Campo stands the Patriarchal Seminary (18). Built by Baldassare Longhena himself - a few years after he started work on the church - this severe building (1671) was originally intended to house the College and Seminary of the Somaschi Fathers. The cloister, monumental staircase and upper loggias are particularly imposing. This building now houses the Manfrediniana Art Gallery - left to the Seminary by Marchese Frederico Manfredini (1743-1829), on condition that the entire collection be available for public viewing. The Gallery contains noteworthy works from the 15th to the 18th century, including sculpture by Tullio Lombardo, Alessandro Vittoria and Antonio Canova, and a small but representative collection of works by famous Tuscan and Veneto artists of the Renaissance period.
The Gothic lines of the 14th-century apse of the ex-Church of San Gregorio (19) form a pleasant contrast with the expressive freedom of the intensely white Salute. Moving back towards the Accademia, one passes through Campo Barbaro, which offers a view of the back of Palazzo Dario (20), the Grand Canal facade of which is very picturesque. Further on, one comes to the gardens of the Ca' Venier dei Leoni, home of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (21). The entrance gate is a daring piece of scultpure in iron and glass by Claire Falkenstein (1961). Campo San Vio (22) is rendolent of ancient stories of medieval conspiracies. Its name comes from the contraction of the name of the Church of San Vito and San Modesto (now destroyed). The small Anglican Church of San Giorgio stands here, and from the end of the campo, towards the Grand Canal, you get a good close-up view of the Accademia Bridge. One last stop before returning to the Campo dell'Accademia: just over the Ponte San Vio is the entrance to the Giorgio Cini Art Collection, part of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini.
