This visit around the busy shopping streets and markets of the Rialto aims to be relatively brief whilst allowing the visitor to get to know the area. The central figures in this itinerary are all those specialized Venetian craft shops producing glass, marbled paper, lace, masks, and who knows what else. In fact, here more than elsewhere you can find a mix of costly and fragile souvenirs of a certain rarity and tons of brightly-coloured junk (a lot of which is Made in China). Campo San Polo (1),the largest campo in Venice, is our starting-point. From there take the Calle della Madonetta, which leads into Campiello dei Meloni (2) and thence to Campo Sant'Aponal (that is, Sant' pollinare)(3). The facade of the de-consacrated Gothic church was decorated last century with marble bas-reliefs taken from other, demolished, religious buildings. From the campo take the Calle del Perdon - named after the famous "pardon" granted by Pope Alexander III to the Emperor Federico Barbarossa (which, legend has it, was a diplomatic triumph of the then Doge, Sebastiano Ziani). The calle at the end is named after Bianca Cappello, who was born here; a Venetian noblewoman, she led a life of varying fortunes and eventually became the much-hated second wife of Duke Francesco de'Medici in Florence. The calli from here to the Rialto run in an almost straight line. Though of varying names - Calle dell'Olio, ruga Ravano, ruga Vecchia San Giovanni - they are now all lumped together as Ruga Rialto (4). This crowded street of shops is characterized by the overhanging first floors of the wooden-frame buildings. The end of the Ruga leads straight into the Rialto market, under the shadow of the campanile of San Giovanni Elemosinario (5). This is one of the few survivors of the 1514 fire at Rialto; the church of the same name - totally rebuilt after the fire - has been closed to the public for many years, even though it contains the famous San Giovanni Elemosinario altarpiece by Titian.
From the crossroads you can turn right up Ruga Oresi (6) - which, flanked by maket-stalls and porticoes, leads towards the Church of San Giacometto (7) and the Rialto Bridge (8) - take the Calle della Scimmia (9) - which leads to the (10) and the Casaria (11) - or else take the Ruga dei Speziali (12) that leads towards Campo delle Beccarie (13) and the Fish Market (14). Having turned one's back on the Rialto Market you can go back to Calle dei Botteri (15).This leads to the Carampane (16) and the Ponte delle Tette (17) - a famous old area of Venetian prostitution, which is interesting from both the social-historic and the artistic point of view. If you have the time and energy, it is worth going on to the majestic and solitary Palazzo Albrizzi, in the small silent campo of the sane name (18). Back in Calle dei Botteri, one can then go on to Campo San Cassian (19). This church once housed Antonello da Messina's masterpiece the San Cassiano Altarpiece, painted in 1474, which now hangs in the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum. However, one can still see Jacopo Tintoretto's Crucifixion and a collection of 16th- and 17th-century paintings. Turning right on the other side of the bridge in the corner, one gets to the Grand Canal, alongside the massive Palazzo Corner della Regina (20). This was built by the direct descendants of Caterina Cornaro, who had married the King of Cyprus then, when widowed, ceded the island to the Venetian Republic in 1489 in exchange for the castle and lands of Asolo (to which she retired with a court of humanists). Today the palace houses the Historical Archives of Contemporary Arts, run by the Venice Biennale. A few metres away, at the foot of the Ponte del Forner, stands Palazzo Agnusdio (21) - and at the end of the fondamenta is the monumental entrance to Ca' Pesaro (22), which houses a Museum of Modern Art and a Museum of Oriental Art.
The campo in front of the Church of San Stae (23) is one of the very few church forecourts to give directly onto the Grand Canal. The long Salizzada leading up to it passes by Palazzo Mocenigo (24), a refined 18th-century setting for the Centre for the History of Dress. Calle del Tintor leads into Calle Larga and thence into Campo San Giacono dall'Orio (25). The Church of San Giacomo dall'Orio is a very old one, and there is some debate as to the etymology of the word "orio". Free-standing, the church is flanked by a 13th-century campanile. Rather attractive, the church itself contains traces of various artistic schools and periods: there are Veneto-Byzantine carvings, fine marble columns and capitals, a 14th-century keel roof, and fine paintings by Palma il Giovane, Paolo Veronese and many others. Back in the campo, you can either take the route that leads to wards the rail station or return to Campo San Polo. The first route takes you along Calle dello Spezier, skirting the Fondaco dei Turchi (26) - which now houses a Natural History Museum- and across the charming small campo bound on one side by the Church of San Zan Gegolà (27). Passing down Lista dei Bari, you come to the Church of San Simoeone Grande (28) and thence, over the Ponte degli Scalzi (29), to the Santa Lucia Railway Station (30). The other route takes you back down Calle del Tintor, skirting Campo San Boldo (31) and brings you to Rio Terà Secondo, where one can see the house of Aldo Manuzio (32). Just beyond that stands Palazzo Bernardo (33). Over the bridge and down the narrow alleyway, you are back in the urban amphitheatre of Campo San Polo.
