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San Marco is one of six districts (sestieri) of the UNESCO World Heritage city of Venice, Italy. It’s located at the heart of the city and contains its most famous landmarks, including the Piazza San Marco, the Doge’s Palace, St. Mark’s Campanile, and St. Mark’s Basilica.
While we didn’t spend as much time as I would have liked in the district outside of Piazza San Marco, we did get to walk through it a few times.
Campo San Bartolomeo
The first part of the district we saw was Campo San Bartolomeo as we were walking to the Rialto Bridge. It contains a statue of playwright Carlo Goldoni (1707-1793) and the Church of San Bartolomeo (Chiesa di San Bartolomeo). The church was founded in 830 and renovated in 1170, later becoming the church of the German community in Venice.
Royal Gardens
Next, after visiting the Piazza San Marco, we walked behind the New Procuratie (Procuratie Nuove) to the Grand Canal where we made a quick stop at the Royal Gardens (Giardini Reali). To be honest, it doesn’t have much going for it. Before it became a garden, the space served as a gondola yard, granary, and prison.
Campo Santo Stefano
Later, we walked through the very large Campo Santo Stefano. It contains a well and a monument to Italian journalist Niccolò Tommaseo (1802-1874) in the center and has some restaurants and cafés on the eastern side.
The 14th century Church of Santo Stefano (Chiesa di Santo Stefano) sits to the north of the square. It costs €3.50 to visit (as of August 2023) or free for holders of the Chorus Pass.
Campo Sant’Anzolo
A few steps away is Campo Sant’Anzolo, which is named for the church that once stood there. It’s a scenic square with two 15th century wells in the center and some nice palazzos around it. The church, San Michele Arcangelo (Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo), was demolished in 1837.
Campo Manin
Finally, as it started to get dark we walked through Campo Manin. The Church of San Paternian (Chiesa di San Paternian), demolished in 1871, used to take up part of the square. In the center of the there’s a statue of Daniele Manin (1804-1857) sculpted in 1875 by Luigi Borro. Manin is considered by many to be a hero of Italian unification.
