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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. This post contains a few points of interest outside Piazza San Marco.
Introduction to San Marco
San Marco is bordered by the Grand Canal on the north, west, and south sides, the district of Cannaregio to the northeast, and the district of Castello to the east. It also includes the island of San Giorgio Maggiore.
For almost 1,000 years, San Marco was the center of the government of the Republic of Venice. It’s now a very crowded tourist area with several hotels, restaurants, and upscale shopping.
While we didn’t spend as much time as I would have liked exploring outside Piazza San Marco, we did get to walk through the area a few times and stopped to admire some landmarks. That being said, we missed A LOT of important sites and they aren’t included here.
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 originally dedicated to St. Demetrios of Thessaloniki. It was renovated in 1170 and became the church of the local German community.
Campo Manin
To the west is Campo Manin, which is named for Daniele Manin (1804-1857), considered by many to be a hero of Italian unification. A statue of Manin sculpted by Luigi Borro (1826-1886) and unveiled on March 22, 1875, is in the center. The square was originally called Campo San Paternian after the Church of San Paternian (Chiesa di San Paternian), which was demolished in 1871.
Campo Sant’Angelo
Continuing west is Campo Sant’Angelo, or Campo Sant’Anzolo in Venetian. It’s a scenic square named for the Church of St. Michael the Archangel (Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo), which was demolished in 1837. In the center are two 15th century wells and it’s surrounded by some nice palazzos and the Santo Stefano monastery complex.
Palazzo Duodo
Palazzo Duodo was built in the 15th century. The three-story Gothic building belonged to the Duodo family until the 19th century. Composer Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801) died there when it functioned as a hotel. It served for some time as the headquarters of the local Ministry of Labor and as an office building.
Campo Santo Stefano
A few steps away is the very large Campo Santo Stefano. It contains a well and a monument to Italian journalist Niccolò Tommaseo (1802-1874) sculpted by Francesco Barzaghi (1839-1892) in 1882. There are some restaurants and cafés on the eastern side and a few palazzos lining the square.
Church of Santo Stefano
The Church of Santo Stefano (Chiesa di Santo Stefano) sits on the north side of the square. It was founded in 1294 by the Augustinians and rebuilt in the 14th century. The portal was designed by Bartolomeo Bon and completed in 1442. As the scene of frequent episodes of violence, it was deconsecrated six times in its history until it became a parish church in 1810. It costs €3.50 to visit (as of August 2024) or free for holders of the Chorus Pass.
The Gothic church has a central nave with two aisles and a 66-meter high bell tower. Several works of art and funerary monuments inside, including the tomb of Doge Francesco Morosini (1619-1694). The cloister of the monastery was built in 1529 and designed by Scarpagnino (d. 1549).
San Giorgio Maggiore
The small island of San Giorgio Maggiore belongs to the district of San Marco. It lies across the basin to the south, just east of Giudecca. The island was inhabited during the Roman period and was later owned by the Memmo family. The first church was built there around 790. Today, the island is home to the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore (Chiesa di San Giorgio Maggiore) as well as the Cini Foundation arts center and the Teatro Verde, an open-air theatre. It’s accessible by vaporetto.
Church of San Giorgio Maggiore
The monastery dedicated to St. George was established in 982 by Benedictine monk Giovanni Morosini (d. 1012), who received the entire island as a donation from Doge Tribuno Memmo (d. 991). All of the buildings were destroyed by an earthquake in 1223 and rebuilt shortly after.
The current Church of San Giorgio Maggiore was built between 1566 and 1610 and was designed by Andrea Palladio (1508-1580). The interior contains works by Jacopo Tintoretto (1518-1594) and other important artists. The bell tower was first built in 1467 but fell in 1774. It was rebuilt in the Neoclassical style and completed by 1791.
There’s no admission to the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, but you can pay to climb the bell tower for some amazing views. Tickets are €8 for adults and €6 for students and seniors age 65+ (as of March 2024).
