This walk leads through one of the most authentic quarters of Venice, where artistic greatness and vivid popular history meet at every turn.

Following the route toward Campo Morosini, we turn right by the church of S. Vitale along Campiello Loredan. After crossing two bridges and bending left, we arrive at Campo S. Samuele. A traghetto carries us across the Grand Canal to Calle del Traghetto, which leads directly to Campo S. Barnabà.

Crossing the campo diagonally, we reach on the right the famous Ponte dei Pugni — the “Bridge of Fists.” Here, fierce factional battles once took place between the Castellani and the Nicolotti. The Castellani wore red caps and scarves; the Nicolotti black. These organized brawls were encouraged by the Venetian Signory, supposedly to preserve a martial spirit among the people. They continued until 1705, when an especially bloody clash involving stones and knives led to their suppression.

If you step to the crown of the bridge, you can still see stone footprints embedded in the pavement. Victory belonged to the faction that forced their opponents beyond those marked lines. In earlier days, the bridge had no parapets, and many a combatant was thrown into the canal below.

We continue along the Fondamenta to the Ponte delle Pazienze. A turning on the left brings us to Calle Lunga, which we follow directly to the church of S. Sebastiano.

The Church of S. Sebastiano and the Genius of Veronese

No admirer of Paolo Veronese should miss this church. At the age of twenty-seven, newly arrived in Venice, he received here his first important commission, thanks to the influence of his uncle, prior of the monastery.

Veronese transformed this church into a monumental declaration of his artistic power. He painted the sacristy ceiling with the Coronation of the Virgin and the Four Evangelists, and in 1556 completed the magnificent ceiling of the nave with scenes from the Book of Esther. The boldness of these compositions drew crowds eager to witness something entirely new.

Already we see the Veronese of the Ducal Palace: daring perspective, sweeping brushwork, and figures pulsing with vitality and movement. Later, he decorated the choir walls with scenes from the martyrdom of Saints Sebastian, Mark, and Marcellinus — victims of the persecution of Diocletian — and painted the high altar with a luminous Virgin and Child surrounded by saints.

In the composition to the left of the choir, St. Sebastian, clad in armor and holding a banner, exhorts the martyrs to remain faithful unto death, while mothers, wives, and children plead with them to recant. Many consider this the artist’s masterpiece. It is said that Veronese included his own portrait in the figure of St. Sebastian.

The painter wished to be buried here. Beneath a marble slab to the right of the organ, under his bust, he rests — exactly where he desired.

S. Maria del Carmine

Retracing our steps and crossing the Ponte delle Pazienze, we reach the long basilica of S. Maria del Carmine, extensively renovated in the seventeenth century.

Among its notable works are:

• The Birth of Christ by Cima, set within a characteristic luminous landscape.
• An early Purification of the Virgin by Tintoretto.
• Lorenzo Lotto’s Apotheosis of St. Nicholas, a noble and poetic composition in which St. George slays the dragon to the right, a princess stands near a coastal city at the center, and peasants gather to the left — a scene alive with narrative and atmosphere.

S. Pantaleone and Baroque Illusion

Crossing the wide Campo S. Margherita, we reach the church of S. Pantaleone.

In the left chapel of the choir stands a refined Coronation of the Virgin by Giovanni Alemanno and Antonio Vivarini, revealing the devotional intensity of Venetian painting centuries before the Baroque.

Then lift your gaze upward. Spanning the vast ceiling is Fumiani’s immense cycle depicting the Martyrdom and Apotheosis of St. Pantaleone. The illusionistic sweep of the composition, covering the entire surface, creates a dramatic sense of elevation and spiritual ascent.

The Cobblers’ Guildhall and Campo S. Polo

Continuing northeast to Campo S. Tomà, we find the old Guildhall of the Cobblers (Scuola dei Calerghi). Above its portal is a relief by Pietro Lombardo representing St. Mark healing a cobbler. Traces of the original coloring remain, as do the traditional emblems of the craft.

Moving eastward, we pass the fourteenth-century campanile of S. Polo, one of the most elegant in Venice. At its base stand two carved lions: one with a serpent coiled around its neck, the other clutching a human head in its claws. Popular legend associates them with the tragic fate of Doge Marin Faliero.

Nearby, the fine southern Gothic portal of the church leads us into the expansive Campo S. Polo, one of the largest and most atmospheric squares in Venice.

S. Apollinare and the Memory of Pope Alexander III

From the southeast corner of the campo, we follow Calle della Madonetta and Calle del Perdon to Campo S. Apollinare.

Just before entering the square, an inscription and a medallion of Pope Alexander III mark what tradition claims to be his resting place. Another tradition places the event beneath the portico of the old church of San Salvatore in the Merceria.

From here, a southern route leads to the S. Silvestro pier on the Grand Canal, bringing this richly layered walk through Venice to a fitting close — a journey through art, legend, and living history.