Page 119 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Venice & The Veneto

C ASTELL O  117

hotel in 1822 and soon gained
popularity with the literary and
artistic set. Its famous guests
included Balzac, Proust, Dickens,
Cocteau, Ruskin, Debussy and
Wagner. In the 1830s Room 10
witnessed an episode in the
love affair between the French
poet and dramatist Alfred de
Musset, and novelist George
Sand: when de Musset fell ill
after a surfeit of orgies, Sand ran
off with her Venetian doctor.

5 Riva degli
Schiavoni Water traffic near the luxurious Hotel Danieli on Riva degli Schiavoni
Map 8 D2. 4 San Zaccaria. Michiel II was stabbed to death Inquisitors. Access to the bridge
in 1172. Three centuries earlier, is available to the public via the
The sweeping promenade in 864, Doge Pietro Tradonico Doge’s Palace (see p89).
that forms the southern had suffered the same fate in
quayside of Castello was nearby Campo San Zaccaria. 7 Museo Diocesano
named after the traders from d’Arte Sacra
Dalmatia (Schiavonia) who 6 Ponte della
used to moor their boats and Paglia and Bridge Sant’Apollonia, Ponte della
barges here. For those who Canonica, Castello 4312. Map 7 C2.
arrive in Venice by water, this of Sighs Tel 041 277 17 02. 4 San Zaccaria.
long curving quayside is a Map 7 C2. 4 San Zaccaria. Open 10am–6pm Tue–Sun.
spectacular introduction Closed public hols. & includes entry
to the charms of the city. The name of the Ponte della to cloisters. ∑ veneziaupt.org
At its western end, close to Paglia may derive from the
Piazza San Marco, the broad boats that once moored here to An architectural gem, the
promenade teems during the off-load their cargoes of straw cloister of Sant’Apollonia is
day with tourists thronging (paglia). Originally built in 1360, the only Romanesque building
around the souvenir stalls and the existing structure dates in the city. Only a few steps
people hurrying to and from from 1847. from St Mark’s, it provides
the vaporetto stops. Nothing According to legend, the a quiet retreat from the Piazza.
can detract, however, from the Bridge of Sighs, built in 1600 to The monastery was once
glorious views across the link the Doge’s Palace with the the home of Benedictine monks.
lagoon to the island of San New Prisons, takes its name from In 1976 its cloisters became
Giorgio Maggiore (see p99). the lamentations of the prisoners the home of the Diocesan
The Riva degli Schiavoni has as they made their way over to Museum of Sacred Art, founded
always been busy with boats. the offices of the feared State to provide a haven for works
Canaletto’s drawings in the of art from closed or
1740s and 1750s show deconsecrated churches.
the Riva bustling with The collection includes
gondolas, sailing boats and paintings, statues,
barges. The gondolas are crucifixes and many pieces
still here, but it is also of valuable silver. There are
chock-a-block with water two workshops, staffed by
taxis, vaporetti, excursion volunteers who restore the
boats and tugs. Naval ships paintings and statues.
and ocean liners can also The collection is ever-
often be seen. changing, but among
The modern annexe of the major permanent
the Hotel Danieli caused a exhibits are works by
great furore when it was Luca Giordano (1634–1705),
built in 1948. Intruding on which came from the
a waterfront graced by fine Church of Sant’Aponal,
Venetian palaces and an impressive late
mansions, its stark outline 15th-century crucifix
is still something of an from San Pietro di Castello
eyesore. The annexe marks and a 16th-century wood
the spot where Doge Vitale Ponte della Paglia behind the Bridge of Sighs and crystal tabernacle.

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