San Marco |
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San Marco (Storti)
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Café – Piazza San Marco (Michelin)
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Named for Venice’s patron saint, San Marco is often considered the richest and most important district. Undoubtedly, it is the most crowded and expensive Venetian sesteri. The Piazza San Marco (highlighted in red), the district’s large and important square, is bursting with museums, monuments, and commercial enterprises. These sites, including the Basilica di San Marco and the Palazzo Ducale, attract throngs of tourists. The area, once the administrative district of Imperial Venice, now boasts luxury hotels, cafés and souvenir suppliers galore. The existence of these commercial developments detracts from the original importance of San Polo’s Rialto Market. |
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Giardini Reali (Michelin) |
Situated directly on the Canal Grande, San Marco has always been an affluent territory. Mansions reflect the elite residential status of the inhabitants. |
Palazzo along the Canal Grande (Michelin) |
| While some of these palazzo are inhabited by Venice’s elite population, many are owned by hotel companies or bought as vacation homes by wealthy foreigners. Open areas, like the Piazzetta (highlighted in yellow) and the Giardini Reali, provide recreational and leisure space. Several churches are found throughout the district, the biggest being the Basilica. | ||
| Other features of San Marco include the exhibition space in the renovated Palazzo Grassi and the Museo Fortery and the infamous marble columns between which executions were held. The columns tower above the Piazetta, between San Marco and the waterfront. St Mark and St Theodore, two symbolic figures of Venetian history, each reign over a column, St Mark with his lion and St Theodore with his alligator. |
Piazzetta and Column of St Mark (Michelin) |
