The Castello district in Venice from Campo SS. Giovani to Arsenale. Walking from the square of Campo SS. Giovanni e Paolo towards the entrance of Arsenale (a former Venetian shipyard) through the peaceful streets, bridges and tiny squares.

Background

After arriving from the vaporetto stop of Ospedale, the square of Campo SS. Giovanni e Paolo seemed to be the most logical place to start off Castello. The church of SS. Giovanni e Paolo and Monument a Colleoni are the dominant structures in this square. The monument is an equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni, the military commander, by Andrea del Verrochio.

Peacefulness is something I noticed throughout this walk as I continued through the quiet, windy paths until I got to the large square of Santa Maria Formosa and then Fondetta di San Lorenzo. However, renovations near the Church of San Lorenzo, and the facade of the church of San Giorgio dei Greci and the unexpected draining of the nearby canal threatened to spoil the peace. But rising unexpectedly chaos was the beautiful leaning clocktower of San Giorgio dei Greci. On the way to Arsenale, I was also happy to find the tall white belltower of San Antonio rising elegantly over the square of Campo Bandiera, further creating a mood of peace and tranquility.

I arrived at Arsenale to what looked like a construction yard surrounding the famous entrance. "Renovation" seemed to be catching on like a disease in Castello, or even Venice. At the former venetian shipyard of Arsenale, the long canal in front of the clocktower had been drained out and fenced off, making it difficult to take a simple photo of the clocktower. Fortunately, the gate to Arsenale remained unobstructed.

Even though most of the area of Castello seemed to be under renovation at this time, the peacefulness of the area, and the multitude of the churches encountered along the way made it a worthwhile experience. Aware that this area had been covered, I made my way back to San Marco for a quick lunch and a visit to the Ducale Palace.

Technical

Canon EOS 300V with 28-90mm and 75-300mm USM lenses. Most of the zooms of the Arsenale clocktower were done with the 300mm lense.

Links

Castello by P. Greenspun