The Turchi walk is through parts of the more peaceful sestiere of Santa Croce.  It takes in three excellent museums and one of the finest campos in the city.  It has a relatively high number of points of interest for the distance covered and would combine well with Tolentino (Walk #7), San Polo (Walk #6) or Pescaria (Walk #4) walks.

Start from the San Stae vaporetto stop where you can’t miss the San Stae church.  The church building you see today was built around the end of the 17^th century.  It was originally side-on to the Grand Canal and was re-oriented in the rebuild.  The church is documented existing as far back as the year 1127.  The façade was built by Domenico Rossi, having won the contract via a competition held by Doge Alvise II Mocenigo in 1709.  It is decorated ornately but has classical elements in the form of the four very large columns on pedestals with Corinthian capitals.  The two side niches have statues of Saint Eustace and Saint Sebastian.  Above those are two episodes in the martyrdom of Saint Eustace and his relatives.  Inside there are several masterpieces from artists active in Venice in the 1700s.  Most notable are Tiepolo’s ‘Martydrom of Saint Bartholomew’ and Piazetta’s ‘Martyrdom of Saint James the Greater’.  The building to the left of the church is the former guild of drawers and beaters of gold.

The next stop is Ca’ Pesaro – a magnificent palazzo, but also Venice’s International Gallery of Modern Art (the other big-ticket destination for lovers of modern art is the Guggenheim in Dorsoduro, Walk #12).  The website reveals that: Ca’ Pesaro was built during the second half of the seventeenth century.  It was commissioned to the renowned Venetian architect of the Baldassare Longhena by the Pesaro family.  Longhena was also responsible for the construction of Santa Maria della Salute and Ca’ Rezzonico, two other significant landmarks in the city.  After a succession of owners, the palazzo was bought by the Bevilacqua family and inherited by the Duchess Felicita Bevilacqua La Masa.  She wanted the building to become a Modern Art Museum and for this purpose donated it to the city.  The palace has three stories and features beautiful frescoes by Bambini, Pittoni, Crosato, Trevisani and Brusaferro.  One of the most striking parts of the museum is its enormous foyer, built around a typical Venetian well.  Inside are works by (amongst others): Klimt, Chagall, Kandinsky, and Klee.

Towards the end of the calle, on the left we pass the 14^th century Palazzo Agnusdio (No.2060).  The palazzo takes its name from the relief over the arched door on the canal of the mystic Lamb of God.  The land door has a beautiful Romanesque carved floral design, showing an angel over a Gothic shield supported by two kneeling angels.  On the facade overlooking the canal there is a superb five-light balcony window with reliefs of the Virgin and Angel of the Annunciation over the end pilasters and the symbols of-the four Evangelists in the spandrels of the arches: an eagle, a lion, a man, and a bull dating from the mid-14^th century (Freely, 2004).

Our next stop is a diversion to the interesting Campo Santa Maria Domini Mater, which is reached after a few twists and turns.  The palazzi around the campo are of interest as they represent great examples of Venetian Byzantine and Gothic architecture.  In the eastern corner near the bridge (No. 2177) is the 15^th century Casa Barbaro which obscures Palazzo Moro on the other side of the canal.  On the south side of the campo at No. 2172 is the 13^th century style Casa Zane – note the crosses and the decorative elements (‘paterae’) around the pointed arch windows.  At the north-western side of the campo is Palazzetto Viaro-Zane (2123 – POI #8).  Look for the lovely decorative effects on the first-floor windows with marble inlay and paterae.  As you exit the campo, take note of the shop on the left at 2118 with square columns (pilasters) and reliefs showing the Madonna and Child and the letter ‘M’ surmounted by a crown, suggesting that it was once owned by the Scuola Santa Maria Misericordia (Manno et al., 2004).

Returning from the campo to the main ‘trail’ we will find the church of Santa Maria Mater Domini.  It is said to have been established in 960 by the Capello family.  The present building was completed between 1504-1540.  The interior is relatively plain, with artworks of note inside including Tintoretto’s (c.1516) ‘Discovery of the True Cross’ and Vincenzo Catena’s (1520) ‘The Vision of Saint Christina’.

The next stop in this rather feature-packed walk is the Palazzo Mocenigo.  As the website describes, it was opened to the public in 1985 becoming the seat of the Study Centre of the History of Textiles, Costumes and Perfume.  It houses the vast collections of ancient fabrics and clothes belonging to the Venice Civic Museums – most of which came from the Correr, Guggenheim, Cini and Grassi collections.  The palazzo also contains a library specialising in the history of fabrics, costumes, and fashion.  Completely renewed and expanded at the end of 2013, you can now follow through twenty rooms on the first floor which has doubled the amount of exhibition area compared to when it opened in 1985.  Exhibitions evoke the different aspects of the life and activities of a Venetian nobleman between the 17th and 18th century.  To the left just past the entrance of 1920 are the remains of a C13th house – note the row of gothic windows and 15^th century brick doorway arch.

Continuing on, there are two good restaurants located around the Ponte del Miglio.  These aren’t far from the Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio which will be where we finish our walk, but our next destination is the Natural History Museum, which is housed in the former Fondaco dei Turchi.  As their website explains, the original building was built as a palazzo for the Pesaro family in the 13th century.  It has a double loggia in the Venetian-Byzantine style.  In 1381 the building was given to Nicolò d’Este, lord of Ferrara, and then (in 1621) – after changing hands several times – became the Fontego for Turkish merchants in the city (the place where they were expected to live and do their business).  It was used for this purpose right up until 1838.  The museum was set up to house various local scientific collections: from the Museo Correr, from the Instituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere e Arti and others.  Over time this material was added to through acquisitions and donations, to make up the present rich collection that includes: zoological, botanical, fossil and ethnographic specimens.

Returning to our walking trail, it is a short distance onwards to the Church of San Zan Degola (St John the Beheaded).  The church was said to be founded in the year 1007 and restored in 1213.  The façade was rebuilt in the early 1700s.  During restoration work in the middle of last century, some important fragments of frescoes dating back to the 13^th century were revealed in the left-hand rear chapel.  They are amongst the oldest examples of Byzantine art in the city.  Note the relief of St John’s head in a bowl as presented to Salome outside the church on the wall facing the campo.

We are now on our return leg towards the finish of this walk.  If visiting the various museums along the way has been exhausting, there are places to relax around Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio!  Two recommended stops are POIs #18 & 20: Il Refolo and Al Prosecco respectively.  The campo has a ‘suburban’ feeling to it and is an irregular space that wraps around the church.  It has a community garden and can get busy as local people go about their business in one of the nicest public spaces in the city.

The church of San Giacomo dell’Orio has its back to the campo.  It was established around the 10^th century and remodelled in 1225, with further rebuilding after the earthquake of 1345.  The impressive interior has some fascinating features, including a stunning green (and mismatched) marble column (‘verde antico’) with an ionic capital.  The column is thought to have been brought from Byzantium in 1204.  Look up for the ship’s keel ceiling and down for the fossilised snails in some parts of the floor.  The church has an impressive array of Palma il Giovane works.  It also features a Veronese (Saints Jerome, Lawrence and Prosper, c.1573).  On exit, look for the 18^th century painting on the left near the main door by Gaetano Zompini (‘The Miracle of the Virgin’) – check for the hands of the character on the ground who has tried to disturb Mary’s funeral procession.

The final stop is an interesting former anatomy theatre: see the seventeenth century doors on canal side.  Over the campo side door is the inscription ‘DOM MEDICORUM PHYSICORUM COLLEGIUM’ (college of medical physicists).  This brings our walk to a conclusion, but if you still have the energy to continue your explorations it is a relatively short walk to the start of Walk #6 San Polo.