On a clear winter morning, the Zattere is the warmest place in Venice. The long promenade faces south across the Giudecca canal, and the low sun works on the stone all day. Venetians know this. Visitors work it out quickly.

This article covers the final leg of Walk No. 12, the Salute Walk, in the sestiere of Dorsoduro. It begins on the Zattere at Ponte de la Calcina and ends a few hundred metres inland at Palazzo Pisani, taking in one of the city’s great church interiors along the way.

It is a short stretch. It does not feel short. There is a lot of sky here, and a lot to look at.

Along the Zattere from Ponte de la Calcina

The earlier stages of this walk have used the Fondamenta along the Giudecca canal as a handrail, its name changing several times as it hugs the water. By the time you cross Ponte de la Calcina, you are on the last of it.

Around the bridge there are several good places to stop, including restaurants and a gelateria (Nico, a local institution). In winter, a bench here in the sun-warmed open is one of the more pleasant seats in the city.

From the Incurabili, it is a further 200 metres along the canal to the next point of interest, and it announces itself: the white façade of the Gesuati.

The Gesuati and its Tiepolo ceiling

The Gesuati Church is POI #23 on this walk. The name needs untangling first. The church belonged to the so-called ‘poor Gesuati’, an order not to be confused with the Jesuits – the Gesuiti, whose church appears on Walk No. 16 on the other side of the city. When the Dominicans needed room for their growing congregations, they bought the Gesuati monastery and church site and expanded their footprint here.

The building you see today was designed by Giorgio Massari. Construction began in 1725, and the church was consecrated in 1743. On the façade, the niches hold statues of the four cardinal virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance.

Notice how the church addresses the broad sweep of the Zattere. The monumental façade was designed to be viewed from across the Giudecca canal, not squeezed into one of the city’s narrow streets – part of why the building feels different from most Venetian churches as you approach it.

Inside, look up. The ceiling frescoes of the Institution of the Rosary (1739) are by Giambattista Tiepolo – one of his earliest major ceiling commissions in Venice, and a hint of the painted skies that would follow elsewhere in the city and across Europe. Tiepolo also contributed ‘The Virgin and Three Saints’ (1748), and there are works by Tintoretto, Piazzetta, and Sebastiano Ricci, whose ‘Saint Pius V and Dominican Saints’ (1730–33) is worth seeking out.

Campo Sant’Agnese

Leaving the Gesuati, turn right into Rio Terà Antonio Foscarini. You will follow it for the final 250 metres of the walk, heading north and back towards the Grand Canal. This wide, straight street was a canal linking through to the Grand Canal until 1863, when it was filled in.

Along the way sits the church of Sant’Agnese, POI #24. The church is now closed, but its history runs deep: founded in 1081, rebuilt and restored in 1105 and again in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. In the campo, look for the robed figure carved on the vera da pozzo, the wellhead, dated 1520 – thought to represent Sant’Agnese herself.

On the edge of the campo stands a Gothic palazzo with a small red-and-white shield above its windows: Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi, now home to the Swiss Consulate. The pointed arches and slender columns of its windows repay a pause before you move on.

Palazzo Pisani

Further along Rio Terà Antonio Foscarini is POI #25, Palazzo Pisani, where this slice ends.

The palazzo originally belonged to Doge Agostino Barbarigo (1486–1501), who later bequeathed it to Bartolomeo Pisani. Today the building houses Ca’ Pisani Hotel, its lamplit terrace spilling onto the street in the evenings – a doge’s bequest, still receiving guests five centuries on.

Walking context

This article covers the closing section of Walk No. 12, the Salute Walk, in Dorsoduro.

Before this slice, the route has followed the Giudecca canal past the city’s former salt warehouses, the launching point of the Festa del Redentore pontoon bridge, the closed church of Spirito Santo, and the Ospedali degli Incurabili, now home to the Accademia di Belle Arti. From Palazzo Pisani, the walk continues just a few metres further, passing the site of Palazzo Contarini at Nos. 880–81 – once home to Antonio Foscarini, the ambassador convicted of treason and executed in 1621, later proven innocent – before finishing where it began, near the Accademia Bridge.

If you are feeling energetic, the start point of Walk No. 14, the Veronese Walk, is just around the corner. The full route can be followed on the Dorsoduro walking map.

Practical visitor notes

The Zattere is at its best on sunny winter days, when the south-facing promenade holds the warmth. There are several places to stop for a meal or a gelato near Ponte de la Calcina.

The Gesuati is an active church; allow time inside for the ceiling, and remember the artworks reward unhurried looking. Sant’Agnese is closed, so its story must be read from the campo. Rio Terà Antonio Foscarini and the streets around Campo Sant’Agnese are quietly residential – keep voices low in the early morning and evening.

Continue exploring

This slice is the final part of the Salute Walk. The full route in 17 Walks in Venice takes in the Dorsoduro Museum Mile, the Salute church itself, and the long sweep of the Giudecca canal. The neighbouring Veronese Walk, Walk No. 14, begins nearby and follows the painter through his parish on the western side of the sestiere.

For more on how campi, churches, wellheads and neighbourhood life fit together in this part of the city, see The Fabric of Venice.