Campo Santa Margherita has an elongated shape and was enlarged by filling in some of the canals on its southern side (look for ‘Rio Tera’ streets, these designate filled in canals).  There are many points of interest here that could be visited in any order that pleases you. Technically, the last several features of this walk are just outside of the campo, but they are close, and it would be a shame not to see them!  

Start on the northern side since there are features in the south-west that will take time to appreciate.  Santa Margherita (POI #1) is one of the oldest churches in Venice, dating back as far as the year 836, being consecrated in 853 during the reign of Doge Pietro Tradonico. The current church dates from 1687.  Saint Margaret of Antioch was very popular in the East, as was Saint Pantalon (hence the namesake church nearby, north of the campo), which suggests that this area was once popular with Byzantine merchants.  The church of Santa Margherita was suppressed in 1808, becoming a tobacco factory and then a storehouse for marble from other suppressed churches.  From 1882 the building was used as a Protestant church, then as the studio of sculptor Luigi Borro.  It is now a lecture hall for Venice University’s architecture faculty (Churches of Venice).  Though now converted for academic use, the hall retains the ceiling painting of The Martyrdom of Saint Margaret by Antonio Zanchi which can be seen in the information produced by the Faculty here.

Pushing on just a little further and hugging the buildings on the left will reveal a mixed collection of sculptural fragments attached to the church and some parts of the bell tower (POI #2).  On the building around to the left at No. 3429/B you will see a statue of Saint Margaret at the top centre of the façade.  She is standing on the body of a dragon (POI #5).

At this end of the campo is the restaurant Ai Do Draghi (POI #3).  If it is still closed (it seems temporarily), an alternative nearby is Bakaro (POI #4).

Approaching from the northern side of the campo, on the right further down about 80 metres there are two historical buildings of interest.  At Nos. 2945-62 there are two 14th century houses bisected by Sottoportego de l’Uva (POI #6).  Then, further on another 30 metres at No. 2931 is Ca’Foscolo-Corner (POI #7) with the family coat of arms still on display in the archway above the entrance on the left.  Osteria alla Bifora (POI #9) is a good place to go, and it stays open late.

There are small markets in the campo which have featured here for a very long time.  Ettore Tito’s (1884) painting suggest the market has just closed and that both the vendors and the shoppers are wrapping up for the day (see map image for POI #8).  Many of the older archival photos of the campo feature market stalls (and quaintly, that many of the residents at the northern end of the campo hung their washing out to dry across the campo in large swathes (see the background in some of the photos in the online gallery).  In addition to the markets, there are many places to stop for a coffee or spritz and the Campo has been noted for its night life in both contemporary and historical times.

The two vera da pozzo in the campo that you may notice are hexagonal in shape and dated to 1530.

The Scuola dei Varoteri (the tanners and fur vendors, POI # 11) is of interest).  The guild can be traced back to the year 1271 and this building became their headquarters in 1725.  The relief above the doorway of the building shows Our Lady of Mercy sheltering the brethren of the guild and is dated 1501.  It was moved here from their original headquarters in Cannaregio at the church of Santa Maria dei Crociferi which has now been demolished.  At the bottom left corner of the building there is a plaque that indicates the regulation minimum sizes for the fish that could be sold in the market here (POI #10).  A little further on and around to the right there stands a commemorative column (POI #12)

The Scuola Grande dei Carmini – is a nearby treasure (POI #13).  The Scuola has clear links to the church of Carmini and was a charitable institution first established in 1597.  The members of the early scuola made the scapulars, two pieces of woven cloth worn for monastic reasons by members of the Carmelite order, or as a devotional item by lay people.  It became one of seven ‘Scuole Grande’ in 1767 (the last to be designated as such).  The building was designed by Francesco Caustello (1627-38), and the façade by Baldassare Longhena (1668-70). The various rooms of the Scuole have different themes and were created to facilitate the functions of the Scuole.  They have been preserved intact; thus it is possible to see the original antique furnishings, oil paintings, rich stucco ceilings and the original carved wood.  The highlight is without a doubt the many works of Giambattista Tiepolo on display here – in particular, the ceiling of the Chapter House.  Here, the scapular features clearly in several of Tiepolo’s paintings, as do the female figures, no doubt due to their prominent role in the establishment of the Scuole.  There are other works of great merit by artists here including both Giacomo and Giambattista Piazzetta (father and son), Niccolo Bambini, and Santo Piatti.

Just outside the Campo on the south-west corner you will find the church of Santa Maria Carmini (POI #15).  The original name of the church was Maria Vergine Assunta, and it was established by the Carmelites who had been in Venice since 1268.  The present building was consecrated in 1348.  The church was rebuilt in the 16th century and given a new façade in 1507.  There is an interesting collection of paterae and architectural fragments around the entrance at the left side of the church building dating back as far as the Byzantine era (POI #14).  The statues at the top of the façade are of (from the top): the Redeemer; the Annunciation; Elijah; and Elisha.  The last two of these are considered the founders of the Carmelite order.  The Madonna and child over the entrance dates back to the 14th century.  The church interior has a vaulted ceiling and a nave with two aisles, and a double row of 11 columns.  It is richly textured with structures of stone, wood and gilding, along with sculptures and paintings. 

On the inside of the façade (‘counter-façade’) there is a grand funerary monument to Jacopo Foscarini.  There are numerous works by various artists, amongst them: Jacopo Tintoretto, Palma Giovane, Cima da Conegliano, Sebastiano Ricci and Lorenzo Lotto.  Look for Lorenzo Lotto’s fine ‘St Nicolas in Glory between St John the Baptist and St Lucy’.  The church has a charming cloister with a vera da pozzo dated 1762.

In the square outside the church (with your back to the building) on the corner on the right side of the campo you will be able to see ‘Othello’s House’ i.e., from the famous Shakespearean tragedy (POI #16).   Desdemona’s house is on the Grand Canal not too far from Piazza San Marco – perhaps for exploration another time!

Sources and Further Reading:

Churches of Venice, (2022). http://churchesofvenice.com/dorsoduro.htm

Freely, J. (1994).  Strolling through Venice, Penguin Books, London

Manno, A. Venchierutti, M. & Codato, P. (2004). The Treasures of Venice, Rizzoli, New York

An amazing blog with a comprehensive history of the campo (with images): http://stedrs.blogspot.com/2020/10/santa-margherita-abita-venezia.html

Images:

Of the Campo.  Painting by Ettore Tito, Wikimedia Commons; Santa Margherita Campanile: Didier Descouens, Wikimedia Commons; Nino Barbieri, Wikimedia Commons; 14th Century Houses (2945-62): karel291, Wikimedia Commons; historical view: Mutual Art

Othello’s house: Unofeld781, Wikimedia Commons

Carmini Church interior: Zairon Wikimedia Commons

Scuola Carmini: Didier Descouens Wikimedia Commons

Historical photos:  Paolo Cagnan’s blog

Market Day (1884): National Galleries, Scotland