From Sant’Aponal to the Riva del Vin: San Polo’s Wine-Trading Streets

Some corners of Venice arrange themselves around a church. This one arranged itself around wine.

This slice covers the closing stretch of Walk No. 4, the Pescaria Walk, in the sestiere of San Polo. It runs from Campo Sant’Aponal down to the Grand Canal at the Riva del Vin, taking in points of interest #14 to #19 – two ancient churches, a passageway first recorded in 1182, and a carved stone corbel that once laid down the law.

The route arrives here after some of the tightest twists and turns in the city. From this point on, the walking is simpler, and the Grand Canal does most of the navigating for you.

Sant’Aponal

The church of Sant’Aponal (POI #14) was established in 1034 by the Sciavola family, rebuilt in the fifteenth century and restored in 1583. Its later history was less kind. The church was suppressed in 1810, and its furnishings and artworks were removed and dispersed; it was reconsecrated in 1851, closed in 1984, and now houses archives.

The façade retains its late-Gothic outline, but the sculptural fragments set into it are the reason to stop. Thought to have come from one of the church’s altars, the lower set depicts Doubting Thomas and the one above it The Agony in the Garden; the group is dated 1294. The Virgin and Child enthroned dates from the early sixteenth century; above it sits a fourteenth-century Crucifix, with the prophet Jonas at the base.

Note the building to the left of the church, at No. 1252. It once housed the guild of the spice merchants and, later, the stonecutters. A small relief shows the four crowned saints who were the patrons of the stonecutters’ fraternity.

Brick church facade with a circular window and ornate cross at the top, against a bright blue sky — The Gothic façade and bell tower of Sant’Aponal, closed since 1984 and now used for archival purposes.

Campo San Silvestro

Continue along the front of the church to its southern corner, where you transition into Calle del Luganegher – look for No. 1136 to take this calle. After 40 metres you will be in Campo San Silvestro, facing the western side of the church. The façade faces north; you can see the corner on the left side of the campo.

The building along the campo side of the church was once the home of the wine merchants’ guild, and the now destroyed scuola of the coopers – the barrel makers – was attached to it. The whole of this final part of the walk is steeped in the history of wine selling; the Riva del Vin, a few minutes ahead, takes its name from the trade. The vera da pozzo in the middle of the campo dates to the first half of the fourteenth century.

The church of San Silvestro (POI #16) is one of the oldest in the Rialto area, founded in the ninth century, with a reconstruction in the first half of the fifteenth century. Because of structural problems, the church was almost entirely rebuilt between 1837 and 1843, first to designs by Sebastiano Santi and then with substantial work by Giovanni Battista Meduna. The interior is a large expanse under a frescoed ceiling that resembles a grand ballroom, and it holds a Tintoretto – a Baptism of Christ of around 1580. The present façade was erected in 1909. The bell tower was destroyed by an earthquake in 1347, rebuilt in 1422 and restored in 1840.

In the southern corner of the campo is an ancient byway – Sotoportego de la Pasina (POI #17), first referred to in 1182. It is an unassuming opening, easy to walk past. It has been swallowing footsteps for more than eight centuries.

Old brick archway and narrow tunnel under a crumbling facade, leading to a sunlit courtyard; sign reads Sotoportego de la Pasina above. — Sotoportego de la Pasina, in the southern corner of Campo San Silvestro, first recorded in 1182

Rio Terà San Silvestro and the Riva del Vin

Leaving the campo, pass in front of the façade of the church to continue along Rio Terà San Silvestro. Palazzo Valier at No. 1022, opposite the entrance to San Silvestro, is traditionally linked with the Venetian Renaissance painter Giorgione (1478–1510), although other authorities place him next door at No. 1091. Giorgione is credited with making the landscape as essential an element of a painting as its sitter or its religious subject – think of ‘The Tempest’.

Turn right at the end of the Rio Terà, where it retains its name. In 60 metres you will reach the Grand Canal and the Riva del Vin (POI #18). Using the Grand Canal as your handrail, continue along for 110 metres and enjoy the views. The notable palazzi on the far bank, from right to left as you start along the Riva, are Ca’ Farsetti, Ca’ Loredan, Ca’ Dandolo, Ca’ Bembo and Ca’ Dolfin Manin.

The stone standard for barbacani

Turn left into Calle de la Madonna and look up at No. 574 for the stone standard used to regulate Venetian barbacani (POI #19). These corbels allowed upper floors to project over a calle, gaining valuable floor space. The Istrian-stone example here served as the city’s measuring model: builders were not permitted to extend farther than its depth. Its inscription records the jurisdiction governing barbacani.

Following the calle for 110 metres brings you to Ruga Vechia San Giovanni.

Narrow stone alley lined with weathered buildings, with balconies, signage, and a few pedestrians in the distance. — The inscribed stone barbacane at No. 574 on Calle de la Madonna.

Walking context

This article covers the closing stretch of Walk No. 4, the Pescaria Walk in San Polo.

Just before this slice, the route threads through some of the tightest lanes in the city – past the wooden barbacani of Calle dei Do Mori, a doorway flared at the bottom for the passage of barrels, and the impossibly crooked doorway on Calle dei Sansoni – before emerging into Campo Sant’Aponal. From the barbacane at No. 574, the walk has only a short distance to run: turn right at the end of Calle de la Madonna and continue for 60 metres, then turn right into Ruga dei Oresi, and in another 40 metres you will reach Campo San Giacomo de Rialto, where the walk ends beside one of the oldest churches in Venice.

The Pescaria Walk begins at the point where the Goldoni Walk, No. 1, is halfway through; the energetic can join the two together for one comprehensive sweep of the busiest districts of the city. The full route can be followed on the San Polo walking map.

Practical visitor notes

Sant’Aponal has been closed since 1984, so its façade is the visit; allow a few unhurried minutes in front of it. When open, San Silvestro rewards a look inside for the Tintoretto and its broad frescoed ceiling.

For a stop at the end of the slice, Trattoria alla Madonna (POI #20) is close at hand on Calle de la Madonna, or double back to Vineria all’Amarone. The end of the walk also leaves you a short stroll from the lively area around the Rialto Bridge.

The Riva del Vin and the streets near the Rialto grow busy through the day; Campo San Silvestro and the Sotoportego de la Pasina sit just off the flow, and the campo makes a calm place to pause between the two churches.

Continue exploring

This slice is one part of the Pescaria Walk, Walk No. 4 in 17 Walks in Venice, which begins on the Rialto Bridge and circles the markets before working its way here. The Goldoni Walk, No. 1, passes its halfway point where this walk begins, and the two combine well.

For more on barbacani, campi, wellheads and the working fabric of neighbourhoods like this one, see The Fabric of Venice.

Image of Sotoportego de la Pasina by Abxbay on Wikimedia Commons (2012).

About the books

This field note is drawn from 17 Walks in Venice. The updated edition offers crafted itineraries away from the main tourist hotspots that are mostly under 1.5 miles each, with detailed walking maps, over 400 features to see, and the best restaurants, cafés and bars along the way. Available on Amazon.

The Fabric of Venice is a way of seeing the city differently. Built around eight campi, its walks show how each square once worked – wellheads, faded frescoes, paving that hints at vanished canals. It reveals Venice as a lived-in place rather than a postcard. Available on Ko-fi.