This walk takes you through the south-western parts of San Marco via several important thoroughfares, starting at Harry’s Bar, not far from St Mark’s square.  This walk is a real mixed bag, taking in some of the busiest parts of Venice with shopping and sightseeing.  It also has some lesser well-known parts of the San Marco district where you can feel like you have strayed away from the ‘beaten path’.  Harry’s Bar is at the back of the San Marco Vallaresso vaporetto stop at what is the mouth of the Grand Canal, but more about that as we proceed through the walk!

POI #2 was Venice’s first ever casino, opened in 1638 by Marco Dandolo.  The next section of the walk takes in some high-end shopping brands, then the church of San Moise comes up fairly quickly.  The front is rather ornate and features sculptures of a variety of family members who were the benefactors for the rebuilding of the façade begun in 1668.  The most prominent of those is above the portal on a truncated obelisk, that of the procurator Vincenzo Fini (1606-1660).  He is flanked on the left by his brother Giralamo and on the right by his son Vincenzo.  Inside there is a Tintoretto (Washing of the Feet, 1592) and a Palma Giovanni (The Last Supper, 1585).  Look for the large canvas on the inner façade by Giralamo Brusaferro of the Crucifixion.  In the bottom left corner the Romans place ‘dice’ for a piece of Christ’s robe.  This has a special meaning for this church since a fragment of the robe has been kept in the church’s Treasury from the 14^th century.

The next stop is a diversion from the main trail and is worth the effort.  Gio’s restaurant and garden is a major renovation that offers excellent views towards the Salute church (it was once only on offer to hotel guests or those venturing to the small decking-bar on the Grand Canal).  If the budget is tight, wait ’til later in the walk and enjoy the vista from Campiello dei Traghetto near POI #5 for free.

Moving on, most of the following section of this walk is through a major thoroughfare Calle Larga XXII Marzo, opened in 1880 to commemorate the ejection of the Austrians from the city.  This is a major shopping area (see 101 places to buy shoes in Venice) and a rare wide, straight street in the city (see the commemorative plaque above No. 2423).  The emphasis here is on the higher-end consumer with many fashion houses and designer labels on display.

Continuing on, another ornate church façade awaits – Santa Maria del Giglio.  This church commemorates the Barbaro family.  Similar to San Moise, their statues adorn the façade at the bottom, the characters being young members of the family including the brothers of Antonio: Giovanni, Marino, Francesco, and Carlo.  On the second level in the middle is Antonio Barbaro depicted as the Superintendent of Dalmatia.  The façade of the church tells a story in itself, with the reliefs atop the base columns showing a naval battle, galleons, and prisons.  The plans of the cities on plinths at the base of these columns shows towns where the Barbaro held important posts in administration; they are: Zadar (Croatia), Iraklion (Crete), Padua, Rome, Corfu, and Split.  Santa Maria del Giglio has an impressive array of artwork and a substantial collection of crucifixes and silver liturgical objects.  There is a Rubens (Madonna & Child) and Tintoretto’s Christ with Angels & Saints (1557).  There are simply too many art works in the church to describe here, so a visit to the Chorus Venezia web page for the church will be informative (see also Churches of Venice).

For those interested in music history, the church of San Maurizio (POI #9) is a must see.  The church houses the Music Museum of Venice, an interesting collection of violins, mandolins, and lyres. Beyond is Campo Santo Stefano.  After viewing the commemorative statue of Niccolo Tommaseo (a linguist and journalist who compiled a substantial Italian dictionary, published in 1874), take a left turn and head towards a diversion – we return to Campo Santo Stefano at the end of the walk.

Continuing from POI #13 brings us to the Accademia bridge, one of the best places to take in the Grand Canal and a view of the Salute church.  Looping back and turning to the left takes us through some narrow by-ways and on to the Casanova Museum, the San Samuele church and past Paolo Veronese’s house at number 3338 in Salizada San Samuele (walk No. 14 is dedicated to Veronese and features his works, as does the Veronese trail).

On the return leg to Campo Santo Stefano we reach a good place to stop, the Trattoria da Fiore (not to be confused with the other da Fiore which is more on the high-end dining scale).  A few more steps and we arrive at the Campo, on the northern end of which is the church of Santo Stefano.  Building here commenced in 1294 by the Augustinians who moved from Castello after they were given certain privileges in the city (for example being able to receive alms) which brought them into line with other branches of the church such as the Dominicans and Franciscans.  After passing through the handsome portal thought to be by Bartolomeo Bon, you will notice it has a ship’s keel styled ceiling with an interior that narrows from the entrance to the main altar.  The decoration of the walls of the church are noteworthy – as are the gothic arches along the apse – each of which is surmounted by a fresco of each of twelve saints beatified by the Augustinians.  The lozenge fresco pattern on the upper walls is evocative of the outside of the Doge’s Palace.  There are many works of art to be seen here, including three Tintorettos and some works by earlier artists such as Bartolomeo Vivarini (1450-99) and Paolo Veneziano (active around 1321-62).  Canova created the tombstone for Senator Giovanni Falier.  Another important tombstone is that of the Venetian composer Giovanni Gabrieli (1555-1612) who served three Doges as the organist/composer at San Marco which is located in front of the fifth altar from the front.  Look for the funerary monument to Giacomo Surian of Rimini (to the left of the main door) completed 1488-93 by the workshop of Pietro Lombardo.

Leaving the church, the final thing to do on this walk is explore Campo Santo Stefano.  The campo has a colourful history, and its size facilitated various events, including bullfighting.  The last bullfight in Venice took place in this Campo in 1802, after which the occupying Austrians banned the practice.  There are several other points of interest to explore around the campo as this walk now draws to a close.