Art and museums at Castello

Art and museums in Castello

Castello is one of the most typical districts of Venice, one in which there are the clothes hanging from one house to anothe , one in which time seems to stand still. Less crowded of tourists than other districts, Castello has the distinction of having a maze of narrow streets where we often lose. The district is very vast and rich of monuments and churches to visit.

Our tour begins in Campo Santa Maria Formosa, where you can visit the Church of the Codussi and admire the bell tower. An interesting fact is that on August 9, 1916, it was bombarded by a team of Austrian seaplanes who destroyed the roof, the dome and the organ. The entrance has a ticket fee: visiting hours are from Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm.

From here, behind the church, go to the famous Querini Stampalia, the public library that boasts manuscripts, incunabula , maps and rare editions . The library is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 10pm, Sunday and holidays from 10am to 7pm. The palace is also a rich museum (open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm , closed on Mondays ) , with frescoes and stucco, Murano glass chandeliers, sculptures by Canova , eighteenth-century furnishings, tapestries and porcelain as well as 400 Venetian paintings , Flemish and Italian from 1400 to 1800.

From here you can make a short stop at the Osteria La Mascareta owned by Mauro Lorenzon in Calle Lunga Santa Maria Formosa where you will find the innkeeper Lorenzon who will recommend a glass of fine wine and dishes of the day. The tavern is open every day from 7pm to 2am.

Go back and enter to visit the Museum of Palazzo Grimani (Castello 4858), a real jewel of art and architecture in Venice with splendid frescoes and fragments of the famous cycle of frescoes by Giorgione performed on the facade of the Fontego dei Tedeschi in 1508. The museum is open From Tuesday to Sunday: 8.15 am to 7.15 pm, Monday: 8.15 am to 2.00 pm.

Go now towards the foundations of the rectory to visit the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art, in the former Benedictine monastery of St. Apollonia. You will be immediately struck by the cloister, by the porch and the wellhead . The museum houses more than 200 pieces of silver liturgical objects, and also paintings by Tintoretto, Palma il Giovane , Giordano and Pellegrini, as well as wooden sculptures and a collection of Madonnas dressed . The tours are conducted by appointment only at 041.2413817 (10am to 12.30pm ) .

Continuing Riva degli Schiavoni you should visit the Church of the Pietà (Tuesday to Friday from 10.15 to 12 and from 3 to 5pm, Saturdays and Sundays from 10.15 to 1pm and from 2 to 5pm. Admission fee ) and San Giovanni in Bragora (in Campo Bandiera e Moro, open Monday to Saturday from 9 to 12 and from 3:30 to 5.30pm . Sundays from 10.30 to 12). Both churches are related to the life and work of the famous fast-paced and fascinating musical composer Antonio Vivaldi.

Coming back, in a maze of streets, arrived in Campo San Giovanni e Paolo. You will arrive at the Civil Hospital of Venice, once active the Scuola Grande di San Marco. Do not miss a visit to the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo (open for tours on weekdays from 9 am to 6 pm and on Sundays from 12 to 6pm), a true monument of the Venetian history. If you pay attention , around the apse there is a gate where often children playing soccer in the field lose the ball. There is preserved in the ancient pavement of the field.

If you want to dine in a tavern by the taste of Venice, a few steps away, you will find La Staffa in the Calle de Ospedaletto (Castello 6397/a ) . The atmosphere is friendly and a few tables , so book at 041.5239160 .