Venetians know how to make orange juice. Fresh squeezed and so delicious! The citrus notes and fresh-squeezed bits of pulp burst with flavor. The day was off to a good start. While Venice is not known for orange juice, it is surprisingly one of the things I think about when reflecting on my time there. Sometimes it’s the little things.
One can get lost meandering the alleys of Venice. Narrow waterways, slim sidewalks, and unique architecture greeted me at every turn. My mother and I set out in search of Margherita House Venice in Campo Santa Margherita, which is situated in the Dorsoduro sestiere.
With so many bridges and twisting waterways, we looked to a passerby for confirmation that we were headed in the right direction. To our good fortune, she actually lived in Campo Santa Margherita and offered to guide us there.
As we emerged from a narrow walkway, sandwiched between three story apartment buildings, the area opened up to a spacious campo, which translates to “field,” but can also be referred to as a square.
The Venetian woman pointed to a gorgeous building across the campo that was painted a bright burnt orange and had window boxes filled to the brim with multi-colored flowers. She told us she lived there and, after bringing us right to the doorstep of our hotel, bid us farewell. She was the first of many friendly encounters with Venetians.
The hotel was in an old building overlooking the campo. While the exterior showed the building’s age, the interior had been remodeled with modern interior design. Our room had a modern feel, but the old wooden exposed beams on the ceiling revealed the building’s ancient bones.
The owner, who lived upstairs, showed us around and explained how to use some of the features of the room and then left us to enjoy our stay. I highly recommend the hotel, however, it is small so booking in advance is a must.
The hotel’s location is walking distance to many tourist attractions. There is a water fountain in the middle of the square that you can use to fill a water bottle for your days’ adventures.
The square has a local feel with Venetian’s buying fresh fish, fruit, and vegetables from outdoor markets, children shouting as they play, and later as dusk sets in, locals enjoying prosecco. The campo comes alive at night and is favored by university students.
The square is named after the Church of Santa Margherita, which in turn is named after martyr Saint Margaret of Antioch. The campo is also home to School of St. Mary of Mount Carmel, which was designed in baroque style by Italian architect, Baldassarre Longhena.
Longhena designed many of the buildings we walked by, such as his most well-known work, Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute. This basilica is located in a beautiful area at the edge of Dorsoduro between the Grand Canal and the Zattere promenade. He also designed Ca’ Rezzonico, a palace, which we visited on our last day.
We walked Fondamenta delle Zattere, a promenade where locals often walk in the evening or on Sunday for passeggiata, or a stroll. At every turn there were gondolas, churches, and gorgeously styled baroque masterpieces.
As we crossed over bridges, we noticed they had scaffolding on them, which held baseboards. This was unlike the other bridges we had crossed as it eliminated the need to climb the stairs. We found out there had been a road race earlier that day, for which the baseboard were used. We took some detours from the Zattere and found squeri, which are gondola workshops.
The next day we went to Piazza San Marco, the political and social center of Venice, and toured the Palazzo Ducale, which is the Doge, or leader’s, palace. The palace is unique with a pink and white exterior. There is an open courtyard, prison, armory, and government chambers to explore.
When entering the prison we went through what is known as “The Bridge of Sighs”, referring to the sighs prisoners made as they took their last look at the lagoon before proceeding to the prison to serve their sentence.
After some ice cream and sparkling water, we took a vaporetto, their version of a taxi, down the Grand Canal to enjoy the architecture.
Later, we set out for dinner by the Rialto Bridge. What appeared on the map to be a very short jaunt ended out being a very long walk. We ran into dead ends and had to go deeper into neighborhoods because the Grand Canal didn’t have a path leading straight to our destination. It was interesting to see the neighborhoods, however, as my belly began to groan for food, the more I wanted to locate our destination!
Along our walk to Rialto Bridge, I bought a red Venetian mask, which I wore later in the year for Halloween. The mask shop also had artfully made hats with black veils and feather accents, transporting one back to the renaissance.
We were only in Venice for two days, which, for me, was not enough. I would like to go back and explore more. Our last worthwhile destination was to see Ca’ Rezzonico, an old palace turned museum, which housed 17th century designs. The elaborate rooms had beautiful furniture and a collection of paintings by famous Venetian painters.
Travels With Alison 