Cannaregio was settled well before
AD 1000, when the first dwellings were built on the islands
of San Giovanni Crisostomo and Santi Apostoli, close to the
Rialto. The areas adjacent to the Grand Canal were built up
next. The urban sprawl proceeded northwards, engulfing the convents
and monasteries (the Misericordia, the Madonna dell'Orto, the
Servi, San'Alvise) on what were, until then, remote islands.
 With
the construction of the railway and road bridges to the mainland
in the 19th century, the mainly residential and religious nature
of the sestiere changed. But the sestiere contains treasures
in its own right.
 On
this sestiere, special attention will be paed to number of palaces,
dating from Byzantine period to the 18C, that are to be found
in this sestiere together with the large 16C quarter of the
Ghetto, and the churches and monasteries, which are numerous
in this area too. We shall also encounter another of Venice's
major town-planning schemes, the Strada Nuova, linking the city
centre around Rialto with the railway station.
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| Not to be missed |
Ca' d'Oro
Gli Scalzi
San Giovanni Crisostomo
San Marcuola
San Marziale
Santi Apostoli
Madonna dell'Orto
Sant'Alvise
I Gesuiti
Oratorio dei Crociferi
Santa Maria dei Miracoli
San Giobbe
The Ghetto
Palazzo Vendramin Calergi (the venice Casino) |
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| Paola -
Guide editor |
 Ponte
and Fondamenta dei Mori, the famous 'Mori' ('Moors') were
rich merchants who field from Morea.
Calle
del Duca. The last Duke of Mantua and Monferrato, Ferdinando
Carlo Gonzaga, fled to Venice after being accused of embezzlement.
Sotoportego
and Corte del Milion. Marco Polo's house probablystood here.
The name 'Milion' comes from the title of his book.
Campiello
dei Miracoli. Popular legend has it that in 1400 an extraordinary
event occurred: a sacred image of the Madonna was seen weeping
in a capital. The donations of the Venetians then enabled the
church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli to be built.
Bacari,
Ombre and Cicheti. These are three typically Venetian words.
'Bacari' are the wine bars (there are many in the Cannaregio
district) where people go for quick snacks. The 'cicheti' are
tasty titbits containing fish, meat, eggs or vegetables. 'Ombra'
is the local name for a glass of wine. It is said to derive
from the wine sold in St Mark's Square from a cart that the
seller kept pit of the sun by following the shadow of the campanile..
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Cannaregio is Venice's second largest sestiere, stretching
across the north-west of the city from the station almost to the
Rialto bridge. The name has two possible origins: it may derive
from Canal Regio, i.e. the main canal for communicating with the
mainland or else it may refer to the extensive reed beds found there
in the past. 
