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Nevertheless, today there there are still
over a hundred religious buildings distribuited over the 38
Parishes. Note that the numbering of the houses does not necessarily
follow the streets, but is according to the 'Sestiere' (hence
the hihg numbers).
VENICE'S SIX SESTIERI:
Cannaregio
Santa
Croce
San
Polo
Dorsoduro
San
Marco
Castello
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The Scuole.
Religious Confraternities and Trade Guilds |
| These are buldings that from the 13C onwards
housed the confraternities, associations of lay persons devoted
to charity and the provision of mutual aid that met for devotional
purposes. Often linked to a trade guild, the scuole were dedicated
to a patron saint and took part in public and private ceremonies.
Even on the exterior, the architecture of these meeting houses
reveals their functions: religious services on the ground floor
and large assemblies of members on the upper one. |
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| Paola -
Guide editor |
 Moving
around Venice is a unique experience. There are, in fact, two
ways of getting about the city that are completely independent
of each other: on land, through the calli (streets),
campi (squares) and fondamenta, (waterside streets);
and by water, along the canals and rii (the rio
is an internal canal). Extending throughout the city, these
two networks only meet at the bridges. There are about 400 of
the latter in Venice, the longest obviously being the Ponte
della Libertà linking the city to the mainland. The first
part of this, the railway bridge, was built in 1846 on 222 stone
arches and is about 3,500 metres in length. The term rio
terrà refers to streets created by filling in of
canals. |
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Venice is divided into six districts, known as 'Sestieri'. Each
'Sestiere' is subdivided into Parishes, the smallest administrative
and social units of the city as early as the 11C (there were 70
then). They were reduced in number during the Napoleonic occupation,
when religious orders were suppressed and churches and monasteries
were demolished. 
