Finding the Forgotten Venetians: A Walk Around the Castello District

(40 reviews)

Venice audio tour: Finding the Forgotten Venetians: A Walk Around the Castello District

This is a 1.8mi walking tour

It takes an average of 60 mins to complete.

Venice

Italy

$8.99

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About the Tour

Venice is famed for its picturesque palaces, piazzas, and canals. But it‘s more than just a pretty place. The ancient Venetians deserve at least as much fanfare as the city enjoys.

On this walking tour around the Castello District, I‘ll introduce you to the ingenious, innovative, and intrepid men and women who contributed to their city‘s glory. Starting in Giardini della Biennale, you‘ll walk through a small portion of this park before venturing along a waterfront embankment, and through winding streets to Basilica di San Pietro di Castello. While you walk, I‘ll point out which Venetians have earned monuments, and tell you about the many others who‘ve faded into obscurity. Around every corner, you‘ll find curious stories of tragedy and triumph during times of war and peace, in one of Europe‘s mightiest city-states. You‘ll find out about a foiled pirate attack, and hear about Carlo de Ghega, one of the greatest railway engineers in European history. As you make your way to the Venetian Arsenal, a complex of former shipyards, you‘ll see the Giuseppe Garibaldi Monument, and hear tales about the great revolutionary leader. I‘ll also tell you what made Venice‘s arsenal so fearsome. By the end of our tour in front of the Museo Storico Navale di Venezia (The Venetian Naval Museum) and Chiesa di San Biagio Vescovo (Saint Blaise Church), you‘ll have a better understanding of the people who contributed to this great city‘s wealth and power.

On this Venice walking tour, you‘ll have a chance to:

Enjoy Giardini della Biennale, the green space created by Napoleon Bonaparte after he destroyed the three churches and convents that once stood here
Pay your respects at the Monument to the Partisan Woman, which honours all women who fought in the Resistance against the Nazi occupiers in World War II
Salute Giosuè Carducci, the first Italian to win a Nobel Prize for Literature
Pause in front of the monuments to Pier Luigi Penzo and Francesco Querini, two valiant Venetian explorers who never made it home
Meet Sister Arcangela Tarabotti, the incorrigible nun who spent her life writing scorching criticisms of the monastic life
Marvel at the phenomenal organization and skill that made the Venetian Arsenal the greatest industrial complex in Europe
Read the runes chiseled into the Piraeus Lion‘s shoulders on the Arsenal‘s facade

It‘s easy to admire Venice for its beauty, but wait till you meet some of the people who made it great. By the end of this 60-minute tour of Castello, you‘ll look at Venice with new eyes, and a greater appreciation for the generations that have lived extraordinary lives.

Tour Producer

Erla Zwingle

4 tours

I am an American freelance journalist and have been living in Venice since 1994, married to a wonderful Venetian man. He taught me how to row in the Venetian way (like the gondoliers, standing up facing forward) and we go out in our own little typical Venetian boat all year long. I've also learned to shop according to the seasons and to prepare many traditional Venetian dishes, some of which have disappeared from day-to-day life. I speak the local dialect, and love to read Venetian history of all topics and centuries. I have written about exceptional Venetian artisans (masks, lace, gondolas, shoes, hand-beaten gold leaf) for Craftsmanship online magazine. I wrote the National Geographic guidebook to Venice, and since 2009 have been writing a blog about real life in an unreal city. I belong to an association called Arzana' dedicated to the conservation of traditional Venetian boats; it's not all serious work -- we and our boats often get called on as extras in films shot in Venice. I have occasionally collaborated as local fixer and interpreter for several documentaries about the city. Venice is complicated, demanding, inconvenient, but also fascinating, surprising, and never dull. Sometimes people ask me why I live here. I don't understand why everybody doesn't live here.

Preview Location

Location 42

The Arsenal bakery

At the end of the street, walk out onto the broad embankment facing the lagoon. Then turn left and go toward the white stone bridge that crosses the canal in front of you.

Just before you reach the bridge, stop and look at the low brownish building on your left.

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Major Landmarks

Castello
Giardini della Biennale
Monumento alle partigiane venete
Giosuè Carducci
Monument to the Partisan Woman
Monumento a Pier Luigi Penzo
Monumento a Francesco Querini
Chiesa di Sant'Anna
Ponte di Quintavale
Campo San Piero de Casteo
Basilica di San Pietro di Castello
Via Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi Monument
Fondamenta Arsenale
Piraeus Lion
Venetian Arsenal
Ponte San Biasio delle Catene
Campo Biasio
Museo Storico Navale di Venezia
Chiesa di San Biagio Vescovo

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
Castello, 1260 Giardini della Biennale, 30122, 30122 Venezia VE, Italy
Total distance

3km
Final location
Riva S. Biasio, 2131, 30122 Venezia VE, Italy
Distance back to start location

684.44m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour starts outside Paradiso Restaurant (1260 Giardini della Biennale, Castello).

If you want to get to the starting point by vaporetto, download the app https://chebateo.it/ It means "which boat" and gives the right vaporetto number(s) from wherever you are to wherever you want to go. There is an English-language option.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

There are several grassy areas with benches along the way, so stopping to rest is simpler here than in the busier area around the Piazza San Marco. Via Garibaldi has plenty of bars/cafes with outdoor tables under big umbrellas.

Best time of day

This tour is good at any time of year, but be aware that summer is inevitably very crowded. Start early (it's cooler too), or early evening before the shops begin to close. Winter has many positive points, especially for being less crowded (except during Carnival). Winter can be lovely if you don't mind the cold, and it getting dark by 6:00 PM. The winter light, and the occasional fog, can be especially beautiful.

Precautions

Venice is a very safe city but the primary crime is pickpocketing. (Thieves disguise themselves as tourists.) It's imperative that you take every sensible precaution to avoid having your valuables stolen. Carry the minimum when you go out, and do not keep your passport, cash, and credit cards in the same place. Sunscreen and hats are helpful in the summer and a water bottle is always advisable.

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App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”