Description
Your walking tour departs from the very heart of Venice, the Piazza San Marco (Saint Mark's Square). Your first stop is right here, where your expert guide will give you a picture of the square's origins and history, as well as a description of the main monuments here in the center of the Republic of Venice's power – Saint Mark's Basilica, the Ducal Palace, the Bell Tower, the Clock Tower, and the Procuratie (literally “procuracies,”, which housed the offices and the apartments for the administration for the “Serenissima” Republic of Venice).
Your walk will then continue to the nearby campo (square) of Santa Maria Formosa, where you'll hear about the history as well as some anecdotes related to this wonderful and characteristic square, one of the few larger ones in Venice. A favorite meeting place for Venetians, this campo is connected by 9 calli (streets) and 11 bridges, a few of which simply lead to the entrances of palaces.
Follow your guide to another characteristic square – the Campo SS. Giovanni e Paolo. Situated at the northern end of the center of Venice, it is famous for the magnificent entrance way to the city hospital with the Great School of Charity, the Captains of Fortune, as well as for the large church of Saints John and Paul, the "Pantheon" of Venice (25 of the doges are buried here).
Your last stop on this part of the tour will be Marco Polo’s House and the Malibran Theater, again only minutes away. Your guide will share anecdotes as well as past and recent history which interweave in this beautiful corner of Venice where the European who discovered China grew up in a Venetian merchant family.
You will then return to San Marco through the Mercerie, a vital connection between Rialto and San Marco, and the main street for city shopping.
