Campo Santa Margherita Square

Campo Santa Margherita, the local heart of Dorsoduro

Long and irregular, Campo Santa Margherita is among the largest campi in Venice and one of the most lively on a day-to-day basis. Far from the more monumental atmosphere of certain tourist areas, it retains a genuine neighbourhood life: market, terraces, small shops, children playing, etc. In the evening, the presence of students and numerous bars gives it a much livelier atmosphere.

It is also an excellent reference point for exploring Dorsoduro on foot. The church and the Scuola Grande dei Carmini are at its western end, while the Ponte dei Pugni and Campo San Barnaba are a few minutes away. From there, you can easily reach Ca’ Foscari, the Accademia, or the Zattere by crossing the calli and the small campi of the neighbourhood.

From an ancient church to a vast square

The campo owes its name to the ancient church of Santa Margherita, founded in the 9th century and later remodelled several times, notably during a reconstruction in 1687. Suppressed at the beginning of the 19th century during the Napoleonic reforms, it subsequently had various uses, from a tobacco factory to a cinema. Today it houses the Auditorium Santa Margherita of Ca’ Foscari University. Its campanile, which had become unstable, was for its part greatly lowered in 1808.

The current layout of the campo, particularly open for Venice, is mainly the result of the filling in of several canals in the 19th century. Before 1863, its southern edge still overlooked the rio della Scoazzera, connected to the rio de San Barnaba: boats could thus approach this square with a commercial vocation directly. The works undertaken under the Austrian administration transformed this former group of banks and passages into the large square one crosses today.

The market and neighbourhood life

A daily market still animates the campo, notably with fruit and vegetable stalls, perpetuating its function as a place of exchange and local supply. The area of the former pescheria also recalls the importance that fish selling held there. Cafés, bars and small boutiques then take over during the day, while the proximity of Ca’ Foscari and other university institutions makes the campo one of the main student meeting places in Venice.

The square also preserves a few more discreet buildings. On its south side is notably the Ospizio Scrovegni, founded thanks to the bequest of Maddalena degli Scrovegni in 1421 to shelter thirteen poor widows. Several old houses, including the Palazzetto Foscolo Corner of medieval origin, remind us that the campo has never been only a large empty space, but an ancient piece of the popular fabric of Dorsoduro.

Sources and further information

City of Venice — history of Santa Margherita ; City of Venice — markets of the historic centre ; Ca’ Foscari University — Auditorium Santa Margherita.