Dorsoduro District Sestiere

Dorsoduro, between museums, churches and lagoon quays

Located in the southwestern part of Venice, the Dorsoduro sestiere is often considered one of the city's most pleasant districts. It brings together major museums, remarkable churches, Grand Canal palaces and quieter areas, where alleyways still lead to small quays, workshops and discreet gardens.

The sestiere stretches from the Piazzale Roma area to the Punta della Dogana, at the entrance to the Grand Canal. It also includes the islands of Giudecca and Sacca Fisola, separated from the historic centre by the wide Giudecca Canal.

Its liveliest heart is Campo Santa Margherita, a vast elongated square lined with cafés, shops and old houses. Frequented by residents and students of Ca' Foscari University, it still hosts market stalls in the morning before becoming, in the evening, one of the district's main meeting places.

A few steps away, the Zattere promenade runs along the Giudecca Canal. Its name recalls the wooden rafts, the zattere, that once came down from the Cadore mountains to supply the shipyards and building sites of Venice. Today, these quays mainly offer long views over Giudecca and one of the city's most luminous walks.

Main places to discover

1. The Gallerie dell'Accademia: housed in the former Carità complex, they hold the world's most important collection of Venetian and Veneto painting. Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, Carpaccio and Tiepolo allow visitors to explore several centuries of art history.

2. The Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute: built from 1631 as an ex-voto after the plague of 1630, this great Baroque church by Baldassare Longhena spectacularly marks the entrance to the Grand Canal. Beneath its immense dome, it houses several major works by Titian and Tintoretto.

3. Ca' Rezzonico: this grand Grand Canal palace houses the Museum of 18th-century Venice. Furniture, frescoes and works by Canaletto, Longhi, Guardi and the Tiepolos provide insight into both the arts and the life of the aristocracy in the last decades of the Republic.

4. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection: located in the unusual Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, it is one of Italy's leading museums devoted to 20th-century European and North American art. Picasso, Pollock, Kandinsky, Magritte and Dalí are joined by a sculpture collection and temporary exhibitions.

5. The Zattere: this long promenade runs along the Giudecca Canal along the entire southern facade of Dorsoduro. Its name recalls the wooden rafts once unloaded on these quays; today, it is one of the best routes for enjoying open views towards Giudecca and the lagoon.

6. The church of San Sebastiano: Paolo Veronese worked on its decoration for several decades and ultimately chose to be buried there. The church thus forms an exceptionally coherent ensemble of ceilings, frescoes and altarpieces linked to one of the great masters of the Venetian Renaissance.

7. The Scuola Grande dei Carmini: seat of the ancient confraternity of Our Lady of Carmel, it preserves several richly decorated rooms. Its masterpiece is the ceiling of the chapter room by Giambattista Tiepolo, remarkable for its perspectives and light effects.

8. Campo Santa Margherita: vast and elongated, it is one of Dorsoduro's great everyday living spaces, animated by shops, terraces, the market and the student population. More than a monument, it reveals the still residential and lively character of the district.

9. The Church of Santa Maria del Rosario, also known as the Gesuati: built in the 18th century on the Zattere by Giorgio Massari, it is one of the great ensembles of late Venetian Baroque. Its interior combines the decorations of Giambattista Tiepolo with works by Piazzetta and Tintoretto.

10. The Punta della Dogana: the former maritime customs house occupies an exceptional position at the meeting point of the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal, facing the St Mark's Basin. Redesigned by Tadao Ando, it has hosted the Pinault Collection's contemporary art exhibitions since 2009.

11. The church of San Pantalon: its relatively austere exterior contrasts with the immense Baroque composition by Giovanni Antonio Fumiani covering the nave vault. This spectacular trompe-l'oeil painting gives the impression that the architecture opens up to the sky and is one of Dorsoduro's great surprises.

12. The Squero di San Trovaso: located on the bank of the rio of the same name, it is one of the few traditional boatyards where gondolas and other Venetian boats are still built and repaired. Its wooden building with Alpine look and the activity of the yard form one of the most characteristic scenes of the district.

13. The Accademia Bridge: one of the four bridges crossing the Grand Canal, it connects Dorsoduro to the San Marco area. Its wooden structure is especially appreciated for one of the most remarkable views of the canal, with palaces stretching as far as the dome of the Salute.

14. San Nicolò dei Mendicoli: this ancient church is located in the western, historically more working-class part of Dorsoduro and was long at the heart of the Nicolotti community. Columns with Veneto-Byzantine capitals, timber roof and rich wooden decorations give it an atmosphere very different from the great monumental churches of the centre.

15. The church of Santa Maria dei Carmini: founded by the Carmelites at the end of the 13th century, it retains a Gothic structure profoundly transformed over time. Its three-nave interior houses an important artistic heritage and naturally complements a visit to the nearby Scuola Grande.

16. Campo San Barnaba and the Ponte dei Pugni: the campo forms a pleasant urban ensemble around the church of San Barnaba, near the rio de San Trovaso. The nearby bridge owes its name to the famous fist fights that once pitted the rival factions of the Nicolotti and the Castellani.

17. Ca' Foscari: built in the 15th century for Doge Francesco Foscari, this great Gothic palace overlooks one of the most spectacular bends of the Grand Canal and today houses the university bearing its name. Inside, the Aula Baratto was twice redesigned by Carlo Scarpa.

18. The church of San Trovaso: rebuilt between the 16th and 17th centuries, it is distinguished by its two large facades facing different sides of the building. Its interior preserves several important works, including paintings linked to Jacopo and Domenico Tintoretto.

19. The Palazzo Cini Gallery: this house-museum on Campo San Vio presents part of the collection assembled by the industrialist and patron Vittorio Cini. Paintings, sculptures and works of art, particularly from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, make for a more intimate visit than the district's large museums.

Other places to discover

• Campo San Trovaso: bordered by the church and next to the famous squero, this small, slightly raised campo forms one of Dorsoduro's most pleasant urban ensembles. It is best discovered together with the rio, the gondola yard and the nearby fondamenta.

• Campo dei Carmini: dominated by the church of Santa Maria dei Carmini, this is a peaceful square between Campo Santa Margherita and the western part of the sestiere. Its interest lies above all in the coherence of the ensemble.

• Ca' Dario: this small Renaissance palace attracts the eye with its asymmetrical facade adorned with polychrome marbles overlooking the Grand Canal. Its fame also stems from the many stories of misfortune and "curse" attached, much later, to several of its owners.

• The church of Angelo Raffaele: located in the west of Dorsoduro, it belongs to a quieter, residential area near San Nicolò dei Mendicoli. Its antiquity, architecture and decoration make it an interesting stop.

• The Squero Tramontin: less known than the one at San Trovaso, this other historic boatyard recalls the importance of building and maintaining gondolas in this part of Venice.

• The Magazzini del Sale: these vast former salt warehouses along the Zattere recall the area's commercial and port functions. Some of the spaces combine industrial heritage with contemporary art.

• Santa Maria della Visitazione: next to the Gesuati on the Zattere, this older and much more discreet church is often overshadowed by its grand neighbour. Its interior preserves a remarkable painted Renaissance ceiling.

• Campo San Vio: a small open campo near the Grand Canal, it offers a pleasant breathing space between the Accademia, the Guggenheim Collection and the Salute, with the presence of Palazzo Cini.

• Rio Terà dei Catecumeni and the Salute area: this former filled-in canal leads through a quieter network of alleyways around the Salute complex. It is especially good for discovering the basilica's urban environment away from the more direct routes to the Punta della Dogana.