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Top Attractions | Worth Noting

Seen from above, this part of town seems like a wide field plowed by several long, straight canals that are linked by intersecting straight streets—not typical of Venice, where the shape of the islands usually defines the shape of the canals. Cannaregio’s main thoroughfare, the Strada Nova (literally, “New Street,” as it was opened in 1871), is the longest street in Venice. It runs parallel to the Grand Canal, and was once a canal itself. Today it’s lined with fruit and vegetable stalls (near Ponte delle Guglie), quiet shops, gelaterias, and bakeries, and serves as a pedestrian expressway from the train station to Ca’ d’Oro.

Though Cannaregio has noble palaces built along the Grand Canal, the northern part of the sestiere was, and still is, a typical working-class neighborhood, where many bacari (wine bars) fill up with old card players every afternoon. Highlights include the Jewish Ghetto, with its hidden synagogues, the Ca’ d’Oro, and the churches of Madonna dell’Orto and the Miracoli, which are among the most beautiful and interesting buildings in the city.

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Top Attractions

Ca’ d’Oro.
This exquisite Venetian Gothic palace was once literally a “Golden House,” when its marble traceries and ornaments were embellished with gold. It was created by Giovanni and Bartolomeo Bon between 1428 and 1430 for the patrician Marino Contarini as a present to his wife. The last proprietor, Baron Giorgio Franchetti, left Ca’ d’Oro to the city, after having had it carefully restored and furnished with antiquities, sculptures, and paintings that today make up the Galleria Franchetti. Besides Andrea Mantegna’s St. Sebastian and other Venetian works, the Galleria Franchetti contains the type of fresco that once adorned the exteriors of Venetian buildings (commissioned by those who could not afford a marble facade). One such detached fresco displayed here was made by the young Titian for the façade of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi—now the main post office near the Rialto. | Calle Ca’ d’Oro, Cannaregio 3933 | 30135 | 041/5238790 | www.cadoro.org | €5, plus €1 to reserve; €8 when there is a special exhibition; €11 includes Gallerie dell’Accademia and Museo Orientale | Tues.–Sun. 8:15–7, Mon. 8:15–2. Last entry ½ hr before closing | Station: Vaporetto: Ca’ d’Oro.

Jewish Ghetto.
The neighborhood that gave the world the word ghetto is today a quiet neighborhood surrounding a large campo. It is home to Jewish institutions, two kosher restaurants, a rabbinical school, and five synagogues. Present-day Venetian Jews live all over the city, and the contemporary Jewish life of the ghetto, with the exception of the Jewish museum and the synagogues, is an enterprise conducted almost exclusively by American Hassidic Jews of Eastern European descent and tradition.

The area has Europe’s highest density of Renaissance-era synagogues, and visiting them is interesting not only culturally, but also aesthetically. Though each is marked by the tastes of its individual builders, Venetian influence is evident throughout. Women’s galleries resemble those of theaters from the same era, and some synagogues were decorated by artists who were simultaneously active in local churches; Longhena, the architect of Santa Maria della Salute, renovated the Spanish synagogue in 1635.

Synagogue tours (in English or Italian) take place every day except Saturday on the half hour starting at 10:30, and can be arranged through the Jewish Museum in the Campo del Ghetto Nuovo. | Campo del Ghetto Nuovo | €8 Synagogue tour.

Museo Ebraico. The small but well-arranged Museo Ebraico highlights centuries of Jewish culture with splendid silver Hanukkah lamps and Torahs, and handwritten, beautifully decorated wedding contracts in Hebrew. Hourly tours (on the half hour) of the Ghetto in Italian and English leave from the museum. | Campo del Ghetto Nuovo, Cannaregio 2902/B | 30121 | 041/715359 | www.museoebraico.it | Museum €3; guided tour, museum, and synagogues €8.50 | June–Sept., Sun.–Fri. 10–7; Oct.–May, Sun.–Fri. 10–6. Tours hourly starting at 10:30 | Station: Vaporetto: San Marcuola, Guglie.

Antico Cimitero Ebraico (Ancient Jewish Cemetery).
You might complete your circuit of Jewish Venice with a visit to the Antico Cimitero Ebraico on the Lido, full of fascinating old tombstones half hidden by ivy and grass. The earliest grave dates from 1389; the cemetery remained in use until the late 18th century. | Via Cipro at San Nicolo, Lido | 30126 | 041/715359 | €8.50 | Tours Apr.–Oct., Sun. at 2:30, by appointment other days; call to reserve | Station: Vaporetto: Lido, San Nicolo.

Madonna dell’Orto.
Though built toward the middle of the 14th century, this church takes its character from its beautiful late-Gothic façade, added between 1460 and 1464; it’s one of the most beautiful Gothic churches in Venice. Tintoretto lived nearby, and this, his parish church, contains some of his most powerful work. Lining the chancel are two huge (45 feet by 20 feet) canvases, Adoration of the Golden Calf and Last Judgment. In glowing contrast to this awesome spectacle is Tintoretto’s Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple and the simple chapel where he and his children, Marietta and Domenico, are buried. Paintings by Domenico, Cima da Conegliano, Palma il Giovane, Palma il Vecchio, and Titian also hang in the church. A chapel displays a photographic reproduction of a precious Madonna with Child by Giovanni Bellini. The original was stolen one night in 1993. | Campo della Madonna dell’Orto, Cannaregio | 30121 | 041/2750462 Chorus Foundation | www.chorusvenezia.org | €3, Chorus Pass €10 | Mon.–Sat. 10–5, Sun. 1–5 | Station: Vaporetto: Orto.

Santa Maria dei Miracoli.
Tiny yet harmoniously proportioned, this Renaissance gem, built between 1481 and 1489, is sheathed in marble and decorated inside with exquisite marble reliefs. Architect Pietro Lombardo (circa 1435–1515) miraculously compressed the building into its confined space, then created the illusion of greater size by varying the color of the exterior, adding extra pilasters on the building’s canal side, and offsetting the arcade windows to make the arches appear deeper. The church was built to house I Miracoli, an image of the Virgin Mary by Niccolò di Pietro (1394–1440) that is said to have performed miracles—look for it on the high altar. | Campo Santa Maria Nova, Cannaregio | 30121 | 041/2750462 Chorus Foundation | www.chorusvenezia.org | €3, Chorus Pass €10 | Mon.–Sat. 10–5 | Station: Vaporetto: Rialto.

Worth Noting

Gesuiti.
The interior walls of this early-18th-century church resemble brocade drapery, and only touching them will convince skeptics that rather than embroidered cloth, the green-and-white walls are inlaid marble. This tromp-l’oeil decor is typical of the late Baroque’s fascination with optical illusion. Toward the end of his life, Titian tended to paint scenes of suffering and sorrow in a nocturnal ambience. A dramatic example of this is on display above the first altar to the left: Titian’s daring Martyrdom of St. Lawrence (1578), taken from an earlier church that stood on this site. | Campo dei Gesuiti, Cannaregio | 30131 | 041/5286579 | Daily 10–noon and 4–6 | Station: Vaporetto: Fondamente Nove.

Palazzo Vendramin-Calergi.
This Renaissance classic on the Grand Canal is the work of Mauro Codussi (1440–1504). You can see some of its interior by dropping into the Casinò di Venezia. Fans of Richard Wagner (1813–83) might enjoy visiting the Sala di Wagner, the room (separate from the casino) in which the composer died. Though rather plain, it’s loaded with music memorabilia. To visit the Sala, call the dedicated tour telephone by noon the day before, or book a private tour. | Cannaregio 2040 | 30121 | 041/5297111, 338/4164174 Sala di Wagner tours | www.casinovenezia.it | Casinò €10, Sala di Wagner tour €5 suggested donation | Casinò Sun.–Thurs. 3:30 pm–2:30 am, Fri. and Sat. 3:30 pm–3 am; slot machines open daily at 3 pm. Sala di Wagner tours Tues. and Sat. at 10:30, Thurs. at 2:30 (call by noon the day before to reserve) | Station: Vaporetto: San Marcuola.

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