Our Sixth Itinerary will let you explore the district of Dorsoduro.

Catch water bus line 1 from Ferrovia, right opposite the Hotel Carlton on the Grand Canal and disembark at Accademia stop, exactly at the foot of the wooden bridge from where there is a magnificent panorama. Please do NOT buy a padlock to hang from the bridge, the administrative sanctions for crimes against the patrimony (such as hanging padlocks on monuments) can be very severe, in fact, the fine could be as much as €3,000.oo

In front of Accademia Bridge there is the Scuola della Carità, the most ancient (1260) and the most important of the six great Scuole in Venice, today the home of the Accademia Galleries. Here you can admire the intensity of Venetian painting which was characterised right from the beginning by chromatic splendour thanks to its Byzantine roots and the availability of the best pigments in its emporia, sold throughout Europe. Among the most famous artists there are Giorgione, Giovanni Bellini, Veronese, Vittore Carpaccio, Tintoretto, Tiziano, Tiepolo, Canaletto and Guardi.

Leaving this gallery, walk towards the home of Peggy Guggenheim, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni. The mansion is also called Palazzo Non Finito because the construction was interrupted shortly after the start of the work in 1759, leaving the mansion with no upper storeys. Following the death of Peggy Guggenheim, this fascinating architectonic structure became a museum of modern art open to the public. In its rooms you will find one of the most important art collections of the 1900s: works by Picasso, Pollock, Mirò, Mondrian, Magritte, Kandinsky, De Chirico, Klee.

You proceed towards the grandiose temple built by Baldassarre Longhena dedicated to the Madonna della Salute. The church was erected to celebrate the end of a devastating epidemic which spread throughout most of Europe in 1630. This fantastic architectural structure arises from 16 tiers of surrounding steps and acts as a water divide between the Giudecca Canal and the Grand Canal.

Continue along the canal bank where, from the 15th century there was the seat of the Serenissima Republic Customs Offices, now a centre of contemporary art in Venice, the home of the permanent Collection of Francois Pinault.

At the extreme point, turn to your right and begin a long walk in the sunshine along the Zattere, the wharf opposite the island of the Giudecca. It seems that the name derives from the floats and barges which used to unload here. This stretch is about one kilometre long and will take you past the Churches of the Gesuati and Santa Maria della Visitazione, right to the origins of the city in the area of San Nicolò dei Mendicoli.

Take the narrow street (calle) which leads to San Basegio going along the canal bank to the bridge in front of the Church of San Sebastiano from the 1500s which contagions an interesting cycle of paintings by Paolo Veronese. Crossing campo San Sebastiano and turning right, you arrive at the raised campo of Angelo Raffaele with the church of the same name.

Walking along Rio dell’Angelo Raffaele, you will come to the last stop on this itinerary: the Church of San Nicolò dei Mendicoli. The church is situated on one of the very first settlements of the city. Its foundation is thought to be around the VIIth century. Inside there are traces of the stratification and transformations throughout the centuries. Among the works present there is also one by Jacopo Palma il Giovane, but beyond the paintings, it is the fascination of the whole which enchants you.

From here you follow the signs for Ferrovia and in a quarter of an houryou can return finally to the Hotel Carlton on the Grand Canal.