Campo dei Mori And Surrounding Area

The Campo dei Mori is located in the northern Canareggio district, approximately 100 yards from the Canale delle Navi, the open stretch of water which divides the northern shore of Venice from the mainland.

Although the Campo dei Mori is one of those charming backwaters, where tourists tend to be few and far between, it was once the centre of a thriving community, being only a short distance from the wharves where most of the visitors and cargos arriving from the mainland used to dock.

Although “mori” is the plural of the Italian “moro” meaning Moor, the campo dei mori was not formerly inhabited by north Africans, but by the Mastelli brothers: Rioba, Sandi, and Afani, who were from Morea in the Peloponnese, and who settled in Venice during the twelfth century.

At the corner of the side of the square which runs parallel to the adjacent canal there is a statue of one of these brothers, affectionately known as Senor Antonio Rioba, whose lost nose has been replaced by an unsightly metal clip.

The other two brothers, proudly dressed in their national costumes, stand over the doorways of  their respective houses, one of which overlooks the square, while the other is located on the southern bank of the  Rio Madonna Dell'Orto.

The Mastelli were successful entreprenuers who invested  heavily in the Fourth Crusade which, in preference to liberating the Holy Island, sacked Constantinople in 1204. Families like the Mastelli, who would have shared in the looted treasure, made a substantial return on their investment. 

The Palazzo Mastelli overlooks the Rio Madonna dell’Orto and is located almost directly opposite the church of the same name situated on the opposite bank. The palazzo has been nicknamed the "camel house" because of the decorative relief on its façade which depicts a camel loaded with merchandise. The Mastelli commissioned this sculpture because they made their living from importing African and Arabian spices which they then sold at a considerable profit on the Rialto exchanges.

Although the Mastelli have undoubtedly left their mark, they are not the most famous former residents of the Campo dei Mori. This honour belongs instead to the painter Jacopo Robusti who, because of his father's occupation, is better known as Tintoretto ("little dyer").

Tintoretto: Detail of a self-portrait by the artist who lived in the Campo dei Mori from 1574 to 1594

You can’t really miss the house where Tintoretto spent the last twenty years of his life since a later 19^th century resident erected a plaque in his honour. The Latin inscription praises the artist’s achievements and its author congratulates himself for bringing them to the attention of passers-by.

Tintoretto's house is a private dwelling and is not open to the public.

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