The Zattere: A Spacious Waterfront Promenade

© Wai Heng Chow - FOTOLIA

The Zattere was constructed in 1519 as a landing stage for timber, but is now a waterfront promenade lined by a series of notable buildings and monuments.

The Zattere runs along virtually the entire southern shore of the Dorsoduro district of Venice. It offers superb views of the spectacular Palladian architecture on the island of Giudecca immediately to its south.

The westernmost point of the Zattere, known as the San Basilio, is named after a church, long since demolished, which was once located there.

The yellow-fronted Scuola dei Luganagheri, a few doors along, was formerly a sausage maker’s guild, but is now a restaurant, the only remaining evidence of its previous use being the two marble tablets either side of a statue of Saint Anthony.

 © Wai Heng Chow - FOTOLIA

A series of impressive palaces, now used as government buildings, line the Zattere beyond the  Scuola dei Luganagheri. These include the 15^th century Gothic Palazzo Molin, now the headquarters of the Adriatic Coastal Authority, and the 16^th century Palazzo Priuli Bon, formerly the French Embassy, and currently home to the Venice port authority.

Continuing past these palaces, the Zattere bridges the Rio di San Trovaso before passing the 15^th century church of Santa Maria della Visitazione, designed by Mauro Codussi, whose ceiling portrays 58 saints by an unknown artist. Unfortunately the rest of its treasures were plundered by Napoleon in 1797.

The Artigianelli, a former artisans college, adjoins the church. Anonymous complaints against corrupt officials were formerly deposited through the yawning mouth of the stone lion which adorns its exterior.

The next church along is the splendid baroque Gesuati, also known as the Santa Maria del Rosario, which was constructed in the 1740’s by Giorgio Massari. The ceiling fescos, which depict scenes from the history of the Dominican Order, represent some of Giambattista Tiepolo’s finest work.

 

Ceiling fresco by Tiepolo from the church of Santa Maria del Rosario on the Zattere waterfront.

After bridging two more canals, the Zattere passes the Ospedale degli Incurabili, formerly a hospice for men in the final stages of syphilis. It later became the Venice Youth Court and is now the administrative headquarters of the Accademia.

Continuing eastwards along the Zattere, the next church is the Spirito Santo, notorious for the scandalous antics of some of its former nuns. The Spirito Santo is locked most of the time, but its remarkable trompe d'oeil ceiling frescos, which cleverly use perspective to imitate decorative masonry, may be viewed by arrangement.

Continuing across the Rio della Fornace, the Zattere passes the Emporio dei Sali, formerly used for the storage of salt, and redeveloped in the mid-19^th century by Giovanni Pigazzi. It now houses the city’s most prestigious rowing club, the Bucintoro.

Finally the Zattere arrives at its most easterly point, the Dogana di Mare (customs house), which is notable for its exquisite bronze weathervane depicting the Goddess Fortuna holding a gilded sail to the wind.

© 2006 LACT Limited. All rights reserved.

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