Wandering around Dorsoduro

Today, Dorsoduro is a quiet elegant area of Venice, but at its core beats the heart of campo santa Margherita, where the city’s young hang out today, and which was once the venue for rather peculiar games.
Il Ponte dei Pugni, the Bridge of Punches, is not too cryptic, and unsurprisingly it is tied to a famous physical encounter between the Castellani and the Nicolotti, the two major rival factions in Venice.
A short fondamenta away from the bridge is Campo san Barnaba, remembered in various film scenes, but also for the Barnabotti, noble families who ended up in ruin and poverty, but who still give the name to this little square.
A short walk way is Ca’Rezzonico, with its magical garden that leads into a fascinating collection of Venetian paintings from the 18th century.
This area is a few minutes’ walk from the Accademia and the Zattere, from where you can scan the palace façades on the Giudecca island. During our walk we will bump into some great figures from the past, like Peggy Guggenheim, John Ruskin and Gabriele D’Annunzio.
We’ll pass by the Anglican church on our way to the Punta della Dogana, but before that we’ll of course make a stop at the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Salute. By the way, do you know why it’s called that?

Find your guide