First Look at Venice along the wide Giudecca Canal and other Venice, Italy General Tips

Favorite Thing: .
From the huge car parking buildings on Tronchetto or Piazzale Roma you can reach Piazza San Marco taking the vaporetto Nr. 2 express line, which runs through the wide Giudecca Canal, water access to Venice for the large cruise ships, to San Zaccaria on Riva degli Schiavoni.
But you do not need to wait for San Marco only. On the way you will have a wonderful view of both side of the canal, Dorsoduro and Giudecca.

The most intriguing waterfront promenade is the Zattere lined by a series of notable buildings and monuments, running the entire southern shore of Dorsoduro.

Fondest Memory: The marvellous Casa Dei Tre Oci by the painter and architect Mario De Maria, a nice re-interpretation, midway between Gothic Revival and Art Nouveau styles, of the Venetian gothic palace. It stands on the island of Giudecca. Along the years it was home, apart from De Maria and his family, for architect Renzo Piano and for Peggy Guggenheim's daughter.

Ristorante Riviera on Dorsoduro side, locatated around the Maritime station at the end of Zattere opposite Mulino Stucky. It is, what used to be a rarity in Venice, a restaurant that offers really good cooking. Pricey, but worth it.

Andrea Palladio's Church of the Redentore, a large, white building with a dome crowned by a statue of the Redeemer is sited on the island Giudecca. From the distance, the temple front facade stands as the front layer, behind which the higher roofs of the nave culminate in the dome and its lantern.
Every year in the past, the doge and senators walked across a specially constructed pontoon bridge from the Zattere to Giudecca to attend Mass.

Mulino Stucky, the former Flourmill, now Hotel Hilton seems to be in a rather remote location, on the far west end of the island, where there is not too much activity in comparison to Venice. Staying there would be a little like going to the Ball, but having to stand outside and watch through a window as the orchestra plays.

After getting off at San Zaccaria and walking along Riva degli Schiavoni, the high-rent strip of hotels facing the lagoon, to San Marco you can admire the most celebrated hotels in Venice. Double rooms cost upwards of €300 (low season) or €700 (high season), but the hotels have a loyal following among guests who can afford luxury. The Danieli is especially popular with wealthy Americans; I once was told by a friend, he saw a dapper guest in a Western suit, Stetson hat, and cowboy boots emerge from the Danieli.

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Favorite Thing: The lion of St. Mark, on the front of the Basilica. The book under the lion's paw reads "Pax Tibi Marce Evangelista Meus" which means, "Peace be to you, Mark my evangelist."
The words are from a Medieval legend.
"...on Mark's return to Rome, as he was passing the area around where Venice will later be founded, it was said that an angel appeared to him stating the words in your Latin inscription: Pax tibi Marce, evangelista meus. Hic requiescet corpus tuum (trans. "Peace be to you, Mark my evangelist. Here your body will rest"), essentially prophesying that he will one day rest there (i.e. In Venice).

Fondest Memory: St Mark was the first bishop of Alexandria. On the 26th of April 68 AD the pagans dragged him through the cobbled streets of Alexandria until he was dead.
In 828, his body was stolen from Alexandria by two Venetian merchants and taken to Venice, where it was sealed in a precious sarcophagus and placed inside the crypt. Its present location is under the table of the high altar.

His feast day is celebrated on 25 April, the anniversary of his martyrdom.

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