Venice: Places to Explore
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San Polo and Santa Croce
The two smallest of Venice's six sestieri (districts), San Polo and Santa Croce, were named after their main churches, though the Chiesa di Santa Croce was demolished in 1810. The city's most famous bridge, the Ponte di Rialto, unites sestiere San Marco (east) with San Polo (west). The Rialto takes its name from Rivoaltus, the high ground on which it was built.
San Polo has two other major sites, Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari and the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, as well as some worthwhile but lesser-known churches.
Shops abound in the area surrounding the Rialto Bridge. On the San Marco side you'll find fashions, on the San Polo side, food. Chiesa di San Giacometto, where you see the first fruit vendors as you come off the bridge on the San Polo side, was probably built in the 11th and 12th centuries, about the time the surrounding market came into being. Public announcements were traditionally read in the church's campo; its 24-hour clock, though lovely, has rarely worked.
San Polo and Santa Croce at a Glance
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