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Santa Lucia Railway Station |
The area of Santa Lucia host the Venice Railway Station
of Santa Lucia: the railway station is modern and well-equipped,
and it is the only rail access to the city. It should not be confused
with Venice Mestre, a station on the mainland. On exit, immediately
by the Grand Canal, many ‘vaporetti’ and water-taxis,
below the steps of the station with boats, going to San Marco and
all stops en route..
Next to the Santa Lucia railway station lies the Church of Santa
Maria di Nazareth, well-known as the Scalzi. The ‘Scalzi’
were the friars barefooted who came to Venice around 1670s and commissioned
the construction of their church on the Gran Canal. The
Santa Maria di Nazareth |
design is by Baldassarre Longhena and in its interior is a fresco
by Tiepolo featuring ‘The Translation of the Holy House to
Loreto’ (1743-45) that was almost entirely destroyed by the
bombardment of 1915.
Another important church of the area is the Church of San
Giobbe. This great church has 15th century origin, but
the main constructive line was brought later in the half of 15th
century on a project by Antonio Gambello first and Pietro Lombardo
later. The elegant portal by Lombardo, is one of the testimonies
of the formidable decorative ability of the Venetian Renaissance.
San Giobbe Church fresco |
Inside has one huge, while the ceiling, once supported with wood
trusses, appears now groin vault.
Many masterpieces from 16th century once kept here are now at Accademia
Gallery: La presentazione di Gesù al tempio (1510) by Carpaccio
and Cristo nell'orto (1510 c.) by Marco Basaiti.
Not very far, there is the Palazzo Labia; built
from Istria stone in 1646, this palace is characterised by three
facades decorated with eagles, from one of these is possible to
see the Canal Grande. Tiepolo painted a fresco on the walls and
on the ceiling of the ‘Salone’ to mark the occasion
of a marriage of a member of the Labia family. This is now the headquarters
of the Veneto region's Italian National Television (RAI) and can
only be visited by appointment.
Palazzo Labia |
In S. Lucia area there is also Venice's Ghetto,
which is the world's first ghetto; the area where the Jews lived
was once a foundry and the Venetian word for foundry is geto. There
is one large square - campiello - in the ghetto and during the second
world war it was used as an improvised concentration camp where
the Jews were imprisoned before being sent off to the Nazi lagers
by train.
However, the quarter has not lost its ethnic character. There are
kosher food shops, a Jewish baker, a Jewish library, and two Synagogues
where ceremonies still take place. The small museum in the Ghetto
Nuovo, houses a collection of artefacts from the 17th to the 19th
century.
Venice's ghetto |
During the Middle Ages, the lands of this area were drained and
were built three canals running parallel to each other, of which
Rio della Sensa is the central one. The Fondamenta della Sensa cuts
a quiet quarter of this area, in which life is undisturbed by the
tourists. In this part there are many old palaces once belonged
to rich Venetians.
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