Castello

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District map of Venice with Castello (blue, with the island of San Michele in the north )

Castello is the largest of the six districts ( sestiere ) of the Italian lagoon city of Venice . It is located in the northeastern part of the city and almost reaches St. Mark's Square . The cemetery island of San Michele just under 420 meters to the north and the islands of San Pietro di Castello and Sant'Elena directly (40 and 12 meters) to the east, which are also connected by bridges, also belong to the district. The name Castello is derived from the ancient, fortified residence of the Bishop of Olivolo , which was located on the island of the same name. Today on the island, which is now called San Pietro di Castello, only the Fondamenta di Castel Olivolo reminds of the old seat of the Venetian bishops.

Entrance to the arsenal

The district is characterized by the 32 hectare arsenal (shipyard and weapons store) and the former residential complexes for the arsenal workers.

The sestiere covers an area of ​​186 hectares and in 2006 had about 18,000 inhabitants, who were in the parishes of San Zaccaria (with the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore), Santa Maria Formosa (with the churches of San Lio and La Fava), San Zanipolo ( with San Lazzaro dei mendicanti in the Ospedale civile), Santa Elena (on the island of the same name), San Piero Apostolo , San Giuseppe di Castello , San Francesco di Paola , San Martino Vescovo (with Ca 'di Dio and San Biagio , Ordinariato militare), San Francesco della Vigna (with Suore Francescane di Cristo Re and San Giovanni Battista di Malta), San Giovanni in Bragora (with Pietà and Casa di riposo San Lorenzo).

Castello has been the seat of the Roman Catholic Patriarch of Venice since 1091 . The episcopal church was San Pietro di Castello . Only after the end of the republic did the Basilica of San Marco , the former palace chapel of the Doges , become the seat of the Bishop of Venice. The old patriarchal palace in Castello became a barracks ; today, like other palaces in Venice, it is in need of care. The sestiere had twelve contraden (parishes) in 1171. In 1586 the number had risen to 13.

The parks to the east of Castello were laid out in 1810 during French rule over Venice, after several churches and secular buildings had been demolished. In the park there are pavilions from different nations, in which exhibitions will be held during the Biennale . The pavilions were designed by architects such as Scarpa , Stirling and Aalto . They therefore form a small museum of contemporary architecture themselves.

The most important sights of Castello include the arsenal, the churches of San Piero , San Francesco della Vigna , San Giovanni in Bragora , San Zaccaria , formerly one of the richest and most important nunneries in the city, as well as the favorite burial place of the Doges , the Dominican church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo with the neighboring Scuola Grande di San Marco and the equestrian monument of the condottiere Bartolomeo Colleoni . Another Scuola in Castello, famous for its pictures, is the Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni with the frescoes by Vittore Carpaccio .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. Guida d'Italia, Venezia, page 512
  2. Parishes of the Vicariate San Marco-Castello ( MS Word ; 53 kB)

Coordinates: 45 ° 26 '  N , 12 ° 21'  E