In the historic, artistic, and commercial heart of Venice, Hotel Rialto is in a unique and enviable position overlooking the Grand Canal, just across from Rialto Bridge, one of the most beautiful and suggestive spots of the city.
It is only a 5-minute walk from the hotel to wonderful Saint Mark's Square with a stroll along the Mercerie, the shopping streets where charming artisan shops (Murano glass, Burano embroidery, etc.) alternate with trendy stores of renowned international houses such as Gucci, Prada, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, etc. After crossing the Bridge and in just a few minutes you will be at the picturesque Rialto fruit market and the historic fish market.
At only 20 meters from the hotel you will find the stop for the vaporettos that go every 10 minutes to Gallerie dell’Accademia and to Peggy Guggenheim Collection (the art galleries hold old and contemporary masterpieces) and to all the main museums and landmarks of Venice.
IN THE SURROUNDING AREA
RIALTO
Hotel Rialto takes its name from Rialto (high river), the area of Venice slightly more elevated compared to the other ones which has always been the commercial heart of Venice.
The present bridge was built in the XVI cent on 12,000 stakes (wooden piles) on the top of the bridge there are two rows of shops: 24 shops.
At the foot of bridge, on the left there is a building of XVI cent 'Palazzo dei Savi' ( wise men concerned with the tithes).
On the right side at the foot of the bridge there is another beautiful building (XVI cent) renaissance style: 'Palazzo dei Camerlenghi' exchequers, magistrates of treasure.
THE GRAND CANAL
The main artery of Venice, is what most visitors experience first, the bustling and splendid canal, the longest, broadest and deepest canal in the city. It runs at 4kms long and 30-70 meters in breadth and a maximum of 5 metres in depth.
The Grand Canal has always been Venice's status address, and along its looping banks the aristocrats, or Nobili Homini, as they called themselves, built a hundred marble palaces with their front doors looking onto the water, frsamed by the peppermint stick posts for the 12th century, with their Byzantine influences, but most have the Venetian, Gothic or Lombardesque, or combination of these styles.
The trip along the Grand Canal is one of the most stirring moments Venice offers, at any hour of the day, and a chance for you to share the experiences of writers of the past.
Starting from Piazzale Roma to Piazza San Marco:
THE RIALTO BRIDGE
Rialto was originally the name given to all the island on which the city was built. It established itself from the centre of trade for the inhabitants of the lagoon. Originally this part of the canal was spanned by a bridge of boats, then by the 13th century a wooden bridge, and when that was on the point of collapsing, the Republic held a competition for the designing of a new stone structure. Antonio da Ponte, proposed a single arch spanning 48m. Built in 1592 it has since defied the predictions of the day and still stands, even with the extra weight of the two rows of shops.
FONDACO DEI TEDESCHI
The German Warehouse, to the left of the Rialto, the building is now the Post Office, but was once the busy trading centre of Venice. In 1505 the building was remodeled and decorated with frescoes by Giorgione and Titian, fragments of which can be found in Ca' d'Oro.
