Historical Area
Sestiere "San Marco"
The sestiere of San Marco, heart of the city, lies around San Marco Square, which was once called "Morso" maybe because its ground was harder than anywhere else, and "Brolo" maybe because its land was grassy and full of trees.
It was the center of...
Sestiere "Dorsoduro"
This sestiere gets its name from the peculiar shape of its very hard land, which emerged from the lagoon like a back (dorso).
Another name was Scopulo (rock) from its shape. According to other sources the name comes from the Paduan family...
Sestiere "San Polo"
San Polo is located on the right bank of the Grand Canal on the promontory at the Canal's bend, in the heart of the city. The sestiere developed from a series of islets along the edge of the Grand Canal. It was a swampy marshland, drained only from...
Sestiere "Santa Croce"
Between the 8th and 9th century this sestiere was composed of a group of small islands emerging from the northern lagoon in a 'fan' shape near the Grand Canal.
San Giovanni Decollato, San Giacomo dell'Orio, San Boldo and Santa Croce were the only...
Sestiere "Cannaregio"
The old name of this sestiere was Cannarecium. It is located north of the Grand Canal. According to some historians, the name Canaleclo was given in the 9th and 10th centuries for the numerous fresh water (possibly created by the river Brenta) reed...
Sestiere "Castello"
Castello is one of the largest islands upon which Venice was built. Initially its name was 'Olivolo', maybe because it was shaped like an olive.
According to other sources the name came from the large number of olive trees which grew on this...
Giudecca Island
It's the widest and closest island to Venice, separated from it by the large and deep Canale della Giudecca, which was once called Canale Vigano.
Its old name was "Spina Longa" (long spine) maybe because of its fishbone shape.
The name Giudecca,...
