Ostaria dai Zemei
Ostaria dai Zemei is a traditional Venetian bacaro — a small wine bar and snack counter — located in the Rialto market district of Venice. Occupying a characteristically narrow ground-floor space steps from the Rialto Bridge, it exemplifies the bacaro tradition that has anchored neighbourhood social life in Venice for centuries, offering cicchetti (Venetian tapas) and a rotating selection of wines by the glass.
At a glance
- Type
- Traditional Venetian bacaro (wine bar and cicchetti counter)
- Period
- Long-established; Rialto district has hosted bacari since the medieval period
- Style
- Vernacular Venetian commercial ground floor; campo-level stone floor, wooden counter
- Location
- Rialto district, San Polo sestiere, Venice
- Coordinates
- 45.4379° N, 12.3329° E
Overview
Ostaria dai Zemei takes its name from the Venetian dialect word for twins, reflecting a family tradition of twin proprietors or a long-standing local nickname. The bacaro operates in the dense network of calli and campielli that radiate from the Rialto market, where fishmongers, vegetable sellers, and merchants have traded since the 11th century. It serves the quintessential Venetian morning and evening ritual: a small glass of wine (ombra) accompanied by crostini, polpette, baccalà mantecato, and seasonal cicchetti.
History
The bacaro as an institution is inseparable from Venetian social history. Originating as informal wine stops supplied directly from casks brought off the lagoon trading boats, bacari multiplied around the Rialto market from the medieval period onward, serving gondoliers, porters, merchants, and later the working population of the sestieri. The Rialto district — San Polo and Santa Croce — retains the highest concentration of historic bacari in Venice, many occupying buildings whose ground floors have served food and wine for five centuries. Ostaria dai Zemei continues this tradition in an area where the physical fabric of medieval Venice remains largely intact.
What you see
The interior is compact and unadorned in the manner of traditional bacari: a stone floor worn smooth by generations of customers, a wooden counter displaying the day’s cicchetti, bottles stacked against the walls, and a handful of standing spaces. Outside, the narrow calle provides additional room during peak hours. The surrounding streetscape — Gothic palazzo facades, sotoporteghi, and the proximity of the Rialto fish market — gives the setting an authenticity that distinguishes it from the tourist-oriented establishments along the Grand Canal.
Cultural significance
The bacaro is one of Venice’s most distinctive contributions to European food culture, and establishments like Ostaria dai Zemei sustain a living practice that UNESCO and Italian heritage bodies have recognised as part of the city’s intangible cultural heritage. For visitors seeking to experience Venice beyond its monuments, the bacaro circuit around the Rialto offers unmediated contact with a social ritual unchanged in its essentials for centuries.
Practical information
- Address
- Rialto district, San Polo sestiere, Venice — check current listings for precise address
- Hours
- Typically morning to early evening; closed certain days — verify locally
- Admission
- No admission charge; pay per ombra and cicchetti consumed
Getting there
Take vaporetto line 1 or 2 to the Rialto stop on the Grand Canal; the bacaro is a short walk through the market district. From Piazzale Roma or Ferrovia, walk south along the Strada Nova and cross at the Rialto Bridge. Water taxis stop at the Rialto traghetto landing.