Virtual Tour
Santo Stefano and Dorsoduro: the Campi and the Gondola Yard — Filmed by Andrea Manzo
Nine stops from Campo Santo Stefano across the Accademia bridge into Dorsoduro: a church with a ship’s-keel roof and a bell tower out of true, the monument Venice nicknamed the cagalibri, the yard where gondolas are still built, a church with two front doors, the eighteenth-century palace of Ca’ Rezzonico, the bridge where Venice used to fight, the building that stands alone in Campo Santa Margherita, the university on the Grand Canal, and the church of San Pantalon.
About this virtual tour
Nine stops from Campo Santo Stefano across the Grand Canal into Dorsoduro, each opened by a short video that Andrea Manzo filmed and narrated in English on the spot. The walk starts at Santo Stefano, finished in 1325, with its wooden ship’s-keel roof and a bell tower that leans about two metres, and ends at the church of San Pantalon.
Along the way: Francesco Barzaghi’s monument to Niccolò Tommaseo, which Venetians nicknamed the cagalibri; the squero di San Trovaso, one of the last yards where gondolas are still built and repaired; the church of San Trovaso; Ca’ Rezzonico and its museum of eighteenth-century Venice; the Ponte dei Pugni; the Scuola dei Varoteri, the furriers’ hall of 1725 that stands alone in Campo Santa Margherita; and Ca’ Foscari, home of the university.
The route is 2.4 km on foot, about 30 minutes of walking; with time at each stop, plan on about two hours. You can also follow it from home: every video plays on this page, stop by stop.
What you get
- 9 short videos by Andrea Manzo, filmed at each stop and narrated in English: about nine minutes in all, one to two minutes per stop.
- The walking route on the map, stop by stop.
- GPX and KML files to follow the route on your phone or in a navigation app.
- The story of every stop, on its own page.
Before you buy
How much does it cost?
€14, paid once, VAT included. There is no subscription.
Do I have to be in Venice?
No. The videos play on this page, so you can watch the tour at home before a trip, or after one. On the spot, the map and the GPX file take you from one stop to the next.
How do I watch the videos after buying?
The confirmation email brings a private link to this page that opens the videos and the downloads. If you buy with the email of your Cultural Heritage Online account, the videos also open when you are signed in.
Who made the videos?
Andrea Manzo filmed and narrated them on site. Cultural Heritage Online wrote the pages of the stops and checked their facts.
Are there other tours?
Andrea Manzo filmed four walks in Venice. The other three are The North of Venice: Cannaregio, Castello and St Mark’s, Rialto and San Polo.
Get this route — explore at your own pace
- What it is. A self-guided cultural itinerary you can walk whenever you like — all 9 stops, at your own pace.
- What you get. The full route with maps and downloadable GPX/KML tracks, plus the story of each site.
- What you need. Just your phone — the route and tracks are emailed to you right after purchase.
🔒 Secure payment. The fee goes directly to the guide — CHO keeps only a 1% transaction-handling cost. Refund policy
Step by step
Santo Stefano, Venice: a ship’s-keel roof, Morosini under the floor, and a bell tower two metres out of true
The Augustinian church of Santo Stefano, finished in 1325, keeps a wooden ship’s-keel roof, four Tintorettos and the floor tomb of Doge Francesco Morosini. Its bell tower leans about two metres, a lean that showed from the moment it was built.
🔒 Video included with the ticket
The monument to Niccolò Tommaseo: a scholar, a pile of books, and a nickname Venice never dropped
Francesco Barzaghi's marble of Niccolò Tommaseo was unveiled in Campo Santo Stefano in 1882. The books propping it up, half hidden by the coat, earned it the Venetian nickname cagalibri.
🔒 Video included with the ticket
The squero di San Trovaso – Virtual Tour 360°
The Squero di San Trovaso is one of the last surviving traditional gondola-building and repair yards — squeri — in Venice, located in the Dorsoduro sestiere…
🔒 Video included with the ticket
San Trovaso Church – Virtual Tour 360°
San Trovaso — a Venetian contraction of Saints Gervasius and Protasius — is a Roman Catholic church in the Dorsoduro sestiere of Venice, dating in its…
🔒 Video included with the ticket
Ca’ Rezzonico, 18th-century Venetian Museum
Ca' Rezzonico is a monumental Baroque palace on the Grand Canal in Venice's Dorsoduro sestiere, today housing the Museo del Settecento Veneziano — the Museum…
🔒 Video included with the ticketBridge of the Fists – Virtual Tour 360°
The Bridge of the Fists — Ponte dei Pugni in Italian — is one of Venice's most storied historic bridges, located near Campo San Barnaba in the Dorsoduro…
🔒 Video included with the ticket
The Scuola dei Varoteri: the building that stands alone in Campo Santa Margherita
The isolated building in the middle of Campo Santa Margherita was built in 1725 as the guild hall of the Venetian furriers and tanners, the Varoteri. Its separation fed a long-lived story about the city executioner.
🔒 Video included with the ticket
Università Ca’ Foscari – Virtual Tour 360°
Italy's oldest business school, founded 1868, occupies Gothic palazzo Ca' Foscari on Venice's Grand Canal.
🔒 Video included with the ticketChurch of St. Panthaleon
The Chiesa di San Pantaleone Martire — known locally as San Pantalon — is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Dorsoduro district of Venice, celebrated…
🔒 Video included with the ticketDownload for tour navigation
🔒 Included with your ticket. After purchase, your private GPX & KML download links are sent to you by email.