From the Accademia to Santa Marta
Whether or not they have visited, many people have a clear mental image of Venice, La Serenissima. Has any city been captured in drawings, paintings, etchings or photographs as frequently or as sublimely as Venice?
The areas most often recorded by artists, photographers and visitors are the famous architectural glories of San Marco — the Molo, the Piazza, the Palazzo Dogali, and the views of the Grand Canal, particularly from the Ponte dell’Accademia to the Bacino di San Marco, taking in the Salute, and looking to and from the Rialto Bridge.
Canaletto depicted all these views (except there was no permanent Ponte dell’Accademia in his day — see the Stonemason’s Yard for the contemporary view of the 1720s), but he didn’t restrict himself to the ‘A’ list.
We visited Venice in 2019 to scout out the location of one of Canaletto’s less well-known views, the night scene of La vigilia di Santa Marta. The deconsecrated church still stands at the far west of the city, in the sestiere of Dorsoduro.
Setting out from the Accademia, the crowds dwindle rapidly, especially once past the Chiesa di San Sebastiano, the church of Veronese, the westernmost of the CHORUS pass churches, other than San Giobbe to the north. It was an overcast day, mid-morning. The cloudy skies make for much better photography than you might imagine in the narrow alleys and lanes of this part of Venice, bouncing light into dark corners and preventing unmanageable contrasts.
The less familiar names of San Nicolò and Santa Teresa appear on the painted street signs as the alleys and fondamente grow quiet.
Signage bearing the names of the saints gives way to more secular street decoration, although heritage and geographic loyalties are still respected.
As the alleys broaden once more a quiet residential character takes over. With ancient canals now paved over, no tourists are tempted to visit. The flag of the Venetian Republic is replaced by laundry gently moving in the damp March air.
You might imagine these photographs reflect this year’s deserted pandemic Venice, but no: this is early spring in 2019.
At last, the remains of the 14th century church come into view. Deconsecrated in 1811 and stripped of its bell tower, it was used as a goods depot in the last century. It is now converted for use as a temporary exhibition and conference space.
The church lies in the shadow of the ‘grandi navi’, which, in normal times, disembark thousands of passengers in Venice Port during the summer months. But the local street artists have the last word before the waterfront is reached.
