Piazza San Marco

Canaletto made his name painting views of Venice for visitors who wanted to take the city home with them. This is an early one, and it has more drama than his later postcards. We look down the great square toward the domes of the Basilica of San Marco, with the bell tower rising on the right. The long colonnaded buildings on either side lead the eye straight to the church. Awnings are out, shadows fall in long dark bands across the paving, and small figures cross the square in conversation or business. Some of the stonework looks freshly cleaned and some looks weathered. It is the city on an ordinary afternoon, made to last.

Look closely

1. Follow the long buildings on each side toward the basilica.
2. Find a pair of people talking. What might they be saying?
3. Look at where the shadows fall. What time of day is it?

While you sit

You have arrived in a great square. Take a seat in the shade and watch people cross it.

Your seat in the galleries: a long block of pale Istrian-style marble with brass caps at the ends.