Campo Santa Maria Formosa

Campo Santa Maria Formosa is one of the largest squares (campo) in Venice, located in the Castello district (sestiere). The name of the square comes from the Church of Santa Maria Formosa.

ARCHITECTURE

The square is delimited by three canals – Santa Maria Formosa, Pestrin and Mondo Novo. In the square, there are many buildings of historical and architectural importance.

In the northern part of the square, there is the Priuli Ruzzini Palace, built as the residence of the noble Ruzzini family in the late 16th century, on a project attributed to Bartolomeo Manopola. The palace, which was in a state of profound neglect at the beginning of the 21st century, was completely renovated and currently houses a hotel.

Next, to the northeast, there is Palazzo Morosini del Pestrin, built in the 17th century at the behest of the patrician family of Morosini del Pestrin. Between 2001 and 2009, the second floor of the palace housed the Honorary Consulate of France and the Cultural Delegation of the French Embassy in Venice.

To the east, we have the Donà Palaces (Palazzi Donà), three noble residences built between the 15th and 16th centuries for the Donà family. Currently, the buildings are in good condition and are used partly as public offices, partly as private homes.

Next, there is Casa Venier, built in the 15th century in Venetian-Gothic style. The palace was the residence of the Doge Sebastiano Venier, a glorious leader of Venice known for the victory of Lepanto of 1571.

Adjacent to Casa Venier, there is Palazzo Vitturi, an ancient structure built in the second half of the 13th century. Today, in a good state of conservation, the building houses a hotel and some shops.

In the southern part of the square, we can find the Malipiero Trevisan Palace, the residence of the Malipiero family until the end of the 15th century, when it passed, by marriage, to the Trevisan family.

Also in the southern part of the square, there is Palazzo Querini Stampalia, built at the beginning of the 16th century for the noble Querini Stampalia family. The last member of the family, Count Giovanni, ordered that all his possessions will be donated to the city of Venice after his death.

The most important building in the square is the Church of Santa Maria Formosa. According to tradition, the church was built in 639, renovated in 864 and, after it was damaged by a fire, restored again in 1106. The church was rebuilt in 1492 by Mauro Codussi, in Renaissance style. The two facades of the church were built in the 16th century.

HOW TO GET THERE

On foot, Campo Santa Maria Formosa is located about 2.1 kilometers away from the Santa Lucia railway station. The closest vaporetto stop is Rialto, about 550 meters away, on the waterbus Lines 1 and 2.