This highly popular promenade along the southern banks of Castello takes its name from the Dalmatian merchants (Dalmatia was formerly known as Schiavonia) who used to moor here.

The Riva degli Schiavoni has always offered the perfect berth for all types of vessel.
In the mid-1700s, works by Canaletto show it to be teeming with gondolas, sailing boats and barges. Gondolas still use it today, surrounded by motorboats, water-buses, excursion boats and tows. Sometimes even navy ships and large cruise-liners. Riva degli Schiavoni offers a splendid view across the waters to the island of San Giorgio Maggiore and is spectacularly framed by majestic palaces, many of which are now hotels. At the easternmost tip of the Riva degli Schiavoni is the Ca' di Dio, a hospice from the 13th Century for pilgrims headed for the Holy Lands; to the West is the elegant Ponte della Paglia (Bridge of Straw) connecting it to St. Mark’s Square.

1100 - 1200 - CASTELLO - rev. 0.1.6