The City

In the labyrinth of narrow streets and small squares around the Hotel Carlton Capri you can meet students and professors from the prestigious University of Venice, Ca’Foscari who frequent and enliven the little shops, bookshops, coffee bars and osterie, typical Venetian wine bars, in the area of Corte de le Case Nove, where there is our Hotel Carlton Capri, the Tolentini, seat of the Architecture university IUAV, and Campo Santa Margherita, the ample meeting place near to Ca’Foscari. The Bohemian atmosphere and the cultural ferment in the evenings, the picturesque city vitality during the day make this district so original and pleasant as to compare it to the ‘Latin Quarter’ of Paris.

There are some pearls of Venetian history and art right near the Hotel Carlton Capri at less than ten minutes away on foot: the Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, the great Franciscan church, second only to St. Mark’s in historic and artistic importance in Venice. You can find some of the masterpieces of Venetian painting and sculpture in this Gothic frame, such as the Altarpiece of the Assumption by Titian (1516) and the Triptych of the Virgin and Saints by Giovanni Bellini (1488); the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, a splendid series of rooms housing the most important cycle of paintings by Titian (1564 – 67). Only five minutes away is another Scuola Grande, that of San Giovanni Evangelista, with fine architecture and the grandiose Staircase of the ‘400s, with paintings by Titian, Palma il Giovane, Tiepolo and other masters of the XVII and XVIII centuries, today the seat of important international congresses and prestigious concerts of classical music.

A few steps further on, and in 15 minutes from the Hotel Carlton Capri you reach Rialto which has always been the commercial heart of Venice. It’s worth the pleasant walk to visit the antique, picturesque fish market, to pause and admire the colourful fruit, flower and vegetable stalls and to see the original Rialto Bridge bordered by lines of shops.

For those who prefer to travel by vaporetti, the traditional public water bus, the Hotel Carlton Capri is near the Piazzale Roma stop (400 metres) or that of the Railway Station Santa Lucia (500 metres) where the ACTV lines 1 and 2 pass and go along the Grand Canal, touching all the most celebrated places in Venice: Rialto, St. Mark’s Square, the Accademia Gallery, the Guggenheim collection, etc. and the motorboats for Murano, the famous glass island, Burano, the fishmen’s island with brightly coloured houses and famous for lace-making, and the historic, fascinating Torcello island.