Campo San Polo

After the narrow lanes, a huge space suddenly opens up: Campo San Polo, one of the largest in Venice. Notice the curved side, the one with the palaces: it follows the line of an old canal that was filled in, which is why the buildings form an arc.

1Bulls and festivals

For centuries this campo hosted the district's great celebrations. At Carnival it staged the cacce ai tori, in which bulls and oxen held on ropes were let loose and baited with dogs in front of the crowd. There were also markets, parades and dances. Today, in summer, an open-air cinema is set up here.

2A Renaissance murder

On 26 February 1548 Lorenzino de' Medici was stabbed to death here, beside the church. Eleven years earlier, in Florence, he had murdered his cousin Alessandro, the first Duke of Florence, and fled. The killers were hired by the family, and Venice, despite having sheltered him, could not prevent it. Alfred de Musset turned him into a Romantic hero in "Lorenzaccio".

Find the bell tower of San Polo: at its foot stand two medieval stone lions. One grips a serpent; the other, a human head between its paws.

3What to look for

• The curved side of the campo, the trace of a vanished canal.
• The lions at the base of the bell tower.
• The patrician palaces, such as Palazzo Soranzo.