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Venice · Mysteries & legends

Curses, executioners and rooftop escapes

Venice is a city of meticulous archives and, at the same time, of rumours passed from mouth to mouth. This route, made for the late afternoon, runs from St Mark's to the Rialto through the city's darkest and most curious stories, and at every stop tells you what is in the records and what is legend.

  • 6 stops
  • 2.2 km
  • 1 h 50 min
  • Free
Start with GPS Read about this stop 1
The marble facade of Ca' Dario, inlaid with coloured discs, on the Grand Canal

The route

Stop by stop

  1. 1 Ca' DarioThe loveliest palace on the Grand Canal has a reputation for being cursed, but the archives tell another story.
  2. 2 Columns of St Mark and St TheodoreVenice's gateway from the sea was also, for centuries, the place of public executions.
  3. 3 The Leads and Casanova's escapeFrom this bridge you can see the prison Giacomo Casanova escaped from across the rooftops in 1756.
  4. 4 Santa Maria FormosaA church born, so tradition says, of a vision, and a stone face that horrified John Ruskin.
  5. 5 Corte del MilionThe Polo family's houses stood here, and here was born the legend of the traveller nobody recognised on his return.
  6. 6 The Gobbo di RialtoLaws were proclaimed from this stone, and here ended the run of those sentenced to a flogging.

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Start with GPS

Guide mode

Walk it with GPS.

Open guide mode on your phone: you’ll see your position and the distance to each stop, and we’ll let you know when you arrive. Then read or listen.

Start with GPS

  1. Turn on your location

  2. Walk to the spot

  3. Check the photo and listen

What you’ll discover

Curses, executioners and rooftop escapes

A palace with a bad name

Ca' Dario and the supposed curse built up by the press in the 20th century, set against what the archives say.

The Republic's justice

The execution columns, the cells under the lead roof and the statue that convicts had to kiss.

Casanova and Marco Polo

Two Venetians who became legends, and what we really know about each of them.

Keep exploring

More routes in Venice

Back to Venice
HistoryMerchants, doges and the world's first ghetto MixedFrom St Mark's to the Frari: the Venice you can't miss

Itineraries

How many days do you have in Venice?

We’ve planned it day by day for you: which routes to walk and in what order, what else to see and where to eat.

1

Venice in 1 day

All three routes in one full day: the highlights, the history and the legends at dusk.

See the itinerary 2

Venice in 2 days

A gentler pace: the three routes over two days, plus extra sights and where to eat.

See the itinerary 3

Venice in 3 days

The city in depth: one route a day, extra museums and neighbourhoods, and a day for good food.

See the itinerary