Castello is the largest of the six sestieri of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, Italy.

History

There had been, since at least the 8th-century, small settlements of the islands of San Pietro di Castello (for which the sestiere is named). This island was also called

Isola d'Olivolo Isola may refer to : Places and jurisdictions France * Isola, Alpes-Maritimes, a municipality in the region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur * Isola 2000, a village and ski resort of the municipality of Isola, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur * Iso ...

. From the thirteenth century onward, the district grew around a

naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

dockyard on what was originally the Isole Gemini. The land in the district was dominated by the '' Arsenale'' of the Republic of Venice, then the largest naval complex in Europe. A Greek mercantile community numbering around 5,000 in the Renaissance and late Middle Ages was based in this district, with the

Flanginian School The Flanginian School ( el, Φλαγγίνειος Σχολή, it, Collegio Flanginiano) was a Greek educational institution that operated in Venice, Italy, from 1664-1665 to 1905. The Flanginian produced several teachers that contributed to the ...

and the Greek Orthodox Church of San Giorgio dei Greci being located here, of which the former comprises the

Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies in Venice The Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies in Venice ( it, Istituto Ellenico di Studi Bizantini e Postbizantini di Venezia, el, Ελληνικό Ινστιτούτο Βυζαντινών και Μεταβυζαντινών Σπ ...

Greece: Books and Writers (PDF). Ministry of Culture — National Book Centre of Greece. 2001. p. 54. . and the latter is now the seat of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy. Other significant structures were by the monasteries in the north of the quarter.

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

closed the Arsenal and planned what are now the Bienniale Gardens. More recently the island of

Sant'Elena Sant'Elena may refer to: * Sant'Elena (island), an island of Venice, Italy * Sant'Elena, Rome, a church in Rome, Italy * Sant'Elena, Venice, a Gothic-style, Roman Catholic church in Venice, Italy. * Sant'Elena, Veneto, a comune in the Province ...

has been created, and more land drained at other extremities of Castello.

Landmarks

Prominent sites and buildings in Castello include: *

Church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo The Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, known in Venetian as San Zanipolo, is a church in the Castello ''sestiere'' of Venice, Italy. One of the largest churches in the city, it has the status of a minor basilica. After the 15th century the fu ...

(San Zanipoli) *Church of San Giorgio dei Greci *

Campo Santa Maria Formosa Campo Santa Maria Formosa is a city square in the Castello district of Venice, Italy. Buildings around the square * Chiesa di Santa Maria Formosa * Palazzo Priuli Ruzzini Loredan * Palazzo Morosini del Pestrin * Palazzi Donà * Casa Venier *Palaz ...

and Church of Santa Maria Formosa *Church and

Ospedale della Pietà The Ospedale della Pietà was a convent, orphanage, and music school in Venice. Like other Venetian ''ospedali'', the Pietà was first established as a hospice for the needy. A group of Venetian nuns, called the Consorelle di Santa Maria dell’Um ...

Church of San Zaccaria The Church of San Zaccaria is a 15th-century former monastic church in central Venice, Italy. It is a large edifice, located in the Campo San Zaccaria, just off the waterfront to the southeast of Piazza San Marco and St Mark's Basilica. It is ded ...

*Church of San Giovanni di Malta *Scuola of

San Giorgio degli Schiavoni The Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni in Venice, northern Italy, was one of the city's confraternities, a scuola piccola located in the sestiere (neighborhood) of Castello, Venice. Its building has been preserved. History Since the early Mi ...

Scuola di San Marco The Scuola Grande di San Marco is a building in Venice, Italy, designed by the well-known Venetian architects Pietro Lombardo, Mauro Codussi, and Bartolomeo Bon. It was originally the home to one of the Scuole Grandi of Venice, or six major conf ...

* Venetian Arsenal * Church of Sant'Elena * Palazzo Malipiero-Trevisan *

Palazzo Vitturi Palazzo Vitturi is a palace in Venice, Italy located in the Castello district, on the north-eastern side of Campo Santa Maria Formosa, of which the palazzo is the oldest building. The palace is mentioned in the works of Sansovino. History Pala ...

* Palazzo Zorzi Bon

References

{{Reflist Sestieri of Venice

History

Landmarks

See also

References