Castello is the largest of the six

sestieri A (plural: ) is a subdivision of certain Italian towns and cities. The word is from (‘sixth’), so it is thus used only for towns divided into six districts. The best-known example is the ''sestieri'' of Venice, but Ascoli Piceno, Genoa, Mi ...

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 San Pietro di Castello ( vec, San Piero de Casteło), formerly Olivolo ( it, Olivòlo; vec, Ołivoło), is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy, forming part of the Castello sestiere. It is linked to the main islands of Venice by ...

(for which the sestiere is named). This island was also called Isola d'Olivolo. 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 A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

on what was originally the Isole Gemini. The land in the district was dominated by the ''

Arsenale The Venetian Arsenal ( it, Arsenale di Venezia) is a complex of former shipyards and armories clustered together in the city of Venice in northern Italy. Owned by the state, the Arsenal was responsible for the bulk of the Venetian republic's ...

'' of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

, 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 San Giorgio dei Greci ( el, Ἅγιος Γεώργιος τῶν Ἑλλήνων, ´Agios Geórgios ton Ellínon, Saint George of the Greeks) is a church in the ''sestiere'' (neighborhood) of Castello, Venice, northern Italy. It was the center of ...

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 The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy (and Malta from until the creation of the Exarchate of Malta in 2021), officially the Sacred Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Exarchate of Southern Europe ( it, Sacra Arcidiocesi Ortodossa d'Italia ed Esarc ...

. Other significant structures were by the

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

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 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

* Campo Santa Maria Formosa and Church of

Santa Maria Formosa Santa Maria Formosa, formally The Church of the Purification of Mary, is a church in Venice, northern Italy. It was erected in 1492 under the design by Renaissance architect Mauro Codussi. It lies on the site of a previous church dating from the ...

*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 *Church of San Giovanni di Malta *Scuola of San Giorgio degli Schiavoni * Scuola di San Marco *

Venetian Arsenal The Venetian Arsenal ( it, Arsenale di Venezia) is a complex of former shipyards and armories clustered together in the city of Venice in northern Italy. Owned by the state, the Arsenal was responsible for the bulk of the Venetian republic's ...

* Church of Sant'Elena *

Palazzo Malipiero-Trevisan Palazzo Malipiero-Trevisan is a Renaissance palace in Venice, Italy located in the Castello district, on the south-eastern side of campo Santa Maria Formosa and separated from it by the Santa Maria Formosa river (entry is through a private bridg ...

* Palazzo Vitturi *

Palazzo Zorzi Bon Palazzo Zorzi Bon is a historic palace in Venice located in the Castello district. The building inspired the book ''The Zorzi Affair'' by the American writer Sylva Prince. Architecture The palace has four levels. Squeezed between Palazzo Zorzi G ...

References

{{Reflist Sestieri of Venice

History

Landmarks

See also

References