DETOURISM: THE PALACE OF THE CAMEL, IN THE CANNAREGIO DISCTRICT
Segnalazioni | Autore: Lo staff della Su e Zo

“Detourism”, the official Town of Venice Tourist communication Service Newsletter, today presents one of the ten “Itineraries of Venetian craftsmanship and creativity” promoted by the City of Venice as part of the pilot action of the European Project S.LI.DES “Smart strategies for sustainable tourism in LIvely cultural DEStinations”. It is the project that also inspired the Culture Route of the Su e Zo for the Bridges 2023! Enjoy your reading!

The Palace of the Camel, in the Cannaregio disctrict.

IT WAS HOME OF THE MOORS, THREE GREEK BROTHERS; RIOBA, SANDI AND ALFANI. THE LEGEND TELLS THEY WERE TURNED INTO STONES DUE TO THEIR DISHONESTY.

You could spend a lifetime exploring Venice, and you’d never stop being surprised.

What you’ll love the most about Cannaregio is the quietness of its secluded spots, homes to local people and enchanting refuges for visitors.

If you find yourselves strolling along Fondamenta Gasparo Contarini, two steps away from Tintoretto’s masterpieces inside the church of the Madonna dell’Orto, you can’t help but notice, on the opposite side of the rio, a magnificent palace, one-of-a-kind. We are talking about the Palazzo Mastelli, also known as “Palazzo del Cammello”, the Palace of the Camel. In fact, you can recognize a camel and its cameleer carved on its facade!

According to tradition, the palace was owned by three wealthy brothers, coming from Morea (the Greek Peloponnese), whose names were Rioba, Sandi and Alfani. The three Moors, who were textile and spice merchants, were, together with one of their servants, depicted in the statues overlooking the nearby Campo dei Mori. It seems that they had an abundance of gold in “mastelli” – basins -, hence the name of the family.

A little further on, rises above the majestic Palazzo Contarini dal Zaffo, known for its beautiful garden, which was built by the cardinal Gasparo Contarini in the 16th Century. At the end of the Fondamenta, you can find the darsena della Misericordia, a large dock, one of the locations in Venice where the Italian movie Pane e Tulipani was filmed. A breathtaking view awaits us, from the bridge crossing Rio della Madonna dell’Orto, on the island of San Michele, Venice monumental cemetery, and Murano.

The Palazzo Mastelli is a stop in the Crossroads of the world: jews, moors and christians itinerary, one of the ten Venetian craftsmanship and creativity routes promoted by the City of Venice.

Discover the “Crossroads of the world: jews, moors and christians” route

[source: La newsletter di Venezia del 30.09.2022]
[picture: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons]


We are proud to publish some selected contents of such newsletter (see previous post: “Detourism for the Up and Down the Bridges“). On our website, in several episodes, we will only present some samples (see all posts in our archive page “Detourism Newsletter“), but the invitation addressed to all the friends of the Up and Down the Bridges is to subscribe to the newsletter directly.
To receive the newsletter “Detourism” directly in your email box every month fill in the online form proposed by the Town of Venice.

Discover all the itineraries of #Detourism to explore a different Venice, promoted as part of the #EnjoyRespectVenezia awareness campaign of the Town of Venice.
Adopt conscious and respectful behaviors of the cultural and natural heritage of Venice and its lagoon, a site protected by UNESCO.

Tourist communication Service of the Town of Venice:
www.comune.venezia.it/it/EnjoyRespectVenezia
www.veneziaunica.it/it/content/detourism-venezia
turismosostenibile@comune.venezia.it
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