Venice of the Merchants
from Marco Polo's house to the Rialto Market
Your tourist guide will take you from the legendary courtyard where Marco Polo - the symbol of all the Venetian merchants- lived, to the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, the old seat of the Northern merchants, and to the beating heart of the old Republic economy, Rialto market, with its historical original structures but now filled with the vitality of an up-to-date retail market.
This tour will then take you through the old "disreputable" district around the market and will finish in Campo San Polo, the hub of the surrounding area. During this walking tour, you will learn about Venetian history and Venice’s original vocation for trading and her naval power.
Marco Polo travelled to China in 1271 and remained there for seventeen years, and on his return wrote a book (Il Milione, known in English as The Travels of Marco Polo), an account of his travels and his experiences. After the rather evocative and magical world of Marco your Venice walk will put you in contact with something which was very practical and functional, the "city" of the time: Rialto market. Rialto market was a place for business, luxury trades, banking and marine insurance... Campo San Polo, at the boundary of the market district, is a large picturesque square. Your private guide will tell you about the "bull chasing" that has long been staged in the largest Venetian Campo.
