Walks · Venice · English
9 narrated stops, 28 minutes of stories, 4.3 km on foot. Press play at each stop — no app needed — or open the walk in Avsha and let the stories keep coming as you move.
Stop 1 · 3 min
In short: Behind the wall is the secret garden of Palazzo Soranzo Cappello, which features twelve stone busts of Roman emperors. This formal Italian garden currently houses regional heritage authorities and is believed to have inspired Henry James’s novella, The Aspern Papers.
↓ 400 m · 5 min to the next stop
Stop 2 · 3 min
In short: The red stone represents the 1630 plague, which legend says was defeated by a sacred painting and petrified upon hitting the ground. It protected the residents of Corte Nova from disease, and stepping on it today is said to bring bad luck.
↓ 750 m · 11 min to the next stop
Stop 3 · 3 min
In short: The statue served as the finish line for the 'Race of the Whippings.' After being lashed through the streets, criminals kissed the figure to signal the end of their punishment and find relief from the pain.
↓ 150 m · 2 min to the next stop
Stop 4 · 3 min
In short: In his poetry, Patrick Kavanagh requested to be commemorated with a simple seat near canal water. In 1968, his friends honored this wish by installing the bronze bench sculpture along Dublin’s Grand Canal, where the poet previously found spiritual peace.
↓ 150 m · 2 min to the next stop
Stop 5 · The original Venetian Ghetto, Venice, Italy · 3 min
In short: The name comes from the Venetian 'geto,' meaning foundry, as the site was used for casting bronze cannons. In 1516, the Venetian Republic decreed that all Jewish residents live there, and the word evolved into the term used globally today.
↓ 350 m · 5 min to the next stop
Stop 6 · 3 min
In short: Built in the late 15th century for Pietro Contarini, this 26-meter-high spiral staircase is known as the "bovolo," meaning snail shell. Featuring 80 steps and blending Gothic and Renaissance styles, it was designed to display wealth and offers panoramic city views.
↓ 100 m · 1 min to the next stop
Stop 7 · 3 min
In short: The street was named for hitmen who used fake beards and masks to hide their identities. Because of frequent murders, Venice established its first public street lighting here, using oil lamps to illuminate the dark corners where attackers hid.
↓ 800 m · 11 min to the next stop
Stop 8 · The Bridge of Sighs, Venice, Italy · 3 min
In short: Lord Byron named it for the sighs of prisoners catching a final glimpse of the lagoon through the bridge's windows. Completed in 1600, it transported convicts from interrogation rooms in the Doge’s Palace to the New Prison cells.
↓ 1.7 km · 24 min to the next stop
Stop 9 · 3 min
In short: The marble footprints served as starting blocks for sanctioned fistfights between rival Venetian factions, the Castellani and Nicolotti. Opponents stood on these marks to square off, attempting to knock each other into the canal until the tradition was banned in 1705.