Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
sance
Chiesa di San Michele in Isola
, begun by Codussi in 1469, and the ongoing
cemetery exten-
sion
by David Chipperfield Architects (scheduled for completion in 2016), including the
recently completed
Courtyard of the Four Evangelists
- a sunken bunker, with a concrete colon-
nade and basalt-clad walls engraved with the Gospels.
Sant' Erasmo
Sant' Erasmo is known as the
orto di Venezia
(Venice's garden), and if you're visiting in
mid-May, don't miss the island's
Sagra di Violetti
(Festival of Sant'Erasmo purple artichokes;
www.carciofosanterasmo.it
)
, when the island celebrates its purple-hued artichokes. At 4.5km
(2.8 miles) long, Sant'Erasmo is as long as Venice, although it's just 1km (0.6 miles) wide
at its widest point. Seven hundred and fifty farmers still plough its fields, supplying not
only artichokes but also asparagus, squash, tomatoes and cardoons to the Rialto market
and Venice's restaurants.
Once a rural retreat for aristocrats, the island now provides a largely tourist-free refuge
for Venetian families who moor their boats along its mudbanks and picnic on the sandy
beaches. Essential shots of coffee and pizza lunches are provided by the seasonal bar be-
hind the beach, while bikes can be rented at the island's only accommodation, Il Lato
Azzurro (
Click here
), a favourite summertime retreat for artists.
Vaporetto
13 docks at Chiesa, from where it's a half-hour walk to the southern Capan-
none stop, and another 15 minutes east to the beach near the partly ruined
Torre Massimiliana
, a 19th-century Austrian fort sometimes used for art exhibitions. In summer only, line 18
departs from the Lido and stops right by the action at Torre Massimiliana.
