Venice (Italy) - Castello Bridges and Boats

We sailed past the Castello sestieri (a municipal district) of Venice.  It is the largest of the six sections of Venice and was built around a yard shipyard (on the other side and out of our view).

Small and large boats line the canal.  What a range from the small gondola to the huge yacht.  And our extremely large cruise ship.  The pedestrian street along the canal is Riva dei Sette Martin.  Hotels, bed and breakfasts, and museums line the street.

The man standing next to me pointed out that the large yacht docked on the right is owned by Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin Records, Virgin Megastores. Read more about Richard Branson here.  I turned to snap a few photos as we sailed past it.

It is quite a yacht.  He is the 4th richest citizen of the United Kingdom.  Note the green area in the back ground.  This is a city park.

Ok, enough gawking, let's get back to touring.  The red building caught my eye and it looks like someone is standing out front, waiting for the crowd to come and fill the cafe.

Here is another canal bridge and of course the street name changes.  This is a small island, street name is Calle San Biagio.  The salmon colored building with the blue awning  is "La Corte Dia Dogi" bed and breakfast  The two cream colored buildings aren't marked as businesses on the map, so they must be apartments with restaurants on the first floor.

We pass in front of the large open space (right side) of the "Museo Storico Navale".  (Click here for more info...in Italian.)  There are two large anchors in front of the building but they are a little difficult to see on this photo.

There is another pedestrian bridge and the street name on this island is Riva Ca di Dio.  This is a small section with one small cafe.

Over another footbridge and we enter a busier section.  The street name changes again to Riva degli Schiavoni.

The large salmon colored building on the left, with the red awnings, is Hotel Gabrielli.  This was the scene for the 1992 film "Blame it on the Bellboy".  It is a four star hotel and one of the most luxurious in Venice.  If you want to see some very interesting room keys, click here.  For more information on the hotel, go to www.hotelgabrielli.it/en

Here is a closer view of the bridge.

This will give you a larger view of the area.  This is within easy walking distance of St. Mark's Square and Doge Palace.

The large building is Esercito Presidio Militare Caserma Comoldi. Translation appears to be "Army Garrison Barracks , Cesare Cornoldi".  Must be a government building (no cafes!!).

I saw two small booths.  Also, notice how the windows of the creme colored building are shaped. There is a mixture of many architectural styles in Venice.

The bridge crosses and the street name becomes ... no, wait...it stays with the same name.  Just when I thought that I was grasping the pattern.

The white building on the left is Hotel Metropole.   It is a five star hotel.  Go to the website http://www.hotelmetropole.com/eng/art_in_venice.htm to see a nice collection of antique art. (On the left side of the web page, click on "visiting card cases" for the coolest business card holders.)

The Castello section of Venice has been very interesting and I was able to discover some places that I would like to see when my feet are on the street.