Zattere
— — the side of Venice that keeps the afternoon.
Not only on a wall.
“The southern waterfront of Dorsoduro, a long fondamenta facing the island of Giudecca across the canal. The name comes from rafts. Cadore timber once floated down from the Dolomites, lashed together, broken up here when the bargemen arrived. The promenade runs about a kilometre from Punta della Dogana toward San Basilio, wide enough to feel rare in Venice. Locals come here in winter for the south-facing sun. Nico, the gelateria near the Spirito Santo church, has served the same gianduiotto since the 1930s.
Zattere, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
Each tile ships in a kraft box, tied with cream ribbon, with a handwritten note from the studio if you'd like to add one.
Three or five different vistas, hung together — a chapter of places you've been, or want to go.
The place, in three passes.
The Zattere is the southern waterfront of the Dorsoduro sestiere in Venice, a continuous fondamenta of about 1,200 metres facing the island of Giudecca across the wide Canale della Giudecca. The name means 'rafts': from the medieval period until the nineteenth century, timber from the Cadore valleys of the Dolomites was floated down the Piave river, lashed into rafts called zattere, and unloaded here for the Venetian Republic's shipyards and palaces. The fondamenta is divided into four named stretches: Zattere ai Saloni at the eastern end, Zattere allo Spirito Santo, Zattere ai Gesuati, and Zattere al Ponte Lungo. The canal opposite is the deepest in central Venice and still carries cruise traffic and the vaporetto network.
Of all the major fondamentas in Venice, the Zattere catches the most direct sun. It faces almost due south across the Canale della Giudecca, which is roughly 300 metres wide. No buildings on the near side throw shade. Cafés and bars set out tables along the entire length from late morning, and on clear winter days the promenade is a destination for Venetians escaping the cool shaded calli of the interior. The light off the water carries across to the Giudecca's brick façades, including Andrea Palladio's Il Redentore church (completed 1592), turning them rose-coloured for the last half hour before sunset.
The Zattere can be walked end to end in about twenty minutes without stops, but most people take longer. From east to west the route passes the seventeenth-century salt warehouses at Punta della Dogana, the Spirito Santo church, and the Gesuati (Santa Maria del Rosario, built 1726-1736 by Giorgio Massari with a ceiling fresco by Giambattista Tiepolo), then ends near Nico, the small gelateria that has served the gianduiotto al passeggio since the 1930s. The gianduiotto is a wedge of hazelnut-chocolate ice cream floated in a glass of whipped cream. Vaporetto line 2 stops three times along the fondamenta; line 5.1 also calls at San Basilio at the western end. Entry to the promenade itself is free at all hours.