Strolling Venice’s Dorsoduro

Without cars and structurally unchanged for centuries, mysterious Venice is an anachronism – but don’t relegate it to living museum status. In the scenic district of Dorsoduro, modern art and traditional artisans thrive alongside sleek eateries. This walk through Venice’s southwestern side highlights the best of La Serenissima, the Most Serene Republic, both old and new.

Museum mile
Start at the new Punta della Dogana museum of contemporary art at the triangular, easternmost tip of the district with its sweeping vista across St. Mark’s Basin to the Doge’s Palace and the southern lagoon.

Next door to the iconic Santa Maria della Salute, this long-disused former customshouse was extensively renovated by Tadao Ando and showcases contemporary art from the collection of business titan Francois Pinault. It’s the latest star of art powerhouses in the zone, already home to the 20th-century Peggy Guggenheim Collection and the Accademia Galleries with Venetian masterpieces from the 12th to the 19th centuries.

Papers and prints
Wend your way through the tangle of narrow streets and boat-lined canals that link the museum triad. Browse art within reach at Bac Art Studio with affordable prints and note cards of evocative city etchings or sinuous marble sculptures and abstract paintings from au courant artists at Galleria Daniele Luchetta.

Envelope yourself in sumptuous hand-painted silk scarves or choose luscious velvet clothing, wall hangings, and cushions. At the end of the day, tired feet will luxuriate in traditional but chic jewel-hued velvety slippers called furlane from Dittura. The flexible, rubber-soled footwear was a favorite of gondoliers in centuries past. Or pick up some flashy rain boots to splash through pesky high tides in style.

You’ll also find classic wares from old-school artisans, including gleaming glass baubles such as pendants and earrings from Giorgio Nason, who traces his family’s glassmaking lineage back more than 400 years. Try Il Pavone for marbled paper, woodblock printed journals and rubber stamps with typical Venetian motifs like wellheads and Gothic windows.

Visit the workshop of master craftsman Saverio Pastor, whose hand-carved wood oarlocks are prized by local rowers, with decorative versions esteemed by notables such as I. M. Pei.

Bites
Take a break from perambulating nibble Venetian tapas known as cicchetti at the convivial canalside Al Bottegon. (The sign over the shop reads Cantine del Vino Gia Schiavi.) Order from the extensive case of savory snacks like bread topped with creamy baccala mantecato (Venetian style dried cod) or figs and cheese, costing about $1.50 each. Stand outside to catch a glimpse of gondolas under construction across the canal at the Tyrolean-timbered Squero di San Trovaso, one of the last working boatyards in the city. Indulge your sweet tooth at Gelateria Nico; try its specialty gianduiotto da passeggio, rich cupful of chocolate-hazelnut gelato smothered in decadent whipped cream.

Take your gelato to go and stroll along the sunsoaked waterfront promenade known as the Zattere, named for the rafts that once anchored here loaded with timber cargo, and be on the lookout for the 16th century lion’s mouth, a hollow tube into which people could anonymously denounce others to the district’s department of public health. When you’re ready for dinner, student favorite Pizzeria Ae Oche dishes up pizza and pasta in a kid-friendly environment and has both outdoor waterfront tables on the Zattere and air-conditioned inside seating. For a splurge, book a candlelit table on the overwater deck at upscale modern Lineadombra.