Campo Santo Stefano (image from http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:9909_-_Venezia_-_Campo_Santo_Stefano_-_Foto_Giovanni_Dall'Orto,_12-Aug-2007.jpg)
Tourist
Venice
Campo Santo Stefano -
Can it be a dream?
"TOAST & ENGLISH TEA"
"FISH & CHIPS"
"ICECREAM"
I scream...
Peter Russell, Venice, 2 April 1965
I found a
small book of poems entitled Venice Poems - 1965 by British poet Peter Russell
(1921 – 2003) in storage at my local library.
This poem about Campo Santo Stefano set me researching the
history of this campo, which though large, has always seemed to me to be cosy
and cheerful with its wide spaces and outdoor cafes (including Paolin and its
famous pistachio ice-creams).
The campo is
named after the Gothic church of Campo Santo Stefano, notable for its wooden’s ship’s keel
roof. Apparently, bull fights used to take place in the campo, and these were stopped in 1802 after part of a stand collapsed.
The campo is also known as Campo Francesco Morosini. Morosini (1619 – 1694), was Doge
from 1688-1694, during the Great Turkish War. Morosini is infamous for having
all but destroyed the Parthenon during the siege of Athen in 1687, and looting
some of the surviving sculptures. A marble arch in his honour was placed in the
Doge’s Palace after his death and his beloved cat was embalmed and placed in the Museo
Correr.
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