Gilberto Penzo

San Polo & Santa Croce


Yes, you actually can take a gondola home in your pocket. Anyone fascinated by the models at the Museo Storico Navale will go wild here, amid handmade wooden models of Venetian boats, including some that are seaworthy (or at least bathtub worthy). Signor Penzo also creates kits, so crafty types and kids can have a crack at it themselves.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby San Polo & Santa Croce attractions

1. Casa di Carlo Goldoni

0.05 MILES

Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni (1707–93) mastered second and third acts: he was a doctor’s apprentice before switching to law, which proved handy when…

2. Chiesa di San Polo

0.07 MILES

Travellers pass modest St Paul's Church (founded in the 9th century) without guessing that major dramas unfold inside. Under the carena di nave (ship's…

3. I Frari

0.11 MILES

A soaring Gothic church, the Friary's assets include marquetry choir stalls, Canova's pyramid mausoleum, Bellini's achingly sweet Madonna with Child…

4. Scuola Grande di San Rocco

0.15 MILES

Everyone wanted the commission to paint this building dedicated to St Roch, patron saint of the plague-stricken, so Tintoretto cheated: instead of…

6. Chiesa di San Rocco

0.15 MILES

Built by Bartolomeo Bon between 1489 and 1508 to house the remains of its titular saint, beautiful St Roch's Church received a baroque facelift between…

7. Ponte de le Tette

0.18 MILES

‘Tits Bridge’ got its name in the late 15th century, when neighbourhood prostitutes were encouraged to display their wares in windows instead of taking…

8. Chiesa di San Pantalon

0.2 MILES

It's not the prettiest from the outside, but the bald brick facade of this 17th-century church (rent by a concerning crack), doesn't give any indication…