"Pescaria": the ancient fish market of Rialto

The Rialto Market, one of the most ancient and important markets in Italy, is certainly one of the must-see places in Venice. Located near the Rialto Bridge, it covers the area between Campo San Giacomo di Rialto and Campo della Pescaria and it hosts the famous fish market, indeed called Pescaria, with many fish counters located under the Loggia, and the fruit and vegetable market, in Venetian Erbaria, with fresh fruit and vegetables in outdoor counters. This area has been the location of the city market since 1097, where in the past you could buy not only every kind of food product such as fish, meat, cheese, fruit and vegetables, but also exotic goods, such as Asian spices and fine materials, like gold and silk. 

Nowadays the market represents an historic place to all the Venetians and a real fundamental point of the local enogastronomy, essential in order to prepare the traditional Venetian dishes; here you can find high quality fruit and vegetables and fresh fish from the lagoon waters, such as soles, sardines, squid, crabs and many other products, among which the radicchio of Treviso and other vegetables from the Veneto region and from the islands, such as the artichokes and asparagus of Sant'Erasmo and of Le Vignole.

The elegant Loggia that hosts the fish market of Rialto, despite its ancient appearance, dates back only to 1907, after the City Council approved, in 1900, the painter Cesare Laurenti and the architect Domenico Rupolo's project concerning the replacement of the iron canopy that covered the counters of the 1800s, built just seventeen years before. Designed in neogothic style, in perfect harmony with the surrounding buildings, the building has outstanding decorative sculptural details: indeed, each capital, sculpted by Rupolo on the basis of the painter Cesare Laurenti's drawings, represents a different subject linked to the lagoon and fishing world, such as fish, sea scallops, crabs, lobsters, seaweed, seahorses and also ships with big baskets called vieri, used to preserve fish in water. One of the central capitals, overlooking the Canal Grande, which dates back to 1905, represents four heads, maybe of fishermen, but probably exactly the faces of the two authors, Rupolo and Laurenti, are hidden among them. In the left coner of the Loggia, overlooking the Canal Grande, at about four meters off the ground, there is another outstanding element of the building, the bronze statue of the "Pescatore", realised by Cesare Laurenti, which represents Saint Peter, the most famous fisherman in history.         

In the heart of Venice, near the Rialto Bridge and the Pescaria, there is La Porta d'Acqua. The restaurant is located in a fifteenth-century building finely renovated with contemporary taste; moreover, the place is decorated with eighteenth-century frescos and with an authentic water door that dates back to the end of the sixteenth century. In a breathtaking location, overlooking the Canal Grande, La Porta d'Acqua is the perfect place in order to taste a cuisine that recalls the Neapolitan one joined with the typical products of the Venetian lagoon, directly from the near Rialto Market. 

La Porta d'Acqua, renowned restaurant among Venetians and not, is located in Riva del Vin, near the Rialto Bridge, and it has an extraordinary view on the Canal Grande, visible both from the internal room thanks to a big water door placed in the center of the room, and from its beautiful garden. The place consists of two internal rooms, one on the first floor, which is also possible to book for private events, and one on the ground floor. In the entrance of the restaurant, a big counter leads to the pleasant bar area characterized by a refined cocktail and garden bar that offers signature cocktails and delicious revisited spritz. Outside the place there is also an adorable dehors  with tables that offers, as the other areas of the restaurant, an incredible breathtaking view.

The cuisine of the restaurant recalls both the Neapolitan tradition and the Venetian one, linking in this way the Neapolitan products with those from the lagoon impeccably. The varied menu pays specific attention to the seasonality and quality of products; indeed the fish is daily bought at the near fish market, la Pescaria. Another essential element of the cuisine of La Porta d'Acqua is the meticulous attention given to the preparation of the dishes. Lastly, a varied selection of vegetarian dishes completes the enogastronomic offer of the restaurant.