The Sestiere (that is what a district is called in Venice) di Castello
is the widest in the city and the second most populated.
It is located at the furthest east of the city.
It is a peninsula that borders the Sestiere di Cannaregio at the northwest between the Fondamente Nove
and Campo Santa Marina, and the Sestiere di San Marco at the southwest between
the Parish of San Lio and Piazza San Marco.
Castello is the only Venetian district which doesn’t overlook the Grand Canal.
The word “Sestiere” derives from a fortress that existed in the first stage of the Middle Ages
on the Olivolo Isle that is nowadays called San Pietro di Castello Isle.
The San Pietro di Castello’s Basilica is located there and had been the bishop’s seat since 1807,
when Napoleon moved the seat to the San Marco’s basilica which, up to that year,
had been used by the Doge only and for special events.
At the beginning of its history, the Sestriere was divided between two Gemine Isles and Olivolo Isle
and later they were joined to build the present Sestiere.
