Mercatino dell'Antiquariato Site Features

Stalls display silverware, ceramics, Murano and other period glass, and fine household objects dating from the 1600s to the 1900s, set out on the market's traditional wooden modules. The setting itself is part of the appeal: Campo San Maurizio is flanked by Palazzo Bellavite and the Gothic Revival Palazzo Molin, with the former church of San Maurizio, now a Baroque music museum, anchoring the square.

The market sets up in Campo San Maurizio, a small square in San Marco on the walking route between the Accademia Bridge and Piazza San Marco.

The campo is unusually quiet for its location -- enclosed, shaded, without cafe terraces spilling into it, and with the deconsecrated church of San Maurizio filling one side. It is a square people cross rather than stop in, which is exactly what makes it available a few weekends a year.

Its scale suits the trade. Sixty stalls fill it without crowding, and the enclosure keeps the market contained in one view -- unlike a market strung along a street, this one can be taken in from the edge before deciding where to start.

The buildings around it carry more history than the market does: Palazzo Bellavite, the Gothic Revival Palazzo Molin, and the church itself, rebuilt in 1806 by Giannantonio Selva -- the architect of La Fenice -- who is buried inside it.

Campo Santo Stefano is two minutes north, so the market fits naturally into the walk between the Accademia and San Marco.