Welcome to Casa Colleoni, the stage of honor of the "theater" of palaces overlooking Campo San Giovanni e Paolo and the Basilica of San Zanipolo, as the Venetians call it. It is the "Pantheon" of the princes and heroes of the Serenissima, the second most important public place in the city, after Piazza San Marco. Here they celebrated feasts, solemn ceremonies, the funeral of the doges, the visits of the popes. Here Venice dedicated an equestrian monument to Bartolomeo Colleoni, a mercenary captain in the service of the doges, who left all his wealth to the city. The statue on horseback erected in 1496 is still in the same place, to watch over the many lovers who meet down there for evening walks. Opening the windows of Casa Colleoni you will feel like you have entered a painting by Canaletto or Bellotto or Guardi, immersed in the crowd that welcomed Pope Pius VI, waiting for a gondola on the shore or sitting in the shadow of the monument. Don't stop too long, the city is waiting for you. San Marco is just around the corner, a slightly longer walk takes you straight to Castello, in the heart of the truest and most popular Venice, or to discover the islands of the lagoon, with the ferry stop nearby.