About This Location
Bacino Orseolo is a small, crescent-shaped basin of water tucked just behind Piazza San Marco. It is one of the most recognizable gondola gathering points in Venice, where boats line up, wait for passengers, and glide in and out almost constantly. This place is not ancient Venice by accident - it was created in 1863 during major 19th-century urban changes. The goal was practical: to make a convenient gondola landing close to the city’s most visited center. Opening this basin meant demolishing older buildings in the area and reshaping the local street network to create easier movement on foot between key routes. The name honors Doge Pietro I Orseolo, remembered for founding a hospice connected to St Mark’s area. Even today, the basin still does what it was designed to do - it acts as a gateway between the tight lanes of San Marco and Venice’s water traffic. Pause here and watch the gondoliers, the steady rhythm of arrivals and departures, and the way the canal widens just enough to feel like a small harbor inside the city. From here, keep walking straight along the canal, then cross over the Ponte Goldoni to continue the route.