It’s nice to get lost in Venice. Just walking between one street and another you can also find the narrowest street in Venice.
The term “Calle” comes from the Latin callis, which means pathway, alley, path.
The names of the streets are often referred to the works that were carried out along these streets, so you can find calle del forno (bakery street), calle del tagiapiera (stonemason street), calle del pestrin (milkman street), calle dei fabbri (blacksmith street), calle dei botteri (carpenter street), calle del spezier (pharmacist street), calle delle rasse (wool manufacturer street), calle de la corda (rope maker street), or refer to an altar, a column or a religious capital as calle del Cristo, calle della Madonna, calle del Paradiso, or still take the name of the noble family that lived in that area, such as calle Dolfin, calle Benzoni, calle Da Ponte, calle Vallaresso, calle Bressana, calle Cremonese, calle Cavalli, calle Priuli dei cavalletti, or due to an event of great importance like calle del perdon (pardon street), calle dei assassini (killers street).
Among the narrowest “calli” in Venice is reported “Calle Varisco” of just 53 cm, located in the Cannaregio district, approximately halfway between the Fondamenta Nuove and the Rialto Bridge. On one side the street ends in a canal, overlooking the Rio dei SS. Apostles. Fortunately, it is therefore not a passageway, because the very small size barely allows the passage of one person, but it is fun to go and is certainly an anecdote about the city to tell once you get home.
Location: Calle Varisco, Venice
