Enter in the serene atmosphere of Campo San Giacomo dall’Orio. The church is one of the most ancient in Venice and one of most oriental too, with its Byzantine plump apses and warm colours looking out. Among the rare treasures is a green marble pillar which came back from Constantinople during the 4th Crusade in 1204, when Venice essentially looted the Byzantine capital of all its most wonderful art. The façade, as with many older churches, looks towards the narrow canal and not the campo, where there is often a downbeat feel, with children playing football until sunset almost every day of the year. This is all the more entertaining if you notice a plaque on the church wall which forbids any ball game on pain of severe punishment; football has always been played in Venice and especially in this campo, where centuries ago noblemen in the area paid to have the muddy square paved with cobblestones, and who, ironically, were then the first to complain about the noisy boys and their ball-games.
