Dorsoduro is one of the six sestieri of Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

, northern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

Dorsoduro includes the highest land areas of the city and also Giudecca

Giudecca

Giudecca is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It is part of the sestiere of Dorsoduro. It is a locality of the comune of Venice.-Geography:...

 island and Isola Sacca Fisola. Its name derives from the Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

 for "hard ridge", due to its comparatively high, stable land.

History

The original heart of the area was the Giudecca Canal, along which building were constructed from the sixth century. By the eleventh century, settlement had spread across to the Grand Canal

Grand Canal of Venice

The Grand Canal is a canal in Venice, Italy. It forms one of the major water-traffic corridors in the city...

, while later religious buildings including the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute and the Zattere quay are now its main landmarks.

In the nineteenth century the Accademia

Accademia

The Accademia is a museum gallery of pre-19th century art in Venice, northern Italy. Situated on the south bank of the Grand Canal, within the sestiere of Dorsoduro, it gives its name to one of the three bridges across the canal, the Ponte dell'Accademia, and to the boat landing station for the...

 was set up in Dorsoduro and the Ponte dell'Accademia

Ponte dell'Accademia

The Ponte dell'Accademia is one of only four bridges in Venice, Italy, to span the Grand Canal. It crosses near the southern end of the canal, and is named for the Accademia galleries. The bridge links the sestiere of Dorsoduro and San Marco....

 linked it to San Marco, making it an expensive area popular with foreign residents. The western quarter, end and the Giudecca, became industrialised around this time.

Main sights

Attractions on the main islands include the Peggy Guggenheim Collection

Peggy Guggenheim Collection

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is an art museum on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It is one of several museums of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation....

, the Palazzo Dario

Palazzo Dario

Palazzo Dario is a palace in Venice, northern Italy, situated on the Grand Canal of Venice at the mouth of the Rio delle Torreselle in the Dorsoduro sestiere on the Campiello Barbaro...

, San Trovaso

San Trovaso

San Trovaso is a church in the sestiere or neighborhood of Dorsoduro in Venice, northern Italy.The church dates to at least the 1028. The present church was rebuilt by 1584. The architect was likely Francesco Smeraldi...

, San Pantalon

San Pantalon

The Chiesa di San Pantaleone Martire, known as San Pantalon in the Venetian dialect, is a church in Venice, northern Italy. It is situated on the Campo San Pantalon in Venice and is dedicated to Saint Pantaleon....

, San Nicolò da Tolentino

San Nicolò da Tolentino

The Chiesa di San Nicolò da Tolentino, commonly known as the Tolentini, is a church in Venice, northern Italy, the home of the Theatines order in the city. The Theatines arrived in Venice in 1527 after the Sack of Rome. The church dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Tolentino was begun in 1590 by...

, the Ospedale Giustinian, the Church of San Sebastiano

San Sebastiano, Venice

The Chiesa di San Sebastiano is a 16th century Roman Catholic church located in the Dorsoduro sestiere of the Italian city of Venice, notable particularly for its cycle of paintings by the artist Paolo Veronese. It is a member of the Chorus Association of Venetian churches and besides the...

, the Palazzo Ariani, the Palazzo Zenobio, the Church of Santa Maria del Carmelo and Scuola Grande dei Carmini, Campo Santa Margherita, Ca' Foscari, Ca' Rezzonico

Ca' Rezzonico

Ca' Rezzonico is a palazzo on the Grand Canal in Venice. Today it is a public museum dedicated to 18th century Venice. - Design :Ca' Rezzonico stands on the right bank of the canal, at the point where it is joined by the Rio di San Barnaba. The site was previously occupied by two houses...

 and Campo San Barnaba.