Campo San Barnaba

Campo San Barnaba is a small square in Dorsoduro, named for the church on its northern side. It sits in a largely student district, a few minutes from Ca' Foscari University, and functions as an ordinary neighbourhood square rather than a monument -- food stalls, a bookshop, bars and gelaterie around the edges, and street performers most afternoons.

The church of San Barnaba was rebuilt in its present Neoclassical form in 1776 to designs by Lorenzo Boschetti. Its detached campanile is far older, dating to the 11th century, and keeps a pinecone-shaped spire. The church was deconsecrated during the Napoleonic suppressions and now holds exhibitions.

The facade appeared as a library in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), which has given the square a recognition unrelated to anything about its own history.

The Casin dei Nobili on the square was one of the gaming houses that flourished among the Venetian aristocracy in the Republic's final century. A greengrocer's boat still moors on the canal alongside -- one of the last floating market stalls working in Venice.

Campo San Barnaba is a residential square as much as a visitor destination, and evening noise from its bars is a consideration for the people living around it. The deconsecrated church now hosting exhibitions operates on its own visiting hours, separate from the square itself.

The square sits in Dorsoduro, close to several of Venice's major museums.

• Getting there: a short walk from the Ca' Rezzonico vaporetto stop on the Grand Canal.
• Nearby: Ca' Rezzonico, Palazzo Giustinian, and Ca' Foscari University are all within easy walking distance.
• On the square: food stalls, a small book shop, and a mask shop just across the Ponte dei Pugni.