_Canaletto_ (Venetian: 1697-1768). _See 127._
A humble church, typical of the humble origin of Venice, a city founded
on the sands by fugitives. The church stands on one of the outermost
islets, where, in the seventh century, it is said that St. Peter
appeared in person to the Bishop of Heraclea, and commanded him to
found, in his honour, a church in that spot. "The title of Bishop of
Castello was first taken in 1091; St. Mark's was not made the cathedral
church till 1807.... The present church is among the least interesting
in Venice; a wooden bridge, something like that of Battersea on a
small scale, connects its island, now almost deserted, with a wretched
suburb of the city behind the arsenal; and a blank level of lifeless
grass, rotted away in places rather than trodden, is extended before
its mildewed façade and solitary tower" (_Stones of Venice_, vol. i.
Appendix iv.)