Castello is the largest of Venice's six sestieri, stretching from the busy waterfront of Riva degli Schiavoni all the way east to the leafy public gardens of the Biennale and the island of Sant'Elena. The neighborhood takes its name from a fortified castle that once stood on the eastern tip, long since vanished. Its western end, close to San Marco, pulses with tourist traffic, but walk ten minutes east and the character shifts dramatically: laundry hangs between apartment windows, children play football in wide-open campi, and elderly residents gather on benches outside corner bars. The spiritual anchor of Castello is the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo (known locally as San Zanipolo), Venice's great Dominican church and the traditional burial place of the doges. Nearby, the Renaissance facade of Santa Maria Formosa overlooks one of the liveliest squares in the city. Further east, the Arsenale, the vast medieval shipyard that built and maintained the Venetian war fleet, stands as a monument to the Republic's naval supremacy. Today, its brick walls and water basins host major exhibitions during the Venice Biennale. Castello rewards the walker who is willing to get lost in its quieter reaches, where authentic Venetian daily life persists largely unchanged.