The main shopping thoroughfare of San Marco is made up of three narrow mercerie (literally meaning haberdashers) starting near the Rialto and running virtually all the way to Piazza San Marco.
The Merceria di San Salvador starts just south of the Campo San Bartolome. Following the signs "San Marco" will bring you first into Merceria San Zulian and then the Merceria dell'Orologio, which enters the Piazza San Marco from underneath the Torre dell'Orologio. The 17th-century English author John Evelyn described the Mercerie as the "most delicious streete in the World for the sweetnesse of it." The days when silks, tapestries, perfumes, caged birds and apothecary's cures were traded have given way to lace, leather shoes and handbags, plus glass ware from Murano and mask shops selling carnival attire. There are also many small cafes and rosticcerias offering hot snacks and local food.
SHOE CARNIVAL
Mercerie has many stalls and shops which vie for consumers attention. World renowned Italian footwear is one of the best selling products found in Mercerie.
If you tire of serious retail therapy, look for the Sottoportego del Cappello (first left after the Torre when leaving San Marco) where there is a relief commemorating the Old Woman of the Mortar who dropped a pestle from a window (possibly by accident) and killed the standard bearer of an insurrection in 1310. Seeing their flag go down, the rebels fled back towards the Rialto. In reward for her intervention, Old Giustina asked only that the Venetian flag be hung from her window on feast days, and that her rent should never be raised.
Venice, Italy - The Mercerie SHOE CARNIVAL
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