After the Grand Canal, Canale di Cannaregio is Venice’s widest and most important waterway: an 800-metre stretch linking the Grand Canal to the northern lagoon and cutting across the sestiere (one of Venice’s six districts) between the fondamenta (canalside walkways) of San Giobbe and Cannaregio. Dug in medieval times to carry trade with the mainland, it served for centuries as the city’s true gateway.