The Fondamenta del Vin, a canalside walkway, is the Grand Canal’s most ‘drunken’ waterfront: here, at San Silvestro on the San Polo bank, wine boats had a stazio (a designated mooring) — and still did in Tassini’s day. Wine gave the place its name because the Uffizio del Dazio del Vin (Wine Duty Office) also stood here; it was demolished in 1842 to make way for the Lottery Directorate.