On the Riva degli Schiavoni promenade, between the St Mark’s basin and the Arsenal, a broad stone bridge spans the rio della Cà di Dio (a rio is a small Venetian canal) — and its unusual name tells of one of the oldest institutions in the city. The ’Case di Dio’ (Houses of God) were hospices for pilgrims, and one arose here in 1272, founded by a friar named Lorenzo thanks to the donation of some buildings by Maggio Trevisan, a furrier.