Riva degli Schiavoni

The Riva degli Schiavoni is a waterfront area in Venice, Italy. There is a lively – albeit often overcrowded – promenade along the waterfront, which sits on St. Mark's Basin.

It was originally built in the ninth century from dredged silt and was named for the Slavic men who brought cargo to Venice from across the Adriatic Sea. Many of the boats and launches that ferry tourists from the mainland and cruise ships stop at the Riva to allow passengers to disembark close to Piazza San Marco.

Market stalls

The market stalls that crowd the area probably had their start in the fifteenth century, when Slavs and Greeks moved into the area and would line the promenade to sell their meat and dried fish near the wharf. Today, the stalls are still present though meat and dried fish aren't generally part of the fare. What visitors will find nowadays is a variety of snacks, pastries, confections of all sorts, and plenty of Venetian souvenirs for visitors to take home with them.