Chiesa di San Giacomo di Rialto (Church of St. James of Rialto), Venice

According to local legend, the first church on this spot appeared in the 5th century, right around the time people decided this patch of higher ground was a good place to stay dry. If that story holds, this would be the oldest church in Venice. The building you see today came later, constructed between the 11th and 12th centuries with a very practical audience in mind: the merchants of Rialto, who preferred not to walk far between business and prayer.

A major restoration followed in 1601, but the church kept its most distinctive features, including its original Gothic portico—one of only two left in the city—and the oversized 15th-century clock on the façade. The clock runs on a 24-hour system and has never been especially reliable, a fact Venetians have cheerfully mocked for centuries.

The square outside the church has its own distinctive features, too. On the far side stands a crouching stone figure known as the Gobbo of the Rialto. In the 16th century, this was the finishing line for public punishments: minor offenders were forced to run all the way from Piazza San Marco to here, providing entertainment for anyone who happened to be watching.

Inside the church, the tone shifts from spectacle to history. Six columns topped with Veneto-Byzantine capitals, carved from ancient Greek marble, date back to the 11th century. Around the outside of the apse, a 12th-century inscription delivers a message clearly aimed at the surrounding market stalls: “Let the merchant’s law be just, his weights accurate, and his promises trustworthy.” Indeed, this church in Rialto knew exactly who its congregation was...