We cross the Rialto bridge, and in the campo on the farther side find the little church of S. Giacomo di Rialto, according to tradition (p. 6) the oldest in Venice. This spot, Shakespeare’s Rialto, was the focus of the commercial life of the old Republic. The colonnade was covered with frescoes, and possessed the famous planisphere or _mappa mondo_ showing the routes of Venetian commerce over the world. Here the patricians were wont to meet before noon to discourse together of private and public affairs. The church, rebuilt and altered more than once, no longer stands on its original site. It was removed in 1322, when the Rialto was enlarged and a loggia made, that the merchants might meet under cover. The beautiful relief of the Virgin and Child over the portico is fourteenth-century work. The six columns of the nave are the sole remains of the eleventh-century church, rebuilt by Doge Dom. Selvo. On the exterior of the apse will be found the (Latin) inscription whose discovery so delighted Ruskin: AROUND THIS TEMPLE LET THE MERCHANT’S LAW BE JUST, HIS WEIGHT TRUE, AND HIS COVENANTS FAITHFUL.[111] [Illustration: EDICT STONE, RIALTO.] On the farther side of the campo, opposite the W. front, is the Hunchback of the Rialto (Il Gobbo di Rialto), restored in 1892, whence in olden times the decrees of the Republic were promulgated. Beyond the market is the church of S. Giovanni Elemosinario, early sixteenth century, by Scarpagnino. The picturesque campanile has an interesting relief below the cella of the bells. The high altar painting is by Titian, the Patron Saint (St John the Almsgiver). In the chapel to the R. is an altar-piece by Pordenone, SS. Sebastian, Roch and Mary Magdalen. Above on the L. wall is a quaint relief, saved from the fire which destroyed the old eleventh-century church. We follow the hand pointing to the Museo Civico, and soon reach S. Cassiano, containing three Tintorettos. The Crucifixion, held by Ruskin to be one of the finest paintings in Europe by the master, is a most remarkable and original treatment of the subject--a great and solemn picture in excellent condition. The church has an altar-piece by Palma Vecchio, The Baptist and four saints, said to be the first painted by him at Venice, and three paintings by L. Bassano. Following the indicator, we reach the little church of S. Maria Mater Domini by one of the Lombardi: the façade by Sansovino. It is situated in an interesting campo, where may be seen a few early Gothic houses with some beautiful Byzantine reliefs and crosses. The church possesses, second altar to the R., Catena’s S. Cristina. The angel to the left holding the millstone is one of the most sweet and guileless of the master’s creations (p. 201). In the R. transept is Tintoretto’s Invention of the Cross. Opposite is a Last Supper attributed to Bonifazio.