Also dedicated to St. James the Apostle, this church is considered to be one of the oldest, if not the oldest, shrines in the city. According to tradition, its first stone was laid in 421 AD by a carpenter named Candioto, who prayed to the saint to help put out a fire. Officially, however, the first document mentioning the church comes from the 12th century. The clock was installed in 1410. In the beginning of the 16th century it was damaged by a fire and was rebuilt one hundred years later with a raised pavement in order to avoid high tide. Inside, the Church of San Giacometto, as it is also called, has a Latin cross layout and a central dome.
In the days of the Venetian Republic the portico, just like the entire square in front of the church, was occupied by bankers and currency exchange officials waiting for foreign clients to do business with. The Rialto, being Venice's commercial hub, was the busiest neighborhood in the city. Just like its main Church, it is also one of the oldest. The word "rialto" is an abbreviation of Rivo Altus, that is, high bank. In fact, the canal in this part of town was sufficiently deep for large commercial vessels to pass and dock. This made the banks a perfect area for unloading and distributing merchandise, such as silks and spices coming from the Orient.
In 1097 the Rialto became the official market of Venice and a boat bridge was soon stretched over the canal to connect it to the San Marco neighborhood. In 1255 the boat bridge was replaced by a sturdier wooden bridge. By the beginning of the 16th century the Rialto was the most important financial district in the northern part of the Italian peninsula. Warehouses, banks, insurance agencies, as well as Venice's tax collector, were all located in the area. Most of the buildings, unfortunately, did not survive the fire of 1514, which also disfigured the church. However, as a result, new and more impressive structures were erected, such as the Fabbriche Nuove overlooking the canal, by Jacopo Sansovino, the most prominent architect at the time.
Today the Rialto is still a very busy and dynamic quarter. It is a perfect place for those who want to get a feel of the Venetian entrepreneurial spirit, as well as those interested in mingling with the locals.