As the title of this painting suggests, Turner aimed to present a detailed and recognisable image of the city of Venice. The church of Santa Maria della Salute stands at centre, beyond the Dogana (the customs house), with the Giudecca canal on the left and the Zecca (the Mint) on the right. In spite of this, however, when the painting was exhibited one reviewer wrote that it was ‘too evanescent for any thing but a fairy city’