The “campi” are open spaces with different shapes and surfaces. The often face a “rio”, the venetian term for canal (many of which were buried during the last centuries), and they are surrounded by houses and a few shops. Wells are usually present in them, with the outside surrounded by a stone fence with decorations called "vera da pozzo".
Originally the "campo" wasn’t paved but made of packed soil; subsequently it was first paved with red bricks that were substituted by the "masegni" (flagstones of trachyte) that were used also to pave the calli.
The "campi" were places of meeting and in the widest were set feasts and celebrations.
The name of the "campo" derived from the nearer church, from an activity that was placed there, from names of famous people who had their home or their business there.
The meaning of the term "campo" is the venetian equivalent to the Italian word "piazza" (square in English). In Venice the only "piazza" is Piazza San Marco.