compass-line

Updated: August 12, 2026

There are of course two ways of taking it from the water or from the upper passage, where its small shops and booths abound in Venetian character; but it mainly counts as a feature of the Canal when seen from the gondola or even from the awful <i>vaporetto</i>. The great curve of its single arch is much to be commended, especially when, coming from the direction of the railway- station, you see it frame with its sharp compass-line the perfect picture, the reach of the Canal on the other side.

Henry James - Italian Hours