Venice's cozy Casa Artè hotel

Casa Artè (San Marco 2900/2901, Calle del Frutariol 30124, Venice, ITALY; phone [39] 041 520 0882 or visit www.casaarte.info) — located in a relatively quiet area just west of Campo Santo Stefano. About a 10-minute walk west of St. Mark’s Square along a busy path, the main (and well-marked) route to the Accademia Bridge.

You may need to press the buzzer at the front door to be admitted; the entrance was usually kept locked during our stay. The hotel does not have an elevator.

We spent four nights at this cozy 8-room hotel during our October ’05 visit to Venice. Our corner room was larger than usual for Europe and featured four large windows, providing good cross-ventilation. Due to mild weather, we did not try the air-conditioning, but we did take advantage of the steam-heated towel racks in the American-style bathroom.

Our room was clean and well furnished and featured a comfortable, queen-sized bed. The walls were covered in a gold-patterned fabric, and the overall décor conferred a Venetian atmosphere.

The selection at the buffet breakfast, as might be expected in such a small establishment, was fairly limited. It was highlighted by plenty of fresh and tasty croissants delivered each morning from a local bakery.

€120 ($146) per night included breakfast and all taxes. That’s more than we usually spend but is a good value for Venice. We paid in cash; otherwise, the cost would have been €140 ($170) per night.

Our only complaint was that the room’s stock of soap and toilet paper was not adequately replenished. More than once we had to go to the front desk to resupply.

• Anima Bella (Calle Fiubera, San Marco, 956, Venice, Italy; phone [39] 041 5227486).

This tiny one-room restaurant not far from St. Mark’s Square is a delightful place to enjoy an Italian home-cooked meal and relax after a hectic day of sightseeing. My wife and I enjoyed two dinners there.

Our first dinner was with four friends who happened to be in Venice and who had discovered this gem the previous night. Our party filled much of the intimate trattoria, which can seat 14 at the most.

The friendly and attentive proprietress and her assistant prepared and served an outstanding multicourse meal accompanied by several bottles of the house red wine. Their house pasta was delicious and declared by one of our group to be the best he had ever eaten. As we were leaving, the proprietress presented each of the women in our party with half-bottles of Prosecco.

The next evening my wife and I returned on our own for another outstanding dinner. This time we tried the house white wine, which was as pleasant as the red we had enjoyed the previous evening. Our dinner with salad, entrée, dessert and bottle of wine totaled €92 ($112) including tax and tip.

The “assistant” from the previous night was working the restaurant by herself but still managed to serve us promptly, provide an excellent meal and make us feel at home. As was the case the previous night, the restaurant’s guests were about evenly split between tourists and locals.

To get to the restaurant, walk north from St. Mark’s Square on Calle dei Fabbri for two or three minutes, then turn right (east) onto Calle Fiubera. A one-minute walk will bring you to Anima Bella. (It’s the last storefront on the left before the street crosses a small canal.)

Reservations are strongly recommended. Credit cards are accepted.

STEPHEN O. ADDISON, Jr.

Charlotte, NC