Venice
The two hardest-working men in Venice stand duty on a rooftop around the clock, and wear no pants. The 'Do Mori' (Two Moors) exposed to the elements atop…
Must-see attractions in Venice
Venice
Accessed by a narrow staircase leading up from Basilica di San Marco's atrium, this museum transports visitors to the level of the church's rear mosaics…
Venice
Bartolomeo Colleoni's galloping bronze equestrian statue is one of only two such public monuments in Venice – and an extraordinary example of early…
San Polo & Santa Croce
Venice received a dazzling addition to its property portfolio in 1945 when Count Alvise Nicolò Mocenigo bequeathed his family's 17th-century palazzo to…
Venice
Like a revolver pulled from a petticoat, ultramodern Negozio Olivetti was an outright provocation when it first appeared under the frilly arcades of the…
Venice
When 15th-century Venetian girls showed more interest in sailors than saints, they were sent to the convent adjoining San Zaccaria. The wealth showered on…
Venice
Stretching east from San Marco, this broad waterfront avenue is one of the world’s great promenades. Schiavoni (literally ‘Slavs’) refers to the people…
Venice
The Padiglione delle Navi is a vast 2000-sq-metre warehouse containing a fabulous collection of model historic boats, including typical Venetian luggers,…
Chiesa di San Giacomo dall’Orio
San Polo & Santa Croce
Romanesque St James' Church was founded in the 9th century and completed in Latin-cross form in 1225, with chapels bubbling along the edges. Within the…
Venice
The Ghetto's largest synagogue was founded by Portuguese and Spanish refugees around 1580. Its current grand incarnation, dating from the 17th century,…
Venice
Austrian powerhouse Francesca von Habsburg has restored the epic San Lorenzo church – derelict for nearly a century after suffering damage in WWI – to…
Venice
Grand Canal gondola riders gasp at their first glimpse of the massive sculptures by contemporary artists docked in front of Giorgio Masari’s neoclassical…
Giudecca, Lido & the Southern Islands
Once part of a boarding school, 'The Glass Rooms' are now home to a constant flow of temporary exhibitions, all of them based on glass. Often the displays…
Venice
Hidden behind busy Via XXII Marzo, this gallery is worth seeking out for its interesting shows by internationally renowned artists, who mainly work in…
Venice
Sometimes called the Turkish Synagogue, the Schola Levantina was founded in 1541 as the first to serve the Ghetto's Sephardic community. Its renovated…
Monastero di San Lazzaro degli Armeni
Giudecca, Lido & the Southern Islands
Tours of this historic island monastery are usually conducted by its multilingual Armenian monks, who amply demonstrate the institution’s reputation for…
Venice
An unexpected outburst of baroque extravagance, this Longhena-designed church (built 1654–80) has a facade by Giuseppe Sardi that ripples with columns and…
Chiesa di San Giorgio dei Greci
Venice
Greek Orthodox refugees who fled to Venice from Turkey with the rise of the Ottoman Empire built this church in the 16th century, using taxes collected on…
Venice
It's not the prettiest from the outside, but the bald brick facade of this 17th-century church (rent by a concerning crack), doesn't give any indication…
Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands
Until Napoleon established a city cemetery on this little island, Venetians had been buried in parish plots across town – not an ideal solution in a…
Venice
This museum explores the history of Venice’s Jewish community and showcases its pivotal contributions to Venetian, Italian and world history. Opened in…
Venice
Instead of simple father-son handyman projects, sculptor Pietro Lombardo and his sons had more ambitious goals: a high-Renaissance marble facade for the…
Chiesa di Santa Maria del Giglio
Venice
Founded in the 9th century but almost completely rebuilt in the late 17th century, this church is distinguished by a series of six relief maps on its…
Chiesa di Santa Maria del Rosario
Venice
Venetians have long memories, which is why this church is still called I Gesuati by locals despite the namesake religious order having been replaced by…
Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore
Giudecca, Lido & the Southern Islands
Built to celebrate the city’s deliverance from the Black Death, Palladio's Il Redentore was completed under Antonio da Ponte (of Rialto Bridge fame) in…
Venice
Under the Republic, only the Church and state were permitted to erect towers, as the structures could conceivably be used for military purposes. In around…
Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands
Occupying two buildings across the square from the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta, this museum is dedicated to Torcello’s venerable history. The main…
Venice
Originally built as a thatch-roofed wooden church in the 7th century, Santa Maria Formosa was refashioned by Mauro Codussi in 1492 with new baroque curves…
Venice
Giddily over the top even by rococo standards, this glitzy 18th-century Jesuit church is difficult to take in all at once, with staggering white-and-green…
Venice
Giandomenico Tiepolo sure knew how to light up a room. Duck into the atmospheric gloom of San Lio's baroque interior and, as your eyes adjust, look up at…
Venice
This 16th-century palazzo (mansion) passed through the hands of various Venetian families before Archduke Frederik of Austria snapped it up and set about…
Scuola Grande della Misericordia
Venice
One of Venice’s seven grand confraternities, the Misericordia was the seat of the wealthy silk weavers guild that commissioned this enormous classical…
Convento di San Francesco del Deserto
Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands
Franciscan friars offer free tours of their secluded island home, which still retains some of its 13th-century elements, including the first cloister. As…
Venice
Originally called Chiesa di Santa Maria della Visitazione but fondly nicknamed La Pietà, this harmonious church designed by Giorgio Massari is known for…
Santa Chiara – The Glass Cathedral
Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands
There are authentic glass factories on Murano offering cheaper demonstrations and turning out far finer work, but this furnace – housed within a…
Venice
This hefty-domed 18th-century church contains the body of St Lucy (Santa Lucia), one of the early church's most famous martyrs, who was killed in Syracuse…
Venice
The Schola Canton was built c 1531, with gilded rococo interiors added in the 18th century. Though European synagogues typically avoid figurative imagery,…
Venice
The Schola Tedesca has been the spiritual home of Venice’s Ashkenazi community since 1528. By 16th-century Venetian law, only the German Jewish community…
Venice
Created by architect and designer Jean-Michel Wilmotte, this foundation aims to nurture the talent of young architects via a series of annual…
Venice
Capped by the lion of St Mark, the Arsenale’s land gate is considered by many to be the earliest example of Renaissance architecture in Venice; it was…
