Museo Correr

Lonely Planet review

Begun by a certain Corsican general as a ballroom but not completed until halfway through the 19th century under Austrian rule, the Ala Napoleonica is home to the Museo Correr, dedicated to the art and history of Venice and loaded with all sorts of fascinating paraphernalia. The museum also gives access to the Museo Archeologico and, beyond, the beautiful Renaissance Libreria Nazionale Marciana.

The first rooms of the museum contain statuary and bas-reliefs by Antonio Canova, Italy's greatest sculptor of the late 18th century. Keeping the statues company is an assortment of 19th-century paintings, books, documents, medallions, musical instruments, and other bits and bobs.

The following rooms are dedicated to Civiltà Veneziana (Venetian Civilisation), where you can inspect coins and standards of the Republic, model galleys, maps, navigational instruments and a display of weaponry from bygone days.

The Museo Archeologico is crammed mostly with Greek and Roman statues, along with a vast collection of ancient coins and ceramics.

From the museum you access the Libreria Nazionale Marciana. The last section of the museum contains paintings of Venetian scenes, society games and a large collection of bronzetti (miniature bronzes.