Chiesa di San Zaccaria

When 15th-century Venetian Paris Hiltons showed more interest in sailors than saints, they might be sent for a stint at the convent adjoining Chiesa di San Zaccaria; Venice’s spoiled daughters passed their time in prayer here, with breaks for concerts and occasionally scandalous masked balls. The wealth showered on this church by their grateful (or at least hopeful) parents is evident. To your right as you enter, the Cappella di Sant’Anastasia holds works by Tintoretto and Tiepolo and magnificently crafted choir stalls, and through another chapel from here you’ll reach the frescoed Cappella di San Tarasion (also called Cappella d’Oro or Golden Chapel). Twelfth-century mosaics also survive, and you can wander downstairs to the 10th-century Romanesque crypt, left over from an earlier church on the site. Gothic and Renaissance fans alike admire the facade that Antonio Gambello began in the Gothic manner on the lower sections, crescendoing into the Renaissance at the top with Codussi’s rounded embellishments in white Istrian stone. Noteworthy Venetian art treasures include Tiepolo’s version of the flight into Egypt in a Venetian boat; Bellini’s Virgin Enthroned with Jesus, an Angel Musician and Saints, glowing like it’s plugged into an outlet; and Antonio Vivarini’s 1443 painting of St Sabina, keeping her cool as angels buzz around her head like lagoon mosquitoes.