I Frari (Chiesa di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari)

Like moths to an eternal flame, visitors are inexorably drawn to the front of this cavernous, dimly lit Gothic church by a small altarpiece that seems to come equipped with its own sunlight. This is Titian’s 1518 Assunta (aka Madonna of the Ascension ), capturing the split second the radiant Madonna reaches heavenward, her signature Titian-red robe in glorious disarray as she finds her footing on a cloud. Both inside and outside the painting, onlookers below gasp and point out the ascending Madonna to one another. As if this weren’t too much to handle already, the lofty brick Gothic I Frari (or Chiesa di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari) has other fascinating features: minuscule puzzlework marquetry in the coro (choir stalls), Bellini’s achingly sweet Madonna with Child triptych in the sacristy, Titian’s Ca’ Pesaro Madonna to the left of the choir, and Canova’s marble pyramid mausoleum, which he had originally intended as a monument to Titian. The great painter was lost to the plague at 90 in 1576, but legend has it that in light of his contribution to the church, Venice’s strict rules of quarantine were bent to allow burial in the Frari. Built for the Franciscans in the 14th and 15th centuries of brick rather than stone, the Frari is bereft of flying buttresses, pinnacles and the gargoyles typical of International Gothic – but its soaring vaulted ceilings and broad triple-nave, Latin-cross floor plan give this church a cathedral grandeur befitting its art masterpieces.