Scuola Grande di San Marco

Instead of a simple Saturday father–son handyman project, sculptor Pietro Lombardo and his sons had something more ambitious in mind: a high Renaissance polychrome marble facade for the most important confraternity in Venice. Instead of ending with panicked calls to a plumber, the results are stunningly obvious in the marble frontage standing at right angles to the Zanipolo – though Codussi was brought in to put the finishing touches on this Renaissance gem. Below the magnificent lions of St Mark prowling above the portals, don’t miss the sculpted trompe l’œil perspectives on the lower half of the facade. The scuola is the main entrance to the Ospedale Civile, with a beamed ceiling held up by two ranks of five columns. Beyond this point is the hospital proper, in what were once the Convento dei Domenicani and the Chiesa di San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti. But it’s best not to enter without health-related reasons, since sightseeing among the sick is considered poor form.