The Museums of Venice

Museums, galleries, and art collections in Venice, Italy

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» THE VENICE BOOKSHELF

A painting of Piazza San Marco by Bellini in the Galleria della'Accademia in Venice*** Accademia Galleries - If you only make time for one museum in Venice, make it the Accademia. The collections comprise the world's greatest treasure trove of Venetian art, covering the giants of Venetian painting from the 13th to the 18th centuries: Titian, Tintoretto, Paolo Veneziano, Giorgione, Giovanni Bellini, and Carpaccio... Full story

The Palazzo Ducale in Venice*** Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale) - The sumptuously decorated seat of Venetian power for 900 years, the Ducal Palace ostentatiously displays the wealth of this formerly mighty maritime republic with grand rooms saddled in Renaissance masterpieces (by Tintoretto, Titian, Veronese, etc.)—and the famous Bridge of Sighs over to the state prisons—but the best way to see it—and unlock its history—is to take the Secret Itineraries tour of the hidden hallways, secret chambers, and prison cells (from which Casanova famously escaped) that lie secreted behind the walls and gilded frippery... Full story

A Marino Marini scupture at the Peggy Guggenheim in Venice** Peggy Guggenheim - One of Europe's most complete surveys of avant garde art from the early and mid–20th century in the private 18th-century palazzo that belonged to the collector herself, Peggy Guggenheim. There are works by her short-time hubby Max Ernst, by her greatest discovery Jackson Pollock, and by such modern masters as Picasso, Miró, Mondrian, Brancusi, Duchamp, Kadinsky, Chagall, Dalí, Marini, and Giacometti... Full story

The Ca d'Oro of Venice** Ca' d'Oro - Venice's 15th-century "Golden Palace" is one of the best preserved and most impressive of the hundreds of patrician palazzi lining the Grand Canal. After the Palazzo Ducale, it's the city's finest example of Venetian Gothic architecture. Inside is a museum housing sculptures, furniture, 16th-century Flemish tapestries, ceramics, an impressive collection of bronzes (12th–16th century), and a painting gallery including canvases by Andrea Mantegna, Titian, Tintoretto, Carpaccio, Van Dyck, Giorgione, and Jan Steen... Full story

Tintoretto's Crucifixion in the Scuola Grnade di San Rocco in Venice** Scuola Grande di San Rocco - A lay confraternity (think of its as a Renaissance gentlemen's club) decorated in carved wood and more than 50 exquisite paintings by Tintoretto, the largest collection of his works anywhere (he got the commission by impressing the judges by secretly installing a finished painting in one of the rooms rather than simply submitting a sketch). Look into attending a chamber orchestra concert in the evocative rooms sponsored by the Accademia di San Rocco (www.musicinvenice.com)... Full story

The Ca' Rezzonico in Venice* Ca' Rezzonico - This handsome 17th-century canalside palazzo by Baldassare Longhena was the final home of poet Robert Browning. It is now a museum of 18th century life and arts, offering an intriguing look into what living in a grand Venetian home was like in the last days of the grand Republic. It's also a splendid backdrop for a collection of period paintings (especially works by Tiepolo, Guardi, and Longhi), furniture, tapestries, and artifacts... Full story

The Ca' Pesaro in VeniceCa' Pesaro - Sometimes the effort of appreciating all that Gothic, Renaissance, and baroque art can just wear you down. This is why the Ca' Pesaro's two collections—a gallery of modern art and an Asian art museum—make for a welcome break. Don't worry; you still get a fix of late Renaissance/early baroque architecture from the ponderous palace itself, squatting on the Grand Canal across and just up from the more elegant Ca' D'Oro, and designed in the middle of the 17th century by Baldassare Longhena (same dude who built the Ca' Rezzonico and Santa Maria della Salute church)... Full story

A painting of a Doge by Giovanni Bellini in the Museo Civico CorrerMuseo Civico Correr - A nice little hodgepodge of collections installed above the arcades alongside Piazza San Marco. The best of this trio of city museums is the art gallery (good Carpaccios, plus works by all three Bellinis—Jacopo and sons Giovanni and Gentile). The others are devoted to, respectively, Venetian history (read: lots of paintings of ships) and the Risorgimento (Italy's 19th century unification movement; the sort of thing every Italian kid studies ad nauseam in school but, frankly, no one else cares about). Hard to believe it's nearly always empty when, across the square, St. Mark's is packed to the gills... Full story

A sketch of hsitoric glassblowing in the Murano Museum of Glass in VeniceMuseo del Vetro (Museum of Glass) - This small museum on the outlying island of Murano tells something of the history of Venice's famous glassblowing industry—which was historically centered not on Venice itself but on the outlying island of Murano in the northern lagoon. You can examine a large collection of glass objects from ancient Roman times through the 19th century as well as see displays on the history and practice of the craft itself (as pictured to the left)... Full story

The Museum of Lace on the island of Burano in VeniceMuseo del Merletto (Museum of Lace) - A museum of lace-making on the island of Burano that was originally founded as an institute to help keep the craft tradition alive... Full story

The Scola Ponente, or Scola Spagnola, a 16th century synagogue in the Jewish Ghetto of VeniceMuseo Ebraico - This museum of Jewish life and history in Venice in the historic Jewish Ghetto ("ghetto" wasn't originally a derogatory term, rather it was the Venetian dialect name for the neighborhood in which the city's Jews lived—though, admittedly, their movements were at times greatly restricted) comprises a collection of 16th– to 19th-century artifacts. Even more rewarding, however, is to take the museum's tour that gets you into several of the neighborhood's five historic and beautiful synagogues that were built during the Ghetto's heyday in the 16th century... Full story

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This material was last updated February 2011. All information was accurate at the time.

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