Il Complesso di Santa Caterina
Treviso
Housed in the 14th-century convent complex of St Catherine, Treviso’s civic museum presents the history of the city from the Palaeolithic era to Roman…
Must-see attractions in The Veneto
Venice
The Grimani family built their Renaissance palazzo (mansion) in 1568 to showcase the extraordinary Graeco-Roman sculpture collection of Cardinal Giovanni…
Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista
San Polo & Santa Croce
One of Venice's five main religious confraternities, the lay brothers of St John the Evangelist performed works of charity but also supported the arts by…
Museo di Storia Naturale di Venezia
San Polo & Santa Croce
Never mind the doge: insatiable curiosity rules Venice, and inside the former Fondaco dei Turchi (Turkish Trading House) it runs wild. The adventure…
Chiesa di San Nicolò dei Mendicoli
Venice
Other churches might be grander, but none is more quintessentially Venetian than this 12th-century church with a history of service to the poor. Its…
Chiesa di San Francesco della Vigna
Venice
Designed and built by Jacopo Sansovino, with a facade by Palladio, this enchanting Franciscan church is one of Venice’s most underappreciated attractions…
Venice
Antonio Scarpignano’s relatively austere 1508–48 facade creates a sense of false modesty at this neighbourhood church. The interior is adorned with floor…
San Polo & Santa Croce
The stately exterior of this Baldassare Longhena–designed 1710 palazzo hides two intriguing art museums that could hardly be more different: the Galleria…
Basilica di San Pietro di Castello
Venice
As interesting as it is, St Peter's would be lucky to scrape into the top 10 of Venice's most impressive churches. Yet it served as the city's cathedral…
Venice
In 1869 Conte Giovanni Querini Stampalia made a gift of his ancestral 16th-century palazzo (mansion) to the city on the forward-thinking condition that…
Venice
The two hardest-working men in Venice stand duty on a rooftop around the clock, and wear no pants. The 'Do Mori' (Two Moors) exposed to the elements atop…
Venice
Accessed by a narrow staircase leading up from Basilica di San Marco's atrium, this museum transports visitors to the level of the church's rear mosaics…
Venice
Maritime madness spans 42 rooms at this museum of naval history, featuring scale models of Venetian-built vessels as well as Peggy Guggenheim's not-so…
Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands
Since 1861, Murano’s glass-making prowess has been celebrated in Palazzo Giustinian, the home of bishops of Torcello from 1689 until the diocese's…
Venice
Bartolomeo Colleoni's galloping bronze equestrian statue is one of only two such public monuments in Venice – and an extraordinary example of early…
San Polo & Santa Croce
Venice received a dazzling addition to its property portfolio in 1945 when Count Alvise Nicolò Mocenigo bequeathed his family's 17th-century palazzo to…
Chiesa di San Raffaele Arcangelo
Venice
The neighbours called, and they want their grime back: when centuries of accumulated dirt were removed from the stone angels above the portals of…
Verona
A masterpiece of Romanesque architecture, the striped brick-and-stone basilica was built in honour of the city’s patron saint. Enter through the flower…
Verona
Juliet's house is a spectacle, but not for the reasons you might imagine – entering the courtyard off Via Cappello, you are greeted by a young…
Venice
Like a revolver pulled from a petticoat, ultramodern Negozio Olivetti was an outright provocation when it first appeared under the frilly arcades of the…
Venice
When 15th-century Venetian girls showed more interest in sailors than saints, they were sent to the convent adjoining San Zaccaria. The wealth showered on…
Vicenza
Six metres below modern Vicenza lies one of the city's lesser-known historical treasures – a 1st-century Roman cryptoportico. Discovered during postwar…
Venice
Stretching east from San Marco, this broad waterfront avenue is one of the world’s great promenades. Schiavoni (literally ‘Slavs’) refers to the people…
Padua
A pilgrimage site and the burial place of St Anthony of Padua (1193–1231), this huge church was begun in 1232, its polyglot style incorporating rising…
Venice
The Padiglione delle Navi is a vast 2000-sq-metre warehouse containing a fabulous collection of model historic boats, including typical Venetian luggers,…
San Polo & Santa Croce
This stately Grand Canal palace – designed by Domenico Rossi and completed in 1728 – has been commandeered by Fondazione Prada, which is renovating the…
Chiesa di San Giacomo dall’Orio
San Polo & Santa Croce
Romanesque St James' Church was founded in the 9th century and completed in Latin-cross form in 1225, with chapels bubbling along the edges. Within the…
Venice
This grand showpiece square beautifully encapsulates the splendour of Venice's past and its tourist-fuelled present. Flanked by the arcaded Procuratie…
Verona
Verona’s 12th-century duomo is a striking Romanesque creation, with bug-eyed statues of Charlemagne’s paladins Roland and Oliver, crafted by medieval…
Verona
Dating from the 13th to 15th centuries and featuring an elegantly decorated vaulted ceiling, the Gothic Basilica di Sant’Anastasia is Verona’s largest…
Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands
Burano, with its cheery pastel-coloured houses, is renowned for its handmade lace, which once graced the decolletage and ruffs of European aristocracy…
San Polo & Santa Croce
Built by Bartolomeo Bon between 1489 and 1508 to house the remains of its titular saint, beautiful St Roch's Church received a baroque facelift between…
Verona
One of Verona's most popular attractions, this 84m-high watchtower provides panoramic views of Verona and nearby mountains. Begun in the 12th century and…
Venice
The Ghetto's largest synagogue was founded by Portuguese and Spanish refugees around 1580. Its current grand incarnation, dating from the 17th century,…
San Polo & Santa Croce
Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni (1707–93) mastered second and third acts: he was a doctor’s apprentice before switching to law, which proved handy when…
Venice
This attractive iron-framed greenhouse was built in 1894 to house the palms used in Biennale events. It rapidly expanded into a social hub and a centre…
Venice
Austrian powerhouse Francesca von Habsburg has restored the epic San Lorenzo church – derelict for nearly a century after suffering damage in WWI – to…
Venice
Occupying a large palazzo with views over the Giudecca Canal, this beautiful new space for contemporary art was lovingly restored by the Russian V-A-C…
Venice
Grand Canal gondola riders gasp at their first glimpse of the massive sculptures by contemporary artists docked in front of Giorgio Masari’s neoclassical…
Venice
This wooden cabin on the Rio di San Trovaso looks like a stray ski chalet, but it’s one of Venice's few working squeri (shipyards), with refinished…
