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…
Must-see attractions in Venice
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands
Torcello, the republic's original island settlement, was largely abandoned due to malaria and now counts only around 14 permanent residents. Its mosaic…
Venice
Sometimes called the Turkish Synagogue, the Schola Levantina was founded in 1541 as the first to serve the Ghetto's Sephardic community. Its renovated…
Venice
Hidden behind busy Via XXII Marzo, this gallery is worth seeking out for its interesting shows by internationally renowned artists, who mainly work in…
Venice
An unexpected outburst of baroque extravagance, this Longhena-designed church (built 1654–80) has a facade by Giuseppe Sardi that ripples with columns and…
Chiesa di San Giorgio dei Greci
Venice
Greek Orthodox refugees who fled to Venice from Turkey with the rise of the Ottoman Empire built this church in the 16th century, using taxes collected on…
Venice
It's not the prettiest from the outside, but the bald brick facade of this 17th-century church (rent by a concerning crack), doesn't give any indication…
Venice
Grand Canal palaces rank among the world’s most desirable real estate, and multi-coloured marble marvel Ca’ Dario casts a mesmerising reflection, which…
Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands
La Certosa’s yacht marina complex includes a hotel, an alfresco restaurant-bar and a sailing club, which runs regattas and a summer sail camp for children.
Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands
Until Napoleon established a city cemetery on this little island, Venetians had been buried in parish plots across town – not an ideal solution in a…
Venice
This museum explores the history of Venice’s Jewish community and showcases its pivotal contributions to Venetian, Italian and world history. Opened in…
Venice
Instead of simple father-son handyman projects, sculptor Pietro Lombardo and his sons had more ambitious goals: a high-Renaissance marble facade for the…
Venice
This 16th-century church with its facade stacked with muscular caryatids – which the celebrated art critic Ruskin thought ‘the most monstrous example of…
Chiesa di Santa Maria del Giglio
Venice
Founded in the 9th century but almost completely rebuilt in the late 17th century, this church is distinguished by a series of six relief maps on its…
Venice
Seventeenth-century backpackers must have thought they’d died and gone to heaven at this magnificent confraternity clubhouse, dedicated to Our Lady of Mt…
Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands
Burano's Lace Museum tells the story of a craft that cut across social boundaries, endured for centuries and evoked the epitome of sophistication reached…
Venice
German traders only had to walk a block from the trading floor of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi to pray for an upswing in the market for their goods. Through…
Venice
A dream made real, San Salvador was conceived in the 7th century when Jesus appeared to a sleeping Bishop Magnus and pointed out on a lagoon map the exact…
Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands
From 1468 until the 18th century, this tiny island served as a quarantine station. Merchants waited out their 40-day exile in one of the 100 cells that…
Venice
A retrofit designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Renzo Piano transformed Venice’s historic salt warehouses into art galleries. Although the facade…
Chiesa di Santa Maria del Rosario
Venice
Venetians have long memories, which is why this church is still called I Gesuati by locals despite the namesake religious order having been replaced by…
Venice
Flourishes of carved stone like icing across the 1660s facade of this church, dedicated to Moses, make it appear positively lickable, although 19th…
Venice
The free-standing bell tower, visible from the square behind, leans disconcertingly, but this brick Gothic church has stood tall since the 13th century…
Venice
Find design inspiration at the palatial home studio of art nouveau designer Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo (1871–1949), whose uncorseted Delphi-goddess frocks…
San Polo & Santa Croce
Travellers pass modest St Paul's Church (founded in the 9th century) without guessing that major dramas unfold inside. Under the carena di nave (ship's…
