Places to Visit Near Doge's Palace

The Doge's private chapel was converted into St. Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco), which is unquestionably the most well-known church in Venice and among the simplest to recognise in the entire world. These Byzantine art treasures were looted and brought back to Venice by Venetian ships after Constantinople fell. The gold-backed mosaic pictures above the doors on the façade merely hint at the 4,240 square metres of gold mosaics that cover the domes and walls within. However, you'll also find treasures from earlier periods, such as later mosaics made by Titian and Tintoretto, whose names you'll see all around the city. These give the great interior a distinctly Byzantine flavour.

The largest plaza in Venice is united by the lovely uniformity of its architecture on all three sides, giving it an almost personal air. Thought of as Venice's living room, St. Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco) is where everyone congregates, strolls, sips coffee, pauses to speak, meets friends and tour guides, or simply passes through on their way to work or play. Chic stores and even chicer cafés may be found inside arcades that are framed on three sides. The St. Mark's Basilica serves as a signpost for the open end because of its erratic, exotic curves, swirls, mosaics, and beautiful stone filigree.

The Grand Canal, which connects Piazza San Marco, Rialto Bridge, and the places at which the rail station and bridge from the mainland arrive, cuts through the centre of Venice in a massive reverse S curve. Only four bridges span its 3.8-kilometer length, but at various locations between the bridges, decrepit gondolas known as traghetti carry passengers back and forth. Anyone who claimed to have any sort of influence in Venice would usually be found around The Grand Canal.

The Rialto Bridge, which was formerly the sole bridge over the Grand Canal, stands where Rivus Altus, the island's earliest population, once stood (high bank). This stone arch, which was constructed in 1588, around 150 years after the collapse of a prior wooden bridge, spans two bustling streets and a double row of stores. It serves as a bustling crossing point halfway along the canal and is a popular spot for tourists to take photos, pose for pictures, and observe the variety of boats that are constantly passing underneath it.

One of Venice's most recognizable landmarks is a clock tower to one side of the church, looking out onto Piazza San Marco. The clock tower is topped by two bronze Moors and the clock face has the zodiac and moon phases in gold on a blue backdrop. A tiny balcony and a statue of the Virgin Mary are located above the clock. Giorgio Massari added the winged Lion of St. Mark and a mosaic of golden stars on a blue backdrop above it in 1755. The tower itself is a superb example of Venetian Renaissance design and dates to the 15th century. The Calle Mercerie, one of Venice's busiest streets, flows through an arched doorway at its base.

The bell tower of St. Mark's Basilica is called the Campanile di San Marco. With a height of 323 feet (98.6 metres), it is the highest structure in Venice and is situated in the Piazza San Marco. It provides beautiful city views. From the observation deck of the Campanile, visitors may enjoy a fantastic perspective of Venice and the Venetian Lagoon, as well as a lovely view of St. Mark's Basilica, Santa Maria della Salute, San Giorgio, and, if it's bright, the neighbouring island of Murano.

The old residence of Peggy Guggenheim along the Grand Canal, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, now houses her private art collections. This museum focuses on American and European art from the first half of the 20th century, while the majority of Italy's famous art museums are loaded with masterpieces from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. These strong and frequently dramatic pieces, which reflect the Cubist, Futurist, Abstract Expressionist, Surrealist, and avant-garde schools of painting and sculpture, blend well in the low building's simple, white interior.

Santa Maria Della Salute, one of Venice's most popular churches and one of the most picturesque, rises at the end of a peninsula directly across from the Doge's Palace. The enormous Baroque church was erected in gratitude for the 1630 plague's conclusion. However, in order to support the massive weight of the church, its architect, Baldassare Longhena, had more than a million timbers pushed into the bottom of the lagoon. In addition to the beautiful dome, the Sacristy, where masterpieces like Tintoretto's Marriage at Cana are located, is the focus of the church's interior. It is just across from the vaporetto landing.

Between 1515 and 1560, this beautiful structure made of white marble was constructed to house a San Rocco-inspired charity organisation. To the annoyance of his opponent painters, the famous Venetian painter Tintoretto entered the building and placed his picture in its proper location before the judgment. He won the competition and created the centre panel for the ceiling of the Sala dell'Albergo. Later, he painted a whole cycle of paintings that are regarded as the artist's finest work and adorned the room's walls and ceilings. The Glorification of St. Roch, Christ before Pilate, the Ecce Homo, and the most potent of all, The Crucifixion, are among the earliest pieces in the Sala dell'Albergo, dating from 1564 and 1576, respectively.

Since it has emerged from the ashes like the mythological phoenix, the name La Fenice (The Phoenix), adopted at the constriction in 1792, has proven prophetic. Three fires have completely destroyed the theatre, with the most recent one occurring in 1996 and just the exterior walls remaining. It has been renovated each time and is still one of the best opera houses in the world. Many of the most well-known Italian operas, including those by Rossini, Donizetti, and Verdi, had their world premieres at La Fenice throughout its history, but especially in the 19th century. The venue still hosts opera and ballet performances as well as musical concerts today.

You can only imagine the impact this façade must have had when it was coated in its original paint and gold since the exquisite marble filigree by Bartolomeo Bon appears too lace-like to be carved from stone. The Porta della Carta in the Palazzo Ducale, another Bartolomeo Bon creation, is regarded as the most ideal illustration of Venetian Gothic. The inside of this palace, which has been reconstructed to serve as both a backdrop for the artwork and an illustration of how affluent Venetians lived in the 15th and 16th centuries, is also available for viewing. Baron Giorgio Franchetti, the art collector who was instrumental in rescuing the palace, donated his collection of Titian, Mantegna, Van Dyck, and Tullio paintings to the government in 1922.

Taking a vaporetto across the lagoon to Murano, the home of Venice's renowned glass makers, is a must-do activity for anybody visiting the city of canals. In the 13th century, they were brought here in an effort to lessen the possibility of a fire breaking out in one of the glass furnaces that were spreading across the densely packed core of Venice. Glass workshops and stores now border the canal sides, displaying anything from pricey fine art to inexpensive imported souvenirs. One of the largest and most important collections of Venetian glass from the Roman era to the 20th century is found in the Glass Museum, which is situated inside the 17th-century Palazzo Giustinian.

The Sansovino Library, which was constructed a century earlier and is located across from the Doge's Palace, served as inspiration for Ca' Pesaro's striking façade, which faces the Grand Canal. The palace today houses the Galleria d'Arte Moderna, which contrasts strongly with the sumptuous Venetian Late Baroque interior and the artwork on show. It houses pieces by significant 19th- and 20th-century painters and sculptors such Gustav Klimt, Marc Chagall, and Auguste Rodin, making it one of Italy's best collections of contemporary art. Highlights include 20th-century ornamental arts such as unique furniture items manufactured by the cabinetmaker Carlo Bugatti and works in glass created by Carlo Scarpa in the 1930s and 1940s.

Up to the end of the 17th century, the Venetian Republic's Arsenal, which served as its shipyard, was the biggest and busiest in the world. It continued to grow after its establishment in 1104, eventually reaching peak employment of 16,000 people. The Arsenal was only accessible by one land and one marine approach in order to protect the top-secret manufacturing techniques that allowed it to construct a ship that was entirely sea-ready in just one day. The Republic was so well protected that its craft of shipbuilding was kept a secret until around 1550.

Around 1340, the Franciscans began construction on this Gothic church, which was completed in the middle of the 15th century with the completion of the façade, interior, and two chapels. Although the interior reflects the straightforward, austere design of Franciscan cathedrals, it is filled with priceless works of art. A significant wood figure of St. John the Baptist created in 1451 by Florentine sculptor Donatello may be found in the right transept.