Museums & Galleries
Antica Locanda al Gambero
ClassHotel 3 star
AreaSan Marco
Hotel The Antica Locanda Al Gambero is located in the heart of Venice 150 meters from Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge...
The treasure of San Marco
After the conquest of Costantinopole, in 1204, the treasure of San Marco gradually became more consistent, gaining in wealth over the span of five centuries thanks to a succession of bequests, plunder from the wars, and donations from popes and heads of state. Its worth was inestimable, but unfortunately it was subjected to much plundering and a series of fires. In 1449 it was burgled by a robber from Candia who dug an underground tunnel right across the piazza to reach it. In 1797, the Republic fall, Napoleon plundered the treasure and had all the gold melted down, with the result that the jewellery masterpieces were forever lost to posterity, the legend says. The few remaining objects left intact were integrated with the present-day treasure gradually added since 1832. It today boasts a collection of historical jewellery considered amongst the most valuable in the world.
Museo Storico Navale (Naval History Museum) and Arsenale
The Venetian Republic never could have thrived without the Arsenale shipyard, which is said to have been founded in 1104. The immense facility that evolved was given the old Venetian dialect name arzanà, borrowed from the Arabic word darsina'a, meaning workshop. At times it employed as many as 16,000 arsenalotti, workers who were among the most respected shipbuilders in the world. The Arsenale's impressive Renaissance gateway, built in 1460, is guarded by four lions. If you look at the winged lion above the doorway you'll notice that the Gospel at his paw is open but lacks the customary Pax inscription; praying for peaceperhaps seemed inappropriate above a factory that manufacturedweapons.The zone belongs to the Italian Navy and it isn't regularly open to the public. It only opens for the Biennale and for Venice's festival of traditional boats, held in May. If you're here during those times, don't miss the chance for a look in the Museum.
The Peggy Guggenheim Collection
The extremely famous and eccentric American collector Peggy Guggenheim cared for her priceless and rare collections with immense love and passion inside Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, her Venetian residence for nearly thirty years. In 1979, after Peggy's death, all the contemporary artworks housed inside the dwelling passed into the hands of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. The paintings, including works by Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Piet Mondrian, are still on display inside Palazzo Venier. The permanent exhibition includes also the very famous Bath by Pablo Picasso and the Sad youth on a train by Marcel Duchamp. Also extremely beautiful, Peggy Guggenheim's bed head, crafted out of silver and the work of Alexander Calder.
The Gallerie dell'Accademia
The Accademia Gallery is one of the world's great museums, absolutely unmissable on your visit to Venice. The Academy houses large collections of paintings by the most famous representatives of Venetian art, such as Titian, all the Bellini clan, Tintoretto, Veronese and Tiepolo. As with any museum or gallery, planning is everything. There's a lot to see in the 24 rooms and you can't take in everything, so set yourself some must sees.
To visit the Gallerie dell'Accademia means to plunge into art surrounded by masterpieces that take your breathe away. In order to make a complete tour of all the halls you must forget your watch and the time and lose yourself in the splendour of the canvases, as you capture the essence of Venice over the centuries. You can't help but stand in awe in front of the Storm by Giorgione, Saint George by Mantegna and Portrait of a gentleman by Lorenzo Lotto. Spectacular, The Presentation of the Virgin, by Tiziano.
Palazzo Grassi
In chronological order, this is the last Venetian palazzo of the 18th century. Nowadays it plays an important role as the most famous exposition center of Venice. Indeed, numerous exhibitions are held there andthey constantly attract a huge crowd of tourists, sightseers and enthusiasts.
You will admire exhibitions about ancient civilizations like the Maya, thePhoenicians, and the Greeks as well as aboutunusual artistic interpretations of the great masters or different pictorial trends, like the Flemish painters of the twentieth century, the German Impressionists, the renaissance in Venice and Northern Europe.
Palazzo Ducale
The true hub of the political and judicial life of Renaissance Venice, Palazzo Ducale is the symbol of the Venetian Gothic, whit its wonderful arcades and light facade. It was built by Pietro Baseggio and Filippo Calendario while the balcony was erected in 1404 by Pier Paolo dalle Masegne. The splendid Porta della Carta, facing onto the small piazza, was designed by Giovanni and Bartolomeo Bon. The Doge’s apartment and the Stairs of the Giants,were designed by Antonio Rizzo in 1483. Various enlargements and other transformations have been carried out over the centuries. Entrance is gained either in Porta del Frumento or in Porta della Carta while the floors are connected via splendid stairways, like the Stairs of the Giants, theStairs of the Censori, and the Golden Stairs.
In the first floor, the doge's old residence, there used to be many works of art ( by Fabriano, Pisanello, Bellini and Tiziano) unfortunately destroyed in 1577. At the three corners of the building you’ll find famous sculptures such as Adam and Eve, Noe and Salomon’s trial.To the east of the palazzo, you will find the interrogation and torture rooms known as the Cells of the Piombi – the prison of Silvio Pellico and Casanova – and the Cells of the Pozzi.
Ca' d'Oro
The Ca' d'Oro, in perfect gothic style, is probably the most famous palazzo of the Canal Grande. It now houses the Galleria Franchetti.
Erected in the fifteenth century, in 1846 the dancer Maria Taglioniby the Russian baron Troubetzkoi, who owned it.
In 1916 the palazzo was handed over to the State by Baron Franchetti, a well knownbenefactor of the twentieth century. Its name derives from the splendid gilt works that once decorated the palazzo, now completely vanished. The Ca' d'Oro is the only Venetian building not to have been named after its owner, Marin Contarini. Nowadays the Galleria Franchetti houses valuable artworks like the Venus by Tiziano, the Annunciation by Carpaccio and San Sebastiano by Mantegna.
Ca' Rezzonico e Ca' Foscari
Facing onto the Canal Grande, in the quarter of Dorsoduro, a long row of buildings can be admired, amongst which the beautiful Ca' Rezzonico and Ca' Foscari.
The former, erected in 1667, contains precious paintings with works attributed to Pietro Longhi. Since 1934 this palazzo has been the seat of the famous 18th Century Venetian Museum that houses furniture, wooden sculptures and paintings by great 18th century artists, like Giambattista Piazzetta, Johann Liss and Pietro Longhi.
Ca' Foscari on the other hand, was built in 1452 in perfect gothic style. Its fame derives from its illustrious guests such as French King Henri III. Today it isthe seat of the University.