Local gems in Venice

Piazza San Marco

Venice

Ponte della Costituzione

Venice

The Ponte della Costituzione is the fourth bridge over the Grand Canal in Venice, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Inaugurated in 2008, it connects Santa Lucia railway station with Piazzale Roma as a pedestrian bridge. The 94-metre arched bridge was controversial from the start: critics raised concerns about accessibility, the glass balustrade, and the sweeping form contrasting with Venice's historic cityscape. Today, despite all controversies, it is an everyday link for millions of travellers and a striking example of contemporary architecture set against a historic backdrop.

Rialto Bridge

Venice

San Simeone Piccolo

Venice

San Simeone Piccolo is a church in Venice's Santa Croce sestiere, with origins reaching back to the 9th century. It stands directly on the Grand Canal, facing the Santa Lucia railway station, making it the first image of Venice for most arriving visitors — its green copper dome and neoclassical portico are instantly recognisable. The church is dedicated to the lesser of two saints named Simeon, distinguishing it from the nearby San Simeone Profeta. Despite its modest scale, its domed silhouette defines the Grand Canal skyline.

Santa Maria di Nazareth (Scalzi)

Venice

Santa Maria di Nazareth, commonly called the Scalzi, is the church of the Discalced Carmelite order in Venice's Cannaregio sestiere, sitting directly beside Venezia Santa Lucia railway station. Designed by Baldassarre Longhena, construction began in the mid-17th century and was completed by the late 1600s; the ornate Baroque façade by Giuseppe Sardi was added in 1683. Right beside the church the Ponte degli Scalzi crosses the Grand Canal — one of the few bridges spanning the waterway. The church and bridge share the name of the Scalzi (barefoot) friars. Arriving by train, visitors encounter this imposing façade as one of their first sights of Venice.

Auditorium Santa Margherita (Venice)

Venice

The church of Santa Margherita in the Dorsoduro sestiere is one of Venice's oldest religious buildings, possibly dating back to the 9th century. Originally dedicated to Saint Margaret of Antioch, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, it was secularised during the Napoleonic era. Since then the building has served various secular purposes and today functions as an auditorium and event space for the University of Venice. Visitors passing through the lively Campo Santa Margherita find here a quiet contrast to the busy square outside.

Bacchiglione

Venice

The Bacchiglione is a river in the northern Italian region of Veneto, flowing from the Alps through Vicenza and Padua before emptying into the Brenta near Chioggia. For centuries it served as an important waterway as far as Vicenza, above which it is no longer navigable. In the 19th century it was connected to the Adige by a canal. Along its banks lie historic town centers and bridges that shaped the link between the Alpine region and the Adriatic coast.

Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo

Venice

Santi Giovanni e Paolo — known in Venetian dialect as San Zanipolo — is one of Venice's largest churches, stretching nearly 100 metres. This Gothic brick church in the Castello sestiere was built by the Dominicans from the 13th century onwards. It serves as the pantheon of Venetian doges: more than 25 doges are buried here, and their elaborate tombs line the interior walls. The monumental funerary monument to Doge Pietro Mocenigo at the main portal is particularly striking. Part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Venice, San Zanipolo is a place where art history and civic history stand side by side.

Basilica dei Santi Maria e Donato, Murano

Venice

The Basilica dei Santi Maria e Donato on the glass island of Murano is one of the oldest and most impressive churches in the lagoon. Its origins date to the 7th century; the current Romanesque building is largely from the 12th century. The church is famous for its floor: a 12th-century Byzantine mosaic pavement depicting animals, geometric motifs and sacred scenes in vivid colours. Behind the altar, bones are kept that legend says came from a dragon slain by Saint Donatus. As part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Venice and its Lagoon, this church ranks among Italy's most significant medieval buildings.

Basilica di San Pietro di Castello

Venice

San Pietro di Castello stands on a small island at the far eastern edge of Venice, far from the bustle of San Marco. The current Renaissance building dates to the 16th century, but a church has occupied this site since at least the 7th century. From 1451 to 1807 San Pietro was Venice's official cathedral — a fact that surprises many visitors, since San Marco was actually the doge's private chapel rather than the diocese's seat. The façade was one of Andrea Palladio's first church commissions in Venice. Today the church is quiet and rarely crowded, a peaceful corner in one of the world's most visited cities.

Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Venice

Venice

The Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana – the National Library of St Mark – is one of the oldest public libraries in Italy and one of the world's most important collections of Greek, Latin and Oriental manuscripts. It traces its origins to 1468, when Cardinal Bessarion bequeathed his extensive manuscript collection to the city of Venice. The building on the southern edge of St Mark's Square was designed by Jacopo Sansovino and is considered a masterpiece of Venetian Renaissance architecture. Today the Marciana is the only institution that has survived from the age of the Venetian Republic.

Ca d Oro Venice

Venice

The Ca d Oro — "Golden House" in Venetian — is one of the finest Gothic palaces on the Grand Canal in Venice. Built between 1421 and 1440 for the patrician Marino Contarini, its facade was originally decorated with ultramarine, vermilion, and real gold leaf, earning its name. Today the restored palace houses the Galleria Giorgio Franchetti, displaying medieval sculptures alongside Renaissance paintings by Mantegna and Titian. The loggia of the palace offers a front-row seat to the continuous movement of the Grand Canal.

Ca Farsetti

Venice

Ca Farsetti is one of the oldest palaces on the Grand Canal in Venice, standing close to the Rialto Bridge. Built after 1200 by Ranieri Dandolo, son of the famous Doge Enrico Dandolo, it is an early example of Venetian Gothic with multi-lancet windows facing the canal. In the 17th century the Farsetti family purchased the building; in 1826 the municipality acquired it and has used it as city hall ever since. Passing by on the Grand Canal today, the heavy stone facade in the shadow of the Rialto is one of the oldest layers of the lagoon city.

Ca' Loredan

Venice

Castello del Catajo

Venice

Castello di Roncade

Venice

Castello di Roncade, formally the Villa Giustinian Ciani Bassetti, is a Venetian villa near Treviso in the Veneto region that presents the appearance of a medieval fortress through its turreted outer walls and towers. The fortifications were never military – they were built purely as aristocratic display, imitating a castle to project noble prestige. Today the property operates as a working winery and has been recognized as an Italian national monument. Visitors can taste wines and explore the estate, which reflects the theatrical grandeur of Venetian nobility.

Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta (Chioggia)

Venice

The Cathedral of Chioggia serves as the main church of the Diocese of Chioggia and is the largest building in this small fishing town at the southern tip of the Venetian Lagoon. The current Baroque structure was begun in 1627, replacing an earlier church. Chioggia is often called the smaller, more authentic Venice — tourists rarely make it here, and locals dominate the streets and canals. Inside the cathedral are numerous artworks including paintings by Venetian masters of the 17th and 18th centuries. The surrounding canals and fish market lanes make a visit a quieter counterpoint to the bustle of the Serenissima.

Chiesa dei Santi Apostoli

Venice

Santi Apostoli is one of Venice's oldest churches, located in the Cannaregio sestiere with origins in the 7th century. The current building results from a major reconstruction of 1575. Particularly notable is the Cornaro Chapel, added in the late 15th century by Mauro Codussi — one of the leading figures of Venetian Early Renaissance — serving as the burial place for several members of the powerful Cornaro family. Works by Tiepolo and the location on Campo SS. Apostoli near the Strada Nova make it a worthwhile detour off the main tourist routes.

Chiesa delle Eremite

Venice

The Chiesa delle Eremite, also known as Le Romite, is a small Catholic church in the Dorsoduro district of Venice, built for Augustinian nuns and completed in 1694. The larger complex included a convent and schools that educated children from infancy through to high school, continuing until the mid-20th century. The church is dedicated to Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and sits along the Rio de le Romite. It is one of Venice''s quieter, less-visited churches, away from the main tourist paths, retaining a sense of neighbourhood calm.

Chiesa del Redentore

Venice

Il Redentore – the Church of the Redeemer – is one of Andrea Palladio's most celebrated works, standing on the island of Giudecca in Venice. The Republic of Venice commissioned it in 1577 as a votive offering after the plague killed roughly a third of the city's population. To this day, the Festa del Redentore is celebrated every third Sunday of July: a pontoon bridge connects Giudecca to the Piazzetta, and thousands of Venetians cross it on foot. The white facade with its classical portico is considered a masterpiece of Venetian classicism.

Chiesa di Cristo Re alla Celestia

Venice

The Chiesa di Cristo Re alla Celestia stands on the site of the former Cistercian convent of Santa Maria della Celestia in Venice's eastern Castello district. The convent was founded in the 13th century and survived until the early 19th century, when it was suppressed under Napoleon. The original church was dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. Little of the old structure survives today – the building now serves as a local parish church. The site lies off the main tourist routes, close to the Arsenal.

Chiesa di San Bartolomeo

Venice

San Bartolomeo is a church on the Campo San Bartolomeo in Venice, just steps from the Rialto Bridge in the sestiere of San Marco. Legendarily founded in 840, it was for centuries closely tied to the German-speaking merchants who resided in the nearby Fondaco dei Tedeschi. These traders from the Holy Roman Empire richly endowed the church and made it their community center. The present building is an early Baroque structure from the early 18th century. Since the 1980s, the church has been deconsecrated and repurposed as a secular cultural venue for exhibitions.

Chiesa di San Canciano

Venice

San Canciano – also known as San Canziano – is a parish church in the sestiere of Cannaregio in Venice, standing on the campo of the same name. Although its origins date to 1351, the church was substantially rebuilt in the Baroque period after the earlier structure burned down in 1105. It is dedicated to the early Christian martyrs Cantius, Cantianus, and Cantianilla, who according to tradition were executed in 304 CE near modern-day San Canzian d Isonzo; their cult spread from around 400 CE into medieval Venice. The parish covers the eastern part of Cannaregio and the cemetery island of San Michele.

Chiesa di San Felice

Venice

San Felice is a parish church in Venice's Cannaregio district, located right on the Strada Nova. The current building dates from the 16th century and is laid out as a Greek cross with an ornamental dome over the crossing. The church houses the relics of Saint Felix of Nola. Its modest entrance along a busy thoroughfare makes it easy to miss – but those who step inside find a quiet, well-proportioned interior that exemplifies 16th-century Venetian church architecture.

Chiesa di San Francesco di Paola

Venice

The Church of San Francesco di Paola is located on Via Garibaldi in Venice's eastern Castello district. The site's history stretches back to the 13th century, when a hospice was established here. The current church was completed in the late 16th century and is dedicated to Saint Francis of Paola, founder of the Order of Minims. Situated on Via Garibaldi – a lively but non-touristy street – it is a place frequented mainly by locals.

Chiesa di San Giacomo dall''Orio

Venice

San Giacomo dall''Orio is one of Venice''s oldest churches, dating to 976, located in the Santa Croce sestiere. It is a prime example of Venetian church architecture that evolved over centuries: a Romanesque core with Gothic additions and Renaissance modifications. The church houses the tomb of Giambattista Pittoni, one of the most important Venetian painters of the 18th century, who died in 1767. Situated on a lively campo, it remains an active part of neighbourhood life rather than a set-piece tourist attraction.

Chiesa di San Giobbe

Venice

San Giobbe is a late Gothic–early Renaissance monastery church in western Cannaregio, Venice's northernmost district. The complex was founded through the initiative of Giovanni Contarini in the late 14th century; the church itself was expanded in the 15th century with involvement from architect Pietro Lombardo. It served as the burial site of doges Cristoforo Moro and Pietro Loredan, as well as dogaressa Dea Morosini. The 46-metre campanile defines the ensemble. The neighbourhood around San Giobbe is today one of the quietest corners of Venice.

Chiesa di San Giovanni Elemosinario

Venice

San Giovanni Elemosinario, also known in Venetian as San Zuane di Rialto, is a Catholic church in the sestiere of San Polo, near the Fabbriche Vecchie in the Rialto district. The church dates back at least to the 11th century, but was rebuilt in its present Renaissance form after a fire in the early 16th century. It is dedicated to Saint John the Almsgiver, a Patriarch of Alexandria. The church contains important works by Titian and Pordenone, and offers a quiet retreat amid the bustle of the Rialto market.

Chiesa di San Giovanni in Bragora

Venice

San Giovanni in Bragora in the sestiere of Castello is one of Venice's oldest churches, with origins reaching back to the 7th century. The current structure is the result of a late 15th-century Gothic rebuilding. The church is best known as the baptismal church of Antonio Vivaldi, who was baptized here on March 6, 1678 — the original baptismal record is still preserved in the archive. Inside, paintings by Alvise Vivarini and Cima da Conegliano combine Venetian Gothic architecture with luminous coloring. The adjacent Campo Bandiera e Moro is one of the quieter squares in the Castello district.

Chiesa di San Gregorio

Venice

San Gregorio is a former monastery church and abbey in eastern Dorsoduro, situated beside the Rio de la Salute and within sight of the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute. The church dates back at least to the 9th century; in 989 it was placed under a Benedictine monastery. The current Gothic structure was built in the 14th and 15th centuries. Today, the church and monastery are no longer used for worship but house a restoration studio specializing in Venetian paintings and sculptures. Its quiet location on a small campo makes it a peaceful contrast to the nearby Salute church.