The best museums in Venice

Venice has always been one of the most visited cities in the world, not only for its several historical events, such as the carnival or the unmissable Festival of the Redeemer but especially for its history and its art treasures preserved in the museums along with this entire magical city. Among these museums, there are some of the most notable exhibition spaces of the world, such as Collezione Peggy Guggenheim and the great buildings such as Ca’ Rezzonico o Ca’ Pesaro, which were the residence of noble families before turning into museums.
The result is that the artistic value shown fluctuates through centuries and styles starting from the Venetian eighteen century to the modern and contemporary style until the naturalistic and ethnographic museums.

Palazzo Ducale
This masterpiece is characterized by the gothic Venetian style and it’s one of the buildings representing the greatness of the city. Founded in the IX century, its former name was Palazzo Dogale, because it was the place of the Doge, the head of the state of the Venetian republic. Today it holds the beautiful Museo Civico di Palazzo Ducale, part of the “Associazione Musei Civici”, the Venice association of civic museums.
Here you can find sumptuous rooms that triumphantly follow one another, decorated with the most famous works of the great artists of the period, from Tintoretto to Veronese.
Following the tour, you will reach the prisons, monumental stairs and the floor reserved for the noble families.
 


Galleria dell’Accademia
Its rooms are full of a charming collection of paintings which holds a period of five centuries (between the XIV and XVIII century) and gives a complete view over the Venetian school, starting from the medieval and byzantine period to the baroque through the renaissance. The gallery preserves some of the masterpieces of great masters such as Bellini, Giorgione, Mantegna, Tiziano, Tintoretto, Veronese and Tiepolo.

Scuola Grande di San Rocco
Its fame is firstly connected to Jacopo Tintoretto, the artist who created great paintings for the three rooms of the school from 1564 to 1578. Today it’s one of the most beautiful museums in Venice which clearly deserves a stop during your tour.
  


Ca’ Rezzonico
It’s situated in the glorious Ca’Rezzonico palace, owned from the second half of the XVIII century by the Rezzonico family from which it takes its name.
Among the valuable antique furniture, the museum holds priceless works of art from the XVIII Venetian century, created by important artists such as Tiepolo and Canaletto.

Collezione Peggy Guggenheim
It presents a very illuminated exhibition place and holds works of more than 200 contemporary artists which represent the main avant-garde movements such as cubism, futurism and surrealism.
It’s one of the most prestigious museums of modern art in the world which includes hundreds of European and American works of art of the XX century. It’s situated in Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, the former house of Peggy Guggenheim. The great love of the patron for the avant-gardes of the XX century, from the abstract art to the futurism, was the beginning for one of the largest collections of this field, including the masterpieces of Boccioni, Chagall, Dalì, Magritte, Modigliani, Picasso, Warhol and others.
  


Museo Ca’ Pesaro
In 1899 the duchess Bevilacqua La Masa left to the city of Venice the residence Ca’ Pesaro, the palace of the XVII century which overlooks the Canal Grande, in order to turn it into a permanent exhibition place for young artists. Here in 1902 was inaugurated the new Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Venezia (the modern art gallery of Venice).
The International Modern Art Gallery Ca’ Pesaro holds important paintings and sculptures of the XIX and XX century, among them the famous works of Klimt, Chagall, Mirò, Kandinsky, Klee, Matisse, Moore.
On the first floor, the gallery offers an exhibition tour of ten rooms presenting a suggestive interpretation of the development of the historical-artistic period. The second floor is dedicated to temporary exhibitions.
Among the beautiful pieces of art exhibited at the gallery, there are the Giuditta II by Klimt, one of the great artists of Art Nouveau, and the copies of the sculpture Il Pensatore (The thinker) by the French artist Rodin.

Museo Correr
In 1830 the Venetian noble Teodoro Correr left his large art collection to the city of Venice.
From the large collection, Museo Correr preserves the Historical collections, the Quadreria and the Museo del Risorgimento (the Renaissance museum).
The Cristo Morto (Dead Christ Supported by Angels) by Giovanni Bellini is one of the great pieces of art from the Renaissance period exposed in this museum with the works by Antonio Canova.
A lot of people choose to visit these museums thanks to the beautiful art preserved. It’s recommended to arrive at the opening which is the less crowded time or to book online. On Mypassvenezia.it it’s possible to buy tickets at the official price without additional costs that allow to directly enter the museums and skip the queue. The reservation can be modified and cancelled until the day before.
 Here the list of the not-to-be-missed museums if you wish to spend a vacation in Italy and stay a few days in Venice.