9 Best Sights in Santa Croce, Venice

Baldassare Longhena's grand Baroque palace, begun in 1676, is the beautifully restored home of two impressive collections. The Galleria Internazionale d'Arte Moderna has works by 19th- and 20th-century artists, such as Klimt, Kandinsky, Matisse, and Miró. It also has a collection of representative works from the Venice Biennale that amounts to a panorama of 20th-century art. The pride of the Museo Orientale is its collection of Japanese art—and especially armor and weapons—of the Edo period (1603–1868). It also has a small but striking collection of Chinese and Indonesian porcelains and musical instruments.

Theories abound on this lovely square's unusual name; one hypothesis is that there was once a laurel tree here and the Venetian dialect has thoroughly transformed the word (lauro in Italian). In any case, today's trees lend it shade and character. Add benches and a fountain (with a drinking bowl for dogs), and the pleasant, oddly shaped campo becomes a welcoming place for friendly conversation and neighborhood kids at play. The church of San Giacomo dall'Orio (another common spelling) was founded in the 9th century on an island still populated (the legend goes) by wolves. The current church dates from 1225.

The church of San Stae—the Venetian name for Sant' Eustachio (St. Eustace)—was reconstructed in 1687 by Giovanni Grassi and given a new facade in 1707 by Domenico Rossi. Renowned Venetian painters and sculptors of the early 18th century decorated this church around 1717 with the legacy left by Doge Alvise II Mocenigo, who's buried in the center aisle. San Stae affords a good opportunity to see the early works of Gianbattista Tiepolo, Sebastiano Ricci, and Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, as well as those of the previous generation of Venetian painters, with whom they had studied.

Being an independent nation based on commerce, Venice in the 16th and 17th centuries was the premier European city for inventions, patents, and research. Midwives, for example, were required by the Ministry of Health to be able to read, to be certified to have spent two years attending anatomical dissections relating to obstetrics, to have spent two years as an assistant to an approved midwife, and to have passed a final examination conducted not only by doctors, but two midwives who were permitted to question the candidate. In the 1770s obstetric surgeon Giovanni Menini paid for the construction of an anatomy theater where not only midwives, but also surgeons, were taught. The building is now used for civic functions. The adjacent bridge is named the Ponte de l'Anatomia.

Commonly referred to as the "Calatrava Bridge" after its designer, Santiago Calatrava, this swooping modern arch crossing the Grand Canal connects Piazzale Roma to the train station. Opinions have differed wildly on its aesthetic ever since its inauguration in 2008, but no one can deny its long-overdue usefulness—as many as 5,000 people a day cross it when arriving, departing, or daily commuting. It has become notorious for its structural flaws, most notably slippery steps made of Murano glass that—it is said—are eventually going to be replaced by concrete. Whatever your thoughts on its beauty, the views from its graceful summit are always engaging.

Located just across the Grand Canal between Piazzale Roma and the train station, this lush oasis was created in the 1830s by demolishing the former monastery of Santa Croce. A tranquil place to sit in the shade, the gardens feature flowers, large, leafy trees, and a small playground for children. Pause to admire the marble statue of civil engineer Pietro Paleòcapa; not a Venetian, but one of the great 19th-century hydraulic engineers modifying rivers and swamps in Italy and Europe. He served in Venice as Director of Public Works and crowned his career by collaborating with Luigi Negrelli in the planning of the Suez Canal.

Officially named "San Nicola da Tolentino," Vincenzo Scamozzi's baroque building (1602; facade 1714 by Andrea Tirali) is named for St. Nicholas as venerated in the town of Tolentino in the Marche region of Italy. A black cannonball is stuck into the wall just to the right of the front door as you enter the church; this is a relic of the Austrian bombardment during the failed Venetian uprising in 1848. It didn't land here by itself, but was placed here as a memorial; an identical cannonball is on the facade of the church of San Salvador. It has a squad of doges' tombs: Giovanni I Cornaro (d. 1629), his son Francesco Cornaro (d. 1656), Giovanni II Cornaro (d. 1722), and Paolo Renier (d. 1789). The adjoining monastery now serves as a branch of IUAV, the University of Architecture.

Built in 1738 by Giovanni Antonio Scalfarotto, this neoclassical behemoth is the first thing you see when you exit the train station. It makes a breathtaking first impression, though it's obvious that its proportions are very unbalanced. When Napoléon saw it, he famously quipped, "I've seen churches with domes before, but this is the first time I've seen a dome with a church." It is open daily but only for mass at 11 am, conducted in Latin according to the Roman ritual. It is under the care of FSSP (Fraternità Sacerdotale San Pietro), a missionary confraternity of priests.

The charming rose-colored building tucked beside the church of San Stae was the headquarters of the guilds of the gold "pullers" (gold wire and thread) and gold beaters (gold leaf). Although it was a very old guild, founded in 1420, it was one of the smallest (only 48 members); this building, not their first, was constructed in 1711, and closed in 1798, a year after the fall of the Venetian Republic. After changing hands several times, in the early 20th century it became the property of a Venetian antiques dealer, whose family still owns it today. While it is not open to the public, the building is used for elegant private events.