7 Best Sights in Venice, Italy

Completed in 1442, this immense Gothic church of russet-color brick, known locally as “I Frari,” is famous worldwide for its array of spectacular Venetian paintings and historic tombs. It is also noteworthy for being the only important church in Italy that has preserved its elaborately carved, freestanding wooden choir in front of the high altar, a common feature in the medieval period (for the use of the monks in the attached monastery, still active today).

Visit the sacristy first, to see Giovanni Bellini's 1488 triptych Madonna and Child with Saints in all its mellow luminosity, painted for precisely this spot. The Corner Chapel on the other side of the chancel is graced by Bartolomeo Vivarini's (1415–84) 1474 altarpiece St. Mark Enthroned and Saints John the Baptist, Jerome, Peter, and Nicholas, which is much more conservative, displaying an attention to detail generally associated with late medieval painting. In the first south chapel of the choir, there is a fine sculpture of St. John the Baptist by Donatello, dated 1438 (perhaps created before the artist came to Venice), which conveys a psychological intensity rare for early Renaissance sculpture. You can see the rapid development of Venetian Renaissance painting by contrasting Bellini with the heroic energy of Titian's Assumption, over the main altar, painted only 30 years later. Unveiled in 1518, it was the artist's first public commission and, after causing a bit of controversy, did much to establish his reputation. Upon viewing this painting at the far end of the nave, you'll first think it has been specially spotlit: up close, however, you'll discover this impression is due to the painter's unrivaled use of light and color.

Titian's masterpiece, the Madonna di Ca' Pesaro, is in the left aisle. The painting took seven years to complete (finished in 1526), and in it Titian disregarded the conventions of his time by moving the Virgin out of center and making the saints active participants. The composition, built on diagonals, anticipates structural principals of Baroque painting in the following century. The work is brought to life by the unconventional gaze of young Leonardo Pesaro, who seems to look directly at the viewer.

The Frari also holds a Sansovino sculpture of St. John the Baptist and Longhena's impressive Baroque tomb designed for Doge Giovanni Pesaro. Titian, who died during the plague of 1576, is buried near his luminous Madonna di Ca' Pesaro; the massive marble monument to him near the main entrance was commissioned by the emperor of Austria in 1838 in recognition of the artist who had worked at the court of his forefathers. The black marble tomb of musician Claudio Monteverdi, one of the greatest composers of the 17th century, is in the chapel of the Milanese to the left of the high altar. There are always roses lying on it, left by anonymous admirers.

This elegant example of Venetian Renaissance architecture was built between 1516 and 1549 for the essentially secular charitable confraternity bearing the saint's name. The Venetian scuole were organizations that sometimes had loose religious affiliations, through which the artisan class could exercise some influence upon civic life. San Rocco was venerated as a protector against the plague, and his scuola was one of the city's most magnificent. While the building is bold and dramatic outside, its contents are even more stunning—a series of more than 60 paintings by Tintoretto. In 1564, Tintoretto edged out competition for a commission to decorate a ceiling by submitting not a sketch, but a finished work, which he moreover offered free of charge, calculating correctly that a gift could not be rejected. Moses Striking Water from the Rock, The Brazen Serpent, and The Fall of Manna represent three afflictions—thirst, disease, and hunger—that San Rocco, and later his brotherhood, sought to relieve.

Only Piazza San Marco is larger than this square, and the echo of children's voices bouncing off the surrounding palaces makes the space seem even bigger. Campo San Polo once hosted bullfights, fairs, military parades, and packed markets, and now comes especially alive on summer nights, when it's home to the city's outdoor cinema.

The Chiesa di San Polo has been restored so many times that little remains of the original 9th-century church, and the 19th-century alterations were so costly that, sadly, the friars sold off many great paintings to pay bills. Although Gianbattista Tiepolo is represented here, his work is outdone by 16 paintings by his son Giandomenico (1727–1804), including the Stations of the Cross in the oratory to the left of the entrance. The younger Tiepolo also created a series of expressive and theatrical renderings of the saints. Look for altarpieces by Tintoretto and Veronese that managed to escape auction.

San Polo's bell tower (begun 1362), across the street from the entrance to the church, remained unchanged over the centuries—don't miss the two lions, playing with a disembodied human head and a serpent, on the wall just above the tower's doorway. Tradition has it that the head refers to that of Marino Faliero, the doge executed for treason in 1355.

Officially titled San Giacomo Apostolo, but affectionately nicknamed San Giacometto ("Little Saint James"), this is one of the three oldest churches in Venice. Legend says its establishment coincides with the mythic date of Venice's founding on March 25, 421, but in fact it was built when the market was established in 1097. It's a tiny Romanesque jewel in Greek-cross form that miraculously survived the conflagration that leveled much of the Rialto area in 1514. The porch (15th century) is supported by five Veneto-Byzantine columns of Greek marble dating from when the church was built. The impressive clock (mid-15th century) above the entrance, marked in 24 hours, governed the market's opening and closing times. The bell gable (1792) was installed to replace the tower damaged in the disastrous fire of 1514; its economical but perfectly functional style is seen on several other churches in Venice. Concerts are often given here.

The "little scuola" of the shoemakers conducted its affairs in its headquarters in this charming building on Campo San Tomà. It is now used for community meetings and lectures open to the public, as well as small exhibitions. Most notable is the relief carving (Pietro Lombardo, 1478) above the main door that vividly portrays San Marco miraculously healing Aniano, a poor shoemaker and the scuola's patron saint. The story goes that San Marco had arrived in Alexandria, Egypt, and was directed by the archangel Michael to go to Aniano to fix his broken sandal. He found the shoemaker in terrible pain from having injured himself with one of his tools. Marco preached the gospel to him, and then created a substance by mixing his saliva with dust from the road that healed the injury immediately. Aniano converted to Christianity and was baptized by Marco himself.

This scuola was founded in the 13th century, but the actual building is the work of various Venetian Renaissance architects and dates from the 15th century. In the 1480s the architect Pietro Lombardo finished the school's most beautiful and important architectural feature, the outdoor atrium and gateway that separate the complex from the campo adjoining it. Shortly after, in 1498, the architect Mauro Codussi finished work on a double staircase connecting the upper and lower halls. It is illuminated by a mullioned window on the landing between the two flights of stairs, an architectural device much used by Codussi. Carpaccio and Gentile Bellini painted their cycle of the miracle of the holy cross, now in the Accademia museum, originally for the Scuola di San Giovanni.

Another of the six "great" scuole, San Giovanni Evangelista, founded in 1261, is only a few steps from the Frari and San Rocco, but undeservedly lacks the popularity of San Rocco, despite its impressive Renaissance architecture by two of the greatest architects of the 15th century (Pietro Lombardo and Mauro Codussi). The wealth of paintings by Titian, Palma il Giovane, and Giandomenico Tiepolo favor depictions of St. John's visions of the Apocalypse. The famous paintings of the "Miracles of the Reliquary of the Holy Cross," created by Giovanni Bellini in 1490 for the scuola, are in the Accademia Gallery. The grand staircase was redesigned in 1498 by Mauro Codussi, who employed several visual tricks to make it seem larger than its small space would allow, and the mosaic marble pavement of the Salone (Giorgio Massari, 1752) is a masterpiece of the stoneworker's art. If you don't have time to visit the scuola itself, be sure to stop in its unique semi-enclosed medieval courtyard. The marble wall (Pietro Lombardo, 1481) is surmounted by a cross, eagle, and books, all symbols of St. John. The pavement (1759) echoes the designs seen on Piazza San Marco.