Local area

The traditional site of La Biennale Art Exhibitions since the first edition in 1895, the Giardini rise to the eastern edge of Venice and were made by Napoleon at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The Giardini now host 29 pavilions of foreign countries, some of them designed by famous architects.

St. Mark's Square is one of the most beautiful square in the world and is the main symbol of the city. This large square overlooking the water is a mixture of spaces, volumes and more, the residence of the Procurator, the bell tower, the Doge's Palace and the Sansoviniana Library.

The mightiest of Venetian monuments, the one that really shows the greatness of Venice is undoubtedly St. Mark's Basilica. Its architecture, a mixture of Byzantine, Roman and Venetian is the work of artists and craftsmen coming from all over. The Church structure is enormous: five great arches support five gigantic domes.

The core mission of the museum is to present the personal collection of Peggy Guggenheim. The collection holds major works of Cubism, Futurism, Metaphysical painting, European abstraction, avant-garde sculpture, Surrealism, and American Abstract Expressionism, by some of the greatest artists of the 20th century. These include Picasso, Braque, Duchamp, Léger, Brancusi, Severini, Picabia, de Chirico, Mondrian, Kandinsky, Miró.

The Island of Murano divided into nine islets crossed by a wide canal, is the island of glass blowing. A long and still-thriving tradition, this magic art has involved whole generations of Murano residents. The Museum of Glass is a must for anyone wishing to bone up on the art of glass-making in Venice. The Island of Burano is located just 10 Km from Venice and can be reached by boat or ferry and is famous for its lace and coloured houses.