Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 041 522 21 71; www.pietavenezia.it ; Riva degli Schiavoni; admission €3, guided tour €5;
10.15am-noon & 3-5pm Tue-Fri, 10.15am-1pm & 2-5pm Sat & Sun; Pietà) Originally called Ch-
iesa di Santa Maria della Visitazione but fondly nicknamed La Pietà, this harmonious
church designed by Giorgio Massari is known for its association with the composer
Vivaldi, who was concert master here in the early 18th century. Though the current church
was built after Vivaldi's death, its acoustic-friendly oval shape honours his memory, and it
is still regularly used as a concert hall.
Museo Storico Navale
OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP
MUSEUM
( 041 244 13 99; Riva San Biagio 2148; adult/reduced €1.55/free; 8.45am-1.30pm Mon-Fri, to 1pm
Sat; ; Arsenale) Maritime madness spans 42 rooms at this museum of Venice's seafar-
ing history, featuring scale models of Venetian-built vessels as well as Peggy Guggen-
heim's not-so-minimalist gondola. On the ground floor, 'the barn', you'll find sprawling
galleries of fearsome weaponry and 17th-century dioramas of forts and ports. Upstairs you
can gawk at a sumptuous model of the bucintoro , the doge's gilded ceremonial barge,
destroyed by Napoleonic troops in 1798.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
LA SERRA DEI GIARDINI
Order the signature pear bellini and sit back amid the hothouse flowers in Napoleon's 1894 green-
house. Originally intended to house the palms used in Biennale events, it rapidly expanded into a com-
munity hub and a centre for propagation: many plants grown here went to adorn the municipal flower-
beds of the Lido and the ballrooms of aristocratic palazzi (mansions). Restored in 2010 by the Nonso-
loverde social co-operative, La Serra OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP (Serra dei Giardini; ; 041
296 03 60; www.serradeigiardini.org ; Viale Giuseppe Garibaldi 1254; snacks €4-15; 11am-8pm
Tue-Fri, 10am-9pm Sat & Sun; ; Giardini) now hosts events and workshops from garden-
ing and paper-making to yoga and tango classes.
Downstairs, light snacks and cakes are available in the cafe alongside unique micro-brews, herbal
tisanes and Lurisia sodas flavoured with Slow Food Presidia products.
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