Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Carlo Scarpa- designed
garden
, while the
palazzo
's temporary contemporary shows add
an element of the unexpected to the silk-draped salons upstairs.
Enter through the Botta-designed QShop to get a free pass to the cafe and its garden.
You can also buy tickets for the
Museo della Fondazione Querini Stampalia
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(adult/reduced €10/8; 10am-6pm Tue-Thu & Sun, to 10pm Fri & Sat; Rialto, San Zaccaria)
here. Located
in the duke's apartments, the museum reflects the 18th-century tastes and interests of the
count: beneath the stuccoed ceilings you'll find rich furnishings and tapestries, Meissen
and Sèvres porcelain, marble busts and some 400 paintings. Of these, many are dynastic
portraits and conversation pieces, such as Alessandro and Pietro Longhi's genre scenes of
masked balls, gambling dens and 18th-century
bon vivants
.
The clear standout in the collection is Giovanni Bellini's arresting
Presentation of Jesus
at the Temple
, where the hapless child looks like a toddler mummy, standing up in tightly
wrapped swaddling clothes. Other engaging pieces are the 39 winningly naïve
Scenes of
Public Life in Venice
by Gabriele Bella (1730-99), which document scenes of the city and
its customs during the period. Although rather crude in their realisation, the subject matter
- a football game in Sant'Alvise, the frozen lagoon in 1708, the courtesans' race on the
Rio de la Sensa - is fascinating.
In summer the
palazzo
hosts chamber-music concerts on Friday and Saturday. Tickets
cost €3.
CHIESA DI SANTA MARIA FORMOSA
MAP
CHURCH
GOOGLE MAP
(
www.santamariaformosa.it
;
Campo Santa Maria Formosa 5267; admission €3 or with Chorus Pass; 10am-5pm
Mon-Sat, 1-5pm Sun; Rialto, San Zaccaria)
Originally built from wood and thatched with straw,
Santa Maria Formosa was the first church on the Rialto to be dedicated to the Virgin
Mary, in 842. According to legend, its curious name, 'Shapely St Mary', was inspired by a
vision of San Magno, Bishop of Oderzo, although another, more likely, version of events
claims the name was confused with the address of a comely courtesan, who lived on the
square in the 16th century.
Certainly, Veronica Franco (1546-91), one of Venice's most famous courtesans and an
accomplished poet, frequented literary salons at Ca'Vernier opposite the church, and the
stage-set
campo
was a lively social hub, often used for open-air theatre.
Destroyed by fire in 1106, the church was refashioned by Mauro Codussi in 1492 with
new baroque curves and serene symmetries that make good on its shapely name. So does
Palma il Vecchio's polyptych of the forceful-looking St Barbara swathed in a billowing
red cape atop the Third Altar dedicated to the Scuola di Bombardieri (School of Ship-
