Entering the museums of Dorsoduro is like travelling along a millennium of world art history, all enclosed in little more than a mile, between the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal. It is called the Dorsoduro Museum Mile, the extraordinary artistic journey from the ancient to the contemporary that links four prestigious cultural institutions in Venice: from the masterpieces of medieval and Renaissance Venetian painting in the Gallerie dell'Accademia, to the protagonists of the contemporary art scene on display at Punta della Dogana, passing through the two extraordinary museum-houses of Vittorio Cini and Peggy Guggenheim, which house the collections of these great patrons together with temporary exhibitions.

The churches of the great Venetian masters

The churches of Dorsoduro hold many of the most significant works of art by Venetian masters, from the 16th to the 18th century. The Church of San Sebastiano is known as ‘the temple’ of Paolo Caliari, AKA Veronese, one of the city's leading artists: here is collected his great pictorial cycle, which aroused great interest from the moment of its execution.

Nearby, the Scuola Grande dei Carmini, adjacent to the church of the same name, is the place where between 1739 and 1749 Giambattista Tiepolo was called by the prestigious brotherhood devoted to the Virgin of Carmel to paint the nine canvases of the ceiling of the Capito Hall. They are considered among his masterpieces.

On the vault of the ceiling of the Church of San Pantalon is fixed what is considered the largest painting in the world: an impressive 443 square metres! There are 40 canvases joined together, representing the Martyrdom of St Pantaleon, by the Venetian master Giovanni Antonio Fumiani, who painted it between 1680 and 1704.

In the Punta della Dogana area, the dome of the Basilica della Salute, a Baroque masterpiece by Baldassare Longhena, stands out. The sacristy of the basilica is a veritable treasure trove, containing works by Titian, Tintoretto and others of great beauty. The entrance ticket also allows access to the Pinacoteca Manfrediniana.

The triumph of the Venetian 18th century

At Ca' Rezzonico, one of the most beautiful palaces on the Grand Canal, you can relive the good life of Venetian nobles in the 18th century: extraordinary paintings and frescoes of the time, from Tiepolo to Rosalba Carriera, from Longhi to Guardi and Canaletto, are on display here. The treasures housed in the palace can also be discovered thanks to the virtual tour.

Aperitif hour

At aperitif time, the tables of the bars overlooking Campo Santa Margherita, open until late in the evening, are the favourite meeting place of university students (not far away, there is the Ca' Foscari University, here is a virtual tour to explore it). During the day, the camp is enlivened by stands of fish, fruit and vegetables.

Peggy Guggenheim a Londra. Nascita di una collezionista