Venice has always been a crowded city. Even centuries ago there were complaints about noise and chaos. As much as I love this place today, the sheer number of other visitors can be a problem. Unless you know how to get away from your fellow tourists.
Fortunately, it’s not at all difficult to do, even when the queue to enter San Marco gets long and there’s almost no room to move on the main routes from the station to the Rialto and Piazza. This is partly because Venice is not only beautiful, but also larger than you think. Its dense labyrinth of streets and canals has an extraordinary capacity to draw people in; This is not surprising, considering that this was one of the largest cities in medieval Europe.
And if you plan your escape carefully, you can also unearth some of Venice’s most profound works of art. Here are 10 less visited landscapes that are home to magnificent masterpieces that you can enjoy in peace.
Torcello
If you want to get an idea of what Venice was like when it was just starting out, take a tour. vaporetto Journey across the lagoon to Torcello. A thousand years ago this island was home to a thriving community. Today, it attracts attention with a famous restaurant and two ancient churches. One of these, Santa Maria Assunta, has a magnificent 11th-century mosaic of the tall, slender Virgin Mary holding her child in a golden semi-dome. It is one of the oldest and most memorable Venetian Madonnas. Hydrofoil number 12 operates from Venice to Torcello. The cathedral is open every day.
Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni
ancient brotherhoods of Venice or schoolIt was part club, part mutual aid society, part religious association. The Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni was one of the smaller ones, and in the early 16th century it commissioned Vittore Carpaccio’s wonderful series of Harry-Potterish paintings, replete with dragons, various miracles and a basilisk. Five centuries later they are still there.
San Giovanni in Bragora
One of the pleasures of Venice is finding a great painting in the exact location the artist painted it. The Church of San Giovanni in Bragora is just such a time capsule, a 10-minute walk from San Marco but a world away from the crowds. at the high altar baptism of jesus (1492-94) Built by Cima da Conegliano, this structure, with a peaceful river and a distant view, looks very much like it did when Cima finished it.
San Sebastian
As his nickname suggests, Paolo Caliari – or Veronese – came from Verona. But he made both his home and his career in Venice. And in the church of San Sebastiano he built – whether intentionally or unintentionally – a shrine to his own rich talent. Almost every surface of the building was painted by him; altars, side panels, frescoes on the walls and two magnificent ceilings. It is a religious art but also a cornucopia of the beautiful things of this world, including rich fabrics, ornate architecture and beautiful people.
San Zaccaria
John Ruskin once said that Giovanni Bellini Madonna and Child with Saints and another, slightly older, Bellini, in the Frari church as “the two best paintings in the world”. This is a type of painting known as sacred conversation, although contemplation would be a better word. Each figure appears lost in their own thoughts and is surrounded by Bellini’s personal vision of heaven. Below, an angel absentmindedly plays the violin. You can almost hear it.
Santa Maria Formosa
The central figure on the 1520 altarpiece of Palma Vecchio was one of the images chosen by novelist George Eliot during his visit in 1860. Eliot considered her a feminist role model, a “hero-woman” of “calm, majestic beauty.” ” and “a mind filled with earnest faith.”
Frari
Titian’s Assumption of the Virgin It has been one of Venice’s artistic star turns since its first opening in 1518. This was Titian’s groundbreaking work. It is located on the high altar of one of the city’s largest churches and manages to dominate the huge area from the moment you enter from the west gate. Wagner was among the film’s many fans, and – surprisingly – he claimed that this picture inspired him to write the beginning of the film. Die, Meistersinger.
Ca’Rezzonico
Few people reach the top floor of Ca’ Rezzonico (18th-century Venetian Museum), where you can see the frescoes of Giandomenico Tiepolo’s private villa. In many of these, the stage is filled with masked and high-conical hat-wearing clones of the commedia dell’arte character Pulcinella. It feels like a playful parody of the images Giandomenico’s father, Giambattista, often drew, of gods, angels and virtues floating among the clouds. But here they were replaced by clowns having some fun.
Scuola Grande di San Rocco
For twenty years, starting in 1564, Tintoretto filled two floors of this building with more than 60 canvases. The result is one of the largest one-man exhibitions in the world; each painting was still where it was intended. Rubens paid a visit, and while Velázquez was in town he set out for Scuola. You should too.
Scuola Grande dei Carmini
It is a perfect combination of architecture, 18th century interiors and art. The main room features a sensational ceiling painted by Giambattista Tiepolo. The central scene is an apparition of the Virgin Mary to St Simon Stock: the pleading saint kneels as the Madonna descends like a low-flying jet, surrounded by “a shower of flying angels”, as art historian Michael Levey writes . . A baroque drama in the air above your head.
Fundamentals
Palazzo Morosini degli Spezieri Hotel (00 39 375 504 9734) has rooms from £140 per night.
Ryanair (ryanair.com), easyJet (easyjet.com), British Airways (ba.com) and Wizz (wizzair.com) fly to Venice return from UK regional airports for £34.
Martin Gayford’s new book Venice: City of Pictures, published by Thames & Hudson (RRP £30). Buy now for £25 from books.telegraph.co.uk or call 0844 871 1514.
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