Gallerie dell’Accademia This is a must for anyone with even a passing interest in art. The former church and convent of Santa Maria La Carità, with additions by Palladio, hosts a collection that follows the progression of venetian art from the XIV to the XVIII centuries.
Room 1 contains works by the early XIV century painter Paolo Veneziano, including the Coronation of the Virgin. The main feature of Room 2, wich covers the late XV and early XVI centuries, is Carpaccio’s alterpiece The 10.000 Martyrs of Mt. Ararat. It also contains works by Giovanni Bellini. Rooms 4 and 5 feature Andrea Mantegna’s St. George, several paintings of the Madonna and Child by Giovanni Bellini and Giorgione’s fabulous La tempesta. Rooms 6 to 10 contain works of the High Renaissance, including Tintoretto and Titian, but one of the highlights is Paolo Veronese’s Feast in the house of Levi in Room 10. Originally called The Last Supper, the painting’s name was changed because the leaders of the Inquisition objected to its depiction of characters such as drunkards and dwarfs. The room also contains one of Titian’s last works a Pietà. In Room 13 are a number of works by the 18th century painter Gianbattista Tiepolo. Giovanni Bellini and Carpaccio appear again in subsequent rooms and the collection ends in Room 24 with Titian’s beautiful Presentation of the Virgin.