Venezia has tried to curb the invasion of “hit and run” tourism with the access ticket of 5 euros per day (the obligation will start again on 18 April 2025 and the contribution will rise to 10 euros). But, Even in the middle of winter, the streets around Piazza San Marco are so full of people that if you stop to look at the shop windows you will get hit from behind. Better to change the area by walking in the district of Cannaregio. The destination? There Church of the Madonna dell’Orto «phenomenal, Gothic building, which in addition to housing a series of incredible pictorial treasures, such as Saint John the Baptist among Saints Peter, Mark, Jerome and Paul (1495) by Cima da Conegliano, is famous throughout the world because it is the burial place of Tintoretto” writes Philippe Daverio in The secrets of Italian cities (Solferino). There are many works by Tintoretto, in the presbytery and in the apse.
In Venice, between churches and the monastery island
The walk continues until Castello district. Here it is nice to go beyond the Arsenale, up to Campo di San Pietro where the Basilica stands which until 1807 was the Cathedral of Venice. Churches often offer the privilege of meeting very few in the presence of wonderful works. The tour of the most beautiful churches in Venice (Chorus Pass is the card which, at the price of 14 euros, includes entry to 18 religious buildings) allows you to stop face to face in front of masterpieces: the Church of San Sebastiano brings together the most extraordinary body of works by Veronese; there Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli it is an extraordinary Renaissance treasure chest covered in polychrome marble.
In the secret garden of Giudecca
In the former park monastery of Saints Cosma and Damiano there is Monica Martin’s studio (itacaartstudio.com). The artist organizes guided walks in the former convent and in the surrounding area, where other artist-craftsmen carry out activities such as glass blowing, wrought iron working and hand paper making. Another (still) little-known address: after two years of work, in October at Giudecca opened the ancient building to the public (from Thursday to Saturday). Vegetable garden of the Church of the Redeemeran oasis of peace.
The Gothic Church of the Madonna dell’Orto, in Venice in the Cannaregio district, is the burial place of Tintoretto.
Another idea to escape the crowd? Book a visit and disembark from the vaporetto (line 20) on the small island of Saint Lazarus of the Armenians in front of the Lido, in the Venice lagoon, almost entirely occupied by the monastery inhabited by about twenty monks (to visit the island and the monastery, reservations are mandatory: tel. 0415260104, email: [email protected]). The island is one of the most important centers in the world for Armenian culture, home of the Mekhitarist order. The guided tour includes a visit to the art gallery, the museum and the library.
Cenacoli (and other treasures) of Florence
«In Florence over 5 square kilometers of the historic center, in 2023 we received 10 million tourists, and 15 million are expected in 2024» states the mayor Sara Funaro. The first town, to combat overtourism, has put a stop to short-term rentals. «We also intervened on the phenomenon of easy boxes (the boxes with the keys to the apartments, ed) which deface the decorum of many historic buildings” he continues.
Those who wake up early in Florence have an advantage: the museums open early, like the noble ones Bargello National Museum (8.15am-1.50pm, closed Tuesday, bargellomusei.it), never too crowded. But in addition to the main tourist circuits, the city offers a lesser-known heritage and off-the-beaten-path itineraries on both banks of the Arno. They are part of this semi-unknown and therefore little frequented treasure the Cenacles, the ancient refectories frescoed by Renaissance masters. Among the most beautiful, the Cenacle of Sant’Apollonia (via XXVII Aprile 1, from Monday to Friday and the second and fourth weekend of the month – Saturday and Sunday 8.15am-1.50pm) by Andrea del Castagno, and the Cenacle of All Saintscreated by Domenico Ghirlandaio in 1488 All Saints conventaLast Supper set inside a lodge. With a game of connections between opening hours and closures (which, from museum to museum, in Florence change on the various days of the month) you can discover, in peace, other art treasures.
The Opificio delle Pietre Dure Museum, in Florence, collects works from the Medici and Lorena collections.
Among the experiences not to be missed: the visit to the wonderful artefacts displayed at theHard Stone Factory (Monday-Saturday, 8.15am-2pm, opificiodellepietredure.cultura.gov.it/museo); a dive into Twentieth century al Marino Marini Museum (from 10am to 7pm, closed on Wednesdays, museomarinomarini.it) and the ride to Museum of the Innocents (Monday-Sunday 9.30am-7pm, museomarinomarini.ithttp://museomarinomarini.it), in ancient times Hospital of the Innocentsdesigned by Filippo Brunelleschi. The layout of the Gallery is beautiful, with works by Domenico Ghirlandaio, Luca and Andrea della Robbia, Sandro Botticelli, Piero di Cosimo. For those who are curious to enter a noble residence, the appointment is on Tuesday and Saturday mornings, a stone’s throw from Piazza del Duomo, in via Zanetto 8: Martelli House (bargellomusei.it/musei/casa-martelli) you visit in small groups in the company of passionate and engaging guides. After the staircase, the picture gallery, the private chapel and the halls, the surprise is in the winter garden: the fantastic, large room with walls painted with an open air effect.
The Rome of house-museums
In the year of the Jubilee, with 35 million pilgrims expected, finding uncrowded places in the capital is a challenge. Modernity helps: instead of the Colosseum, the fourth most visited cultural site in the world, at Eur you can admire the “Square Colosseum” the rational and metaphysical Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, the architectural icon of the Roman twentieth century which has been the backdrop to many cult films, from Rome, an open city by Roberto Rossellini a The eclipse by Michelangelo Antonioni. Returning to the historic center, from House Museum of Giorgio de Chirico in Piazza di Spagna (reservation required, fondadechirico.org/casa-museo), you enter the painter’s studio and house. On the walls is the personal collection of works created between 1930 and 1976. Not far away, in via del Corso, in Goethe’s house (Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-6pm, casadigoethe.it) we retrace the “Journey to Italy”, the Grand Tour that the author took in the Bel Paese between 1786 and 1788. The Pietro Canonica Museum (museocanonica.it), at Villa Borghese, has a curious history: in 1927 the sculptor managed to obtain a concession from the Municipality for the use of the building to make it his home-studio. In exchange, the artist undertakes to donate, after his death, all the works in that location so that it becomes a museum named after him.
The great beauty on the Janiculum
In Trastevere, a Villa Farnesina (Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-7pm) you walk with your nose upwards in the Loggias frescoed by Raphaelcommissioned by the banker Agostino Chigi. In front of Villa Farnesina, the walk continues to the Botanical Garden, then you go up to the Acqua Paola Fountain, where was a scene filmed There great beautyon the Janiculum hill.
The Acqua Paola fountain, built in Rome in the 17th century by order of Pope Paul V, on the Janiculum.
To the extraordinary, and inexplicably always deserted, National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia (Tuesday-Sunday, 8.30am-7pm, museoetru.it) reopens the restored Nymphaeum. The museum houses, among other wonders, the Sarcophagus of the spousesknown throughout the world, with the woman next to the man in a completely equal position, a novelty compared to Greek culture. Not too crowded either National Roman Museum of Palazzo Massimo (Largo di Villa Peretti 2), next to Termini station, with Roman and Greek masterpieceslike the Hellenistic bronze statue of the seated boxer. Don’t miss the nearby complex Baths of Diocletian with Michelangelo’s Cloister. For open air tours, one of the most eclectic and fairy-tale places in Rome is the Coppedè district, with buildings that show off a fantastic mix of liberty, art deco and baroque and gothic references.
In Naples the morning has gold in its mouth
Since tourists have taken the city by storm, including the Spanish Quarter, the tour of Naples requires a “strategic” travel program, with targeted stops especially in the narrow alleys of the historic center. Some suggestions: in via dei Tribunali 253, at the Pio Monte della Misericordiayou can admire the enormous canvas on the altar Seven Works of Mercy (1607), where the genius of Caravaggio fits into a single compositional scheme the acts of burying the dead, visiting prisoners, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, hosting pilgrims, giving water to the thirsty. In the side niches of the chapel, four red coral sculptures are displayed, created in 2019 by Jan Fabre.
The heart of the city is contemporary
Contemporary art also on the first floor of the building (Pio Monte della Misericordia Museum Complex, via dei Tribunali, 253, open every day 10am-6pm, Sunday 9am-2.30pm, piomontedellamisericordia.it ) and to the neighbor Mother Museum (via Settembrini 79, madrenapoli.it) That, in the three nineteenth-century floors Palazzo Donnareginaexhibits the permanent collection with several site-specific installations and installations signed by artists such as Daniel Buren, Jannis Kounellis, Anish Kapoor and Richard Long.
In the ancient centre, in Piazza San Gaetano, stands the Basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiorewhere in 1336 Boccaccio’s gaze fell on Fiammetta and it was immediately love. Here, descending into the archaeological excavations of the Neapolis Buriedyou walk along a road from the Roman era with its shops, the Cryptoporticus and the Macellum.
The splendid view from the Certosa di S. Martino on the port of Naples and Vesuvius.
The famous National Archaeological Museum of Naples It has limited admissions, but it would be a shame to miss the extraordinary journey into the world of antiquity: by purchasing the ticket online and booking the visit when it opens (at 9 in the morning) you can avoid the crowds in front of the mosaics of Pompeii and the statues of the Farnese collection, one of the most famous in the world.
It’s worth waking up early even to get in at 8.30 am Certosa di San Martinoat Vomero. Then, after the visit to the church, the Cuciniello Nativity scene and the Carriage Hall, you go down the Pedamentina staircase414 steps that connect the San Martino Charterhouse to the historic center of the city: a “route with a view” of the bay of Naples.
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