Like true Venetians

The church of Santa Maria di Nazareth, known to Venetians as the ‘Scalzi', consists of a single nave and is adorned with polychrome marble, sculptures, gilt decorations and works of art. In some months of the year it provides the entrance to the mystical garden of the Discalced Carmelites, where lemon balm, from which the famous Acqua is produced, is still cultivated.

The church houses the remains of Lucy, the patron saint of eyesight. With two façades, one on the Grand Canal and one on Campo San Geremia, the current appearance of the sanctuary is the result of a Baroque rebuilding in the eighteenth century.

The church of Madonna dell'Orto is still today of the most interesting buildings in the city. Not only for the façade characterised by the alternation of white stone and pink marble, but also for the precious works contained within. All go to make this church a real Venetian jewel.

The Jewish Museum of Venice bears witness to the tradition that still lives on in the city today. The museum illustrates the cycle of Jewish festivities and the history of the Venetian Jewish community, with displays of goldsmiths’ and textile artefacts of great historical importance and also ancient books and manuscripts.

The Scuola Grande Tedesca is the first synagogue in the ghetto. Although it has no particular ornamentation on the outside, the marble-covered interior walls are decorated in late Baroque style.

The interior of the Scola Canton is in a Baroque style enriched with Rococo inserts. The decoration of the room, consisting of eight wooden panels depicting episodes from the Exodus, makes this Synagogue unique in Europe.

More austere than the two Ashkenazi synagogues in the ghetto, the Scola Italiana is characterised by a simple interior, rendered luminous by the presence of numerous windows opening onto the courtyard.

After being restored in the early twentieth century, the Ca' D'Oro now houses the Giorgio Franchetti Gallery. Walking through the rooms of this most famous and elegant of Venetian private palaces, one can find masterpieces by great artists such as Mantegna, Titian and Carpaccio.

Founded in the sixteenth century and rebuilt in the following century, the Scuola Levantina stands out from the other synagogues in the ghetto for its important pulpit, attributed to Andrea Brustolon.

The Scuola Spagnola (or Ponentina) is certainly the most imposing of the Venetian synagogues. The wide staircase, the elliptical women's gallery, the decoration of the Torah ark: everything was designed to create a great impact on those present.

Opened in 2012 on the occasion of the thirteenth Architecture Biennale, the Exhibition Gallery of the Wilmotte Foundation hosts the work of artists specialising in architecture and landscape.

The Scuola Grande di Santa Maria della Misericordia has fulfilled various functions over time. Once considered one of the most important secular institutions of the Republic, in the early twentieth century it became an important sports centre, hosting the basketball matches of Reyer Venezia.