Baldassare Longhena's 17th-century masterpiece on the Grand Canal — the most imposing baroque palace in Venice — holds two museums that together cost €14 and take half a day. The Galleria Internazionale d'Arte Moderna on the lower floors has Klimt's Judith II (Salome) — a gold-and-darkness portrait of seductive violence that defines Viennese Secession — alongside Kandinsky, Chagall, Klee, Matisse, Henry Moore, and a strong Italian collection (Morandi, De Chirico, Boccioni). Upstairs, the Museo d'Arte Orientale (included in the ticket) holds one of Europe's finest collections of Japanese Edo-period art: samurai armor, katana swords, lacquerware, and woodblock prints. The collision of Venetian baroque, European modernism, and Japanese martial aesthetics in one building is uniquely Venetian — this city has been mixing cultures for a millennium. Venice guide →
Plan my Venice trip →Klimt — Giuditta II (Salome) (1909): Venice's most famous modern painting. Judith/Salome holds the severed head of Holofernes — her expression is ecstatic, predatory, golden. The painting was acquired from the Venice Biennale and has been here since. The Italian collection: Boccioni's drawings and paintings, De Chirico metaphysical cityscapes, Morandi bottles, Vedova slashes, Emilio Greco sculptures. International: Kandinsky, Chagall, Klee, Matisse sketches, Henry Moore bronzes, Rodin. Museo d'Arte Orientale (3rd floor): 30,000 objects collected by Prince Henry of Bourbon-Parma during an 1887-89 world tour. The samurai armor hall is magnificent — complete suits of armor from the 15th-18th centuries, arranged as if an army is standing in formation inside a Venetian palace.
Address: Santa Croce 2076, Fondamenta Ca' Pesaro (Vaporetto Line 1: San Stae). Tickets: €14 (both museums). Venice Museum Pass valid. Hours: Tue-Sun 10am-5pm (winter), 10am-6pm (summer). Closed Mondays. Duration: 1.5-2 hours. The Grand Canal facade: best seen from the vaporetto or from the opposite bank. Combine with: San Polo and Santa Croce sestieri (Frari church — Titian's Assumption — 10min walk), Rialto market (15min), Ca' d'Oro (same Grand Canal walk).