Gallerie dell'Accademia

The Gallerie dell'Accademia is the principal museum of Venetian painting, housed in the former Scuola della Carita, the adjoining church and a monastery at Campo della Carita in the Dorsoduro district of Venice, Italy. It stands beside the Accademia Bridge over the Grand Canal. The collection traces Venetian art from the 14th to the 18th century, beginning with Gothic and Byzantine-influenced panels by Paolo Veneziano and moving through the Renaissance and the golden age of the Republic. Highlights include works by Giovanni Bellini, Carpaccio, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese and Tiepolo. Giorgione's enigmatic La Tempesta, Bellini's altarpieces and Veronese's monumental Feast in the House of Levi are among the best known. The Sala dell'Albergo, with its carved and gilded ceiling, and the cycle of Carpaccio's Legend of Saint Ursula show how paintings were designed for specific rooms and confraternities. Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man belongs to the museum's collection but is displayed only occasionally because of its fragility. Visitors typically spend two to three hours, and the galleries are arranged over one main floor in a roughly chronological order that is easy to follow. The museum opens Tuesday to Sunday from 8:15AM to 7:15PM, with shorter hours on Monday. The first hour after opening and the last hour before closing are the quietest, and midday is busiest when tour groups pass through. Adult admission is around €15, with free entry for EU citizens under 18. Photography without flash is generally permitted for personal use. The Accademia vaporetto stop on Line 1 and Line 2 is beside the entrance, and the Accademia Bridge gives a well-known photographic view of the Grand Canal toward Santa Maria della Salute.