San Maurizio, Venice

San Maurizio, Venice tickets: which one to buy

San Maurizio stands on the Campo San Maurizio in the San Marco district of Venice, on the route between Piazza San Marco and the Accademia bridge, and today it is not used for worship but houses the Museum of Music, where entry is free. The museum displays a collection of historic musical instruments, and the church is often combined with evening concerts of baroque music in other Venetian churches, whose tickets are sold at the entrance.

Many visitors simply pass it on the busy walk to the Accademia, but it is worth a short stop, especially for music lovers. The leaning bell tower of Santo Stefano is visible from the campo. Walking tours of Venice pass through the square, which holds an antiques market several times a year. The church is small, and a visit takes little time. Tickets for the Interpreti Veneziani concerts are sold here as well as at San Vidal nearby.

Visiting San Maurizio, Venice: what to see

A church dedicated to Saint Maurice stood here from the eleventh century, and the present neoclassical church was rebuilt from 1806 to designs by Giannantonio Selva, the architect of La Fenice opera house, and Antonio Diedo. It has a white Istrian stone facade with columns and a pediment, and a simple interior with a central plan under a dome. Deconsecrated, it now houses the Museo della Musica, a private collection of stringed instruments from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, including violins, violas, cellos, mandolins and double basses by famous Italian makers, and exhibits about Antonio Vivaldi and the musical life of Venice, where he taught at the Ospedale della Pieta.

Recorded music plays in the background. The collection shows the craftsmanship of the Venetian and Italian luthiers whose instruments were admired throughout Europe. Cases in the museum show how violins are made, with tools, patterns and unfinished instruments. A portrait of Vivaldi and scores of his music are displayed. The central dome gives the space good acoustics, and the altar has been kept. Most instruments are from the collection of a local musician and collector.

San Maurizio, Venice opening hours and the best time to go

The museum is open daily from morning to evening. Venice is extremely crowded from spring to autumn and during Carnival in February, and the route past the church to the Accademia is always busy. Early morning and evening are the best times to walk the streets. The antiques market in the Campo San Maurizio is held on certain weekends.

Acqua alta, the high tide, can flood low-lying parts of the city in autumn and winter. Concerts of Vivaldi's music are held nightly in several churches. Allow about fifteen to twenty minutes for the museum, and continue to the Accademia Gallery across the Grand Canal. The campo is lined with palaces, and one of them, the Palazzo Bellavite, housed the poet Giorgio Baffo.