Santa Maria della Salute

This magnificent Baroque church, queening it over the entrance of the Grand Canal, is almost as recognisable an image of Venice as St Mark’s or the Rialto Bridge. This wonderfully curvy church is Baldassare Longhena’s audacious Baroque creation (1671), and took 50 years to build. The church takes superb advantage of its dominant position and pays homage to both the Byzantine form of San Marco across the Grand Canal and the classical form of Palladio’s Redentore, across the Giudecca Canal. The best paintings are in the sacristy, open from 10am.