Gallerie dell'Accademia, National art museum in Dorsoduro district, Venice, Italy
Gallerie dell'Accademia is a national art museum in the Dorsoduro district of Venice that displays Venetian painting from the Middle Ages through the 18th century. The museum spreads across several connected buildings, including a former church and monastery, where works are presented in thematically arranged rooms.
The collection began in 1817 after the fall of the Venetian Republic, when artworks from dissolved monasteries and churches were gathered together. Over the course of the 19th century the museum moved into its current premises and expanded its holdings through donations and acquisitions.
The name recalls the original art academy that occupied this building in the 18th century and trained young painters. Today visitors come mainly to see the religious altarpieces that once decorated churches and convents across the city and now hang in modern gallery rooms.
The best time to visit is early morning or late afternoon to avoid the heaviest crowds. The rooms are well lit and clearly laid out, so you can move through the galleries at a relaxed pace.
Many of the large canvases originally hung in the churches for which they were painted, and some still bear traces of their earlier locations. Several rooms preserve the original 16th-century wooden coffered ceiling, which gives the architecture a warm feel.
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