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| Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice - Photo: Cat Bauer |
(Venice, Italy) If it's Sunday, this must be Venice. And if it's the first Sunday of the month, it's Domenica al Museo, when all national museums in Italy are free to enter for both residents and tourists.
So, which 6 Italian State museums in the historical center of Venice are free to enter on the first Sunday of each month? Keep reading to find out.
Venice is rich with museums and galleries, both public and private, municipal and state. Some say that the town of Venice itself is like strolling through a museum, with some of the most powerful architecture and monuments on earth dotting the landscape.
Then there are private museums like the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, and the Pinault Collection's Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana — always exciting, with dazzling exhibitions of contemporary art. There are foundations like Fondazione Cini and Fondazione Querini Stampalia, brimming with treasures. There are priceless works of art in churches and scuole. The Venice Biennale enlivens ancient venues with contemporary art and architecture. Even Venice's local hospital is an architectural masterpiece.
But there is also a handful of museums in the historic center of Venice overseen by the Italian Ministry of Culture, the branch of the State government in charge of national museums. Throughout Italy, these museums are free to the public on the first Sunday of every month.
Figuring out which museums in Venice are operated by the Italian State and where they are located can be challenging. Here's some help:
6 ITALIAN STATE MUSEUMS IN VENICE FREE ON THE FIRST SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH
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1. Gallerie dell'Accademia
Gallerie dell'Accademia - Perhaps the best known of all the national museums, the Gallerie dell'Accademia is located right at the foot of the Accademia Bridge on the Dorsodoro side. It's packed with masterpieces of Venetian art up to the 19th century by artists such as Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese. An entire section is devoted to Canova.
Leonardo da Vinci's drawing of the Vitruvian Man is here, but rarely on display because it is so fragile. If you were one of the lucky ones, you caught Leonardo's masterpiece when it was part of the terrific Corpi Moderni exhibit, which closed on July 27, 2025.
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| Transforming Energy by Marina Abramovic Photo: ©Yu Jieyu |
WAITING FOR THE MONTH OF MAY, 2026: The acclaimed artist Maria Abramovic turns 80 on November 30, 2026. To celebrate, she will be the first living female artist to be honored with a major exhibition at the Accademia. But we must be patient. Marina Abramović: Transforming Energy opens May 6 and runs until October 19, 2026.
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| Giorgio Franchetti Gallery at the Ca' d'Oro on the Grand Canal - Photo: Cat Bauer |
2. Giorgio Franchetti Gallery at the Ca' d'Oro
The last owner, Baron Giorgio Franchetti, bequeathed his considerable art collection along with his palace to the Italian State in 1916. The view of the Grand Canal from the loggia is impressive, and the mosaic floor of the courtyard designed by Franchetti himself is astonishing.
UPDATE: If you are in Manhattan, you can see the recently restored Giovanni Bellini masterpiece Pieta (or Dead Christ Supported by Four Angels) at the Morgan Library in New York from January 15 to April 19, 2026. The painting is visiting the US from the City Museum of Rimini after it first stopped at Ca' d'Oro to showcase the beautiful restoration by Venetian Heritage.
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| Dead Christ Supported by Four Angels by Giovanni Bellini Photo: Cat Bauer |
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| Mosaic floor designed by Baron Giorgio Franchetti Photo: Cat Bauer |
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| Marciana Library on right - Photo: Veneto.Info |
In St. Mark's Square, things start to get complicated. Both the gilded monumental rooms of the Marciana Library, designed by Jacopo Sansovino, and the Archaeological Museum are national museums under the supervision of the Italian State. Both are located in Piazza San Marco in the enormous structure that faces the Doge's Palace and then turns the corner at the Campanile and becomes the Procuratie Nuove.
To enter both museums, you normally have to go through the Correr Museum, far down at the other end of Piazza San Marco in the Napoleonic wing, the structure that faces St. Mark's Basilica. The Correr is a Venetian municipal museum under the umbrella of the Venice Civic Museums (MUVE). It is not part of the Italian Ministry of Culture. It is run by Venice. Therefore, it is not free on the first Sunday of the month.
However, during normal operations, the Marciana Library and the Archaeological Museum are included in the price of the ticket you pay to enter the Correr Museum because the layout is such that you can walk right through all of them. But not on the first Sunday of the month!
The Italian Minister of Culture is very clear:
“Domenica al museo”: free admission to the National Archaeological Museum of Venice and Monumental Rooms of Marciana Library (NOT Museo Correr) for everyone on the first Sunday of each month.
If you think Italian bureaucracy is convoluted, just imagine when it’s layered with an extra labyrinth of Venetian bureaucracy.
So, what are you supposed to do?
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| Reading room of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana Photo: Wikipedia |
3. Monumental Rooms of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana
Monumental rooms of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana - One of the earliest public libraries on the planet, the Marciana was founded in 1468 when the humanist scholar Cardinal Bessarion donated his collection of Greek and Latin manuscripts to Venice. However, it took Venice some time to build the library, which was designed by Jacopo Sansovino and constructed between 1537 and 1588.
In addition to paintings by Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese, you can marvel at Fra Mauro's original 1450 map of the world. The last will and testament of Marco Polo is here, dated January 9, 1323 M.V. (according to the Venetian calendar).
When you enter the vestibule at the top of the monumental staircase, look up. In the center of the ceiling, you will see one of my favorite paintings, Wisdom by Titian.
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| National Archaeological Museum of Venice- Agrippa Courtyard Photo: Cat Bauer |
4. National Archaeological Museum of Venice
National Archaeological Museum of Venice - Surprisingly, the Ministry of Culture website for the Archaeological Museum is clear and in English, a rarity, so you can read it yourselves. However, the history of the collection is chaotic, with enormous, ancient, heavy statues being shuffled from Rome to Venice and then all over the place. The collection contains ancient Greek and Roman statues, as well as coins, relics, marbles, and busts. The Archaeological Museum has put together an excellent timeline of where and when the collection was moved over the centuries.
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| Domus Grimani - Sala della Tribuna at Palazzo Grimani - Photo: Venetian Heritage |
5. Museo di Palazzo Grimani
Museo di Palazzo Grimani - In 2021, I spent a considerable amount of time trying to unravel the history of the Grimani family and what was going on over at Palazzo Grimani. Where did the sculptures come from in the first place? How did ancient Greek and Roman statues end up in Venice? Who was the very important Grimani family? To me, the clearest answers to those questions are in my post:
A Brief History of Palazzo Grimani + Domus Grimani & The Room of the Doge (+ Georg Baselitz Does Double Duty in Venice)
Let's start with this: the collection was first established in 1523 by Cardinal Domenico Grimani, who bequeathed it to the Republic of Venice. The Signoria would later give most of it back to the family.
Domenico's father, Antonio (who would go on to become the Doge), had bought a plot of land in Rome where he had been living in exile since 1502, and started construction. During excavation for the foundations, a number of ancient sculptures were discovered, igniting the Grimanis' passion for collecting fine antiquities. At the end of the 16th century, Giovanni Grimani, Antonio's grandson, donated his collection to the Republic of Venice.
UPDATE: Palazzo Grimani has a new permanent resident: the intriguing Luca Giordano masterpiece Samaritan Woman at the Well, which I find so fascinating that it got its own post.
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| Samarian Woman at the Well by Luca Giordano Photo: Cat Bauer |
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| Wood, lacquer & painted ivory Chinese chess set from the 18th century Photo: by concession of the Ministry of Culture |
The culmination of Prince Henry’s journeys is one of the most important collections in Europe of Japanese art of the Edo period (1603-1868), with additional sections dedicated to China, Indonesia, and South-Eastern Asia.
Prince Henry had no kids, but did own Palazzo Ca' Vendramin Calergi across the Grand Canal from Ca' Pesaro. It's where Richard Wagner died and where the Venice Casino is located.
FROM THE ARCHIVES: If you could not visit the restored parchment from the 1350 court case that was on display in the spring of 2025, you can still learn the fascinating story by reading the 6 Venetian Merchants on the Silk Road in 1338 - from Venice to Delhi.
Enjoy the free Italian State museums every first Sunday in Venice!
Figuring out which museums in Venice are operated by the Italian State and where they are located can be challenging. Here's some help:
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