Museo Ca' Rezzonico, Venice

Ca' Rezzonico is the palazzo you see beside the Grand Canal, and it now houses an art museum devoted to Venice in the 18th century. Baldassare Longhena began the design in 1649 for the Bon family, but the building was left unfinished after his death. Giorgio Massari later brought the work to completion, following Longhena's plan while giving the facade a lighter Rococo character.

Look at the facade's broad bands, its paired columns, and the small oval openings set above the larger windows. Inside, a ballroom rises through two storeys and connects with the entrance level by a monumental staircase. The museum presents paintings by Francesco Guardi and Giambattista Tiepolo, alongside works by other leading Venetian artists.

Its history has an extraordinary turn: Cole Porter rented the palazzo in the 1920s, and staged lavish entertainment there with 50 gondoliers and high-wire performers. The city acquired Ca' Rezzonico in 1935 and transformed it into a museum of 18th-century Venetian art. The ceilings still carry frescoes, while the galleries recreate the world of the Venetian eighteenth century.