San Sebastiano

San Sebastiano was Paolo Veronese's own parish church, and he spent much of his career decorating it -- ceiling, sacristy, organ shutters, and altarpieces alike -- before being buried inside it himself. Few churches anywhere hold as complete or as personal a body of work by a single Renaissance master, making this one of Venice's genuine must-see art churches despite sitting well off the main routes.

Admission is through the Chorus Association, and the fee goes directly to conserving this church and fifteen others. San Sebastiano is exactly the kind of building that system exists for: too important to lose, too far off the routes to fund itself from foot traffic.

The church is Veronese's burial place as well as his masterwork, and it remains consecrated. Services take precedence, and the presbytery closes to visitors during them.

No flash, without exception. The Esther panels are original 16th-century oil on canvas in their original mountings, never removed to a museum, and they are conserved in situ in a damp building.

The surrounding streets are residential and academic, with none of the infrastructure for visitors that the central sestieri have -- no cafes to spill into and no space to gather. It is a place to arrive quietly, spend an hour, and walk on to the Zattere.

San Sebastiano sits in Dorsoduro, a short walk from the Squero di San Trovaso and the Zattere waterfront, and is part of Venice's Chorus church circuit, with an admission fee covering entry. It draws a fraction of the crowds of the Frari or San Rocco, making it a genuinely peaceful stop for anyone following Venice's Renaissance painters through the city.