Ca' Pesaro International Gallery of Modern Art

I have to admit that I only visited this museum in order to see Gustav Klimt's Judith II. To say the least, the painting is magnificent! It was worth ten times the price of the ticket, the time and the effort of finding this museum, and the dragging of your family across Venice to get a glimpse of Klimt's masterpiece.
In general however, the museum offers a very limited collection of modern artworks. Of note are Chagall, Miró, Kandinsky, Bonnard, and omnipresent sculptures of Rodin.
I can't give the museum fewer than 4 stars - the pleasure of seeing Judith would make it blasphemous!

A rather limited collection that seems mostly appropriate as a break in the action from so much Renaissance art, Ca' Pesaro was stumbled upon while walking through the streets of Venice and all-in-all is worth a visit for both the modern collection as well as its Oriental wing that contains a treasure trove of antique weaponry and armour.

I've been here twice now and it's definitely worthwhile, but it's nothing magnificent like so many other offerings in Venice. The art here is more my style than much of the religious/renaissance art you find in Italy, but it was nothing that wowed me. There are a few pieces from big names like Klimt, but they are not the well known works. And on my most recent visit those pieces were on loan.

I also got yelled at by one of the guards. They had a group of sculptures displayed in a circle-type arrangement, but all facing in towards each other. I wanted to see the front and there was a space between that looked like a pathway. Apparently not! You must stick to the outside edge! Although I don't see how I possibly could have hurt the metal & stone sculptures securely attached to the floor even if I did bump into one, which of course I would never do.

Bonus here is that the bathrooms are through an adjacent door by the front entry, so if you needed a pit stop you could do so even without visiting the museum. But you may as well go in and get a change of pace from the typical Venetian art offerings.

This was an unexpected stop on my day trip. The backside of the museum is visible from the other side of the grand canal, but it's a maze to get to it. It's a small museum with a couple of random things: modern art on the first floor, a collection of Asian art and weapons on the third floor, and when I went, there was a special Chanel exhibit on the second floor. I went to the museum cafe for a spritz afterwards. The drink cost way too much for what it was, but it was worth it to sit right on the water.

I don't know why this museum got low marks.

It has a first class permanent collection of late 19th century to mid-20th.

Traveling exhibits are spectacular.

In a city where Renaissance art is king and where people come from all corners of the globe to see masterpieces by Titian and co. the museum of modern art in Venice feels slightly neglected,


Maybe it's just because when we were there, it was late and it was a rainy day in November. Despite it's seemingly unpopular status it's actually a beautiful building with a collection that could easily occupy you for an hour or more.


Entrance is included with the VeniceCard, but otherwise you'll have to fork out a few Euros (maybe 5?) to get in.


The Café looked very nice with a charming view over the Grand Canal, but as it was late (it closes at 5.30pm and we got there at 4.45pm) it wasn't open.


There's quite an eclectic selection of works, many are by Italian artists, and everything is exhibited in such a way as to make it very accessible and digestible. If you're a fan of 20th century art then I would definitely recommend a visit it's a nice break from all the religious imagery and floaty paintings that provide the artistic backbone of Venice.


There's also a collection of oriental art but we didn't have time to look at it.

The ca Pesaro museum owns some beautiful pieces of modern art. Here you can find klimt's Giuditta II for instance that worths alone the price ticket.
But I had the impression that this big building is...how can I say... Quite left alone...getting there is, as typical for Venice more a luck thing then else... It's a huge and beautiful building but in some ways not treated as it should be.