Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore: Palladio's Church in Venice

Venice – When you stand in St. Mark's Square and look out over the water, you see it right in front of you: The Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore is located on its own island in the St. Mark's Basin, less than three minutes away by vaporetto. Admission to the church is free, and it is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

She built it Andrea Palladio, the most influential architect of the Italian Late Renaissance. He began work in 1566 but did not live to see its completion—the façade was not built until between 1597 and 1610, nearly thirty years after his death. What awaits you today is one of the brightest churches in Venice, two late paintings by Tintoretto and an island that is home not only to the church but also to one of Italy's most important cultural foundations.

Who built the Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore?

Andrea Palladio, born on November 30, 1508, in Padua; died on August 25, 1580. In November 1565, he delivered the wooden model to the Benedictines, and construction began in March 1566. Palladio died before the church was completed—according to Treccani, a second phase of construction took place between 1581 and 1589, and the façade was built between 1597 and 1610.

And it is precisely this façade that is the reason why architecture students still come here with their sketchbooks to this day. Palladio wanted to place an ancient temple in front of a Christian church and had to solve a problem to do so: A temple pediment is a triangle, whereas a church cross-section with a high central nave and low side aisles is not. His solution was to nest two temple facades within one another—a tall, narrow one for the nave, and a wide, flat one behind it for the aisles. This was later executed as a flat wall structure, rather than the projecting colonnade that Palladio had envisioned.

The white Istrian limestone does the rest. It reflects the light from the lagoon and makes the church visible across the entire expanse of water—that was the intention. A View from St. Mark's Square It's part of the design.

What's in store for you inside?

Brightness, above all. Anyone coming from a church in Venice’s historic center will notice the difference immediately: white walls, lots of windows, hardly any gilding, hardly any dark wood. Palladio worked with proportions rather than decoration, and as a result, the space appears larger than it actually is.

The two most important paintings hang in the presbytery, to the left and right of the high altar: the The Last Supper, the Lord's Supper, and the Gathering the Manna, the miracle of the manna in the desert. Both come from Jacopo Tintoretto. The official catalog of the Italian Ministry of Culture dates *The Last Supper* to the years after 1592 and before 1594—making it one of the last works produced in Tintoretto's workshop.

Take your time with both paintings and stand to the side of them. Tintoretto deliberately placed the table scene at an angle in the room so that it only truly comes into its own when viewed from the nave. The 11 a.m. Sunday service does not take place in the main nave, but in the Chapel of the Deposition – So the church remains open on Sundays as well.

Can you go up the Campanile?

Not at the moment. The abbey’s website lists the bell tower as temporarily closed due to extraordinary restoration work. In April 2026, the state agency Agenzia del Demanio extended the concession for the church, bell tower, sacristies, and monastery quarters to the Benedictines for another 19 years—expressly linked to a project to restore and upgrade the tower elevator.

That's a bummer, because for years the elevator up this tower was a better deal than the Campanile in St. Mark's Square: shorter lines, and you get to see St. Mark's Square in the photo instead of standing right in the middle of it. No one is giving a reopening date. If in doubt, check with the abbey beforehand.

What else is there to see on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore?

Half the island belongs to the Giorgio Cini Foundation. Vittorio Cini founded it on April 20, 1951, in memory of his son Giorgio, and had the dilapidated monastery buildings restored. You can only see them on a guided tour: the Longhena staircase, the Palladio cloister, the Buora cloister, the refectory, and the library—the latter only on weekends.

On top of that, there are three things that hardly anyone thinks about. The Teatro Verde, an open-air theater with approximately 1,500 seats, was built beginning in 1952 based on plans by Luigi Vietti and Angelo Scattolin. The Borges' Labyrinth, a hedge maze designed by Randoll Coate, was created in 2011 to mark the 25th anniversary of the writer's death. And Le Stanze del Vetro Features glass art—free admission. The exhibition „1948–1958. Murano Glass and the Venice Biennale“ will be on view there from April 19 to November 22, 2026.

Tours are offered daily except Wednesdays and must be booked online in advance. If you book multiple tours, you’ll pay less.

When is the basilica open, and who can you contact?

The church is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with no lunch break and no designated day off. The Fondazione Cini’s guided tours follow their own schedule and are not offered on Wednesdays. Fixed start times are set for the summer months; outside of the summer season, they vary—please check the booking page before your visit.

How do you get to San Giorgio Maggiore?

With the Vaporetto Line 2. The pier is simply called „S. Giorgio“ and, according to the ACTV schedule, is located between San Zaccaria and the Giudecca. From San Zaccaria—right next to St. Mark's Square—the schedule lists a three-minute ride. There's no bridge, so you can't get there on foot.

A single 75-minute ticket costs €9.50, which makes the trip to the island and back the most expensive quarter-hour of your day in Venice. If you plan to take more than three trips a day, a pass is a better deal. All prices and options for combining the trip with other attractions are listed in the overview of the Tickets to Venice.

When is the best time to visit?

Early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., the day-trippers from St. Mark’s Square also spill over onto the island; after that, things quiet down again. In the late afternoon, the sun is in the west and streams through the tall windows into the nave—this is the hour for which Palladio designed the building.

When it comes to dates, it’s worth checking the city’s calendar of events. In 2026, the 61st Venice Biennale will run from May 9 to November 22; Venice is much more crowded during that time. The Feast of the Redeemer In 2026, the fireworks display over the Bacino di San Marco will take place on July 18, and the regattas in the Giudecca Canal on July 19—both bodies of water are located directly off the island, leading to a corresponding rush on the vaporetti.

If you're spending more time exploring the city anyway, it's best to add a visit to San Giorgio Maggiore to your day at St. Mark's Square. To see how you can fit this into your itinerary, check out our route for 3 Days in Venice.

What you should know before your visit

Four points that are missing or incorrect in many descriptions of the island.

1. The tower is closed. The elevator up the Campanile is the most commonly cited reason for visiting—and it’s currently unavailable. Anyone coming just for that should check beforehand.
2. The abbey does not publish any information about the history of its construction. The height of the tower, the year the current campanile was built, the year the monastery was founded, and the dimensions of the church: None of this information is available on any official website. We therefore only include information that can be verified by official sources or scientific research.
3. The church and the monastery are two separate entities. The basilica is owned by the Benedictines and is open to the public free of charge; the monastery buildings are part of the Fondazione Cini's program and require an admission fee. There is no combined ticket for both.
4. The maze is currently being restored. In July 2026, the foundation announced that work was being done on the Labirinto Borges. Whether the guided tour there will take place on the day of your visit is listed in the booking system—not in the guidebook.

Our conclusion

Half an hour in church, a three-minute boat ride, no ticket—the ratio of effort to reward here is better than almost anywhere else in Venice. The airy interior and the two Tintorettos alone make the trip worthwhile, and even in the middle of peak season, the island is quieter than anything on the other side of the water.

If you have more time, book a guided tour of the Fondazione Cini’s monastery buildings—starting at €15, you’ll see rooms that most visitors to Venice pass by their entire lives. And if you’re coming for the tower, you’d better wait a little longer. Our guide lists other destinations in the region Veneto Travel Guide.

Prices, hours of operation, and schedules are subject to change—check the official websites for the latest information before you travel.