HIDDEN VENICE

Seen from the air, Venice may seem compact enough to be explored high and low in a weekend. Besides, thanks to Canaletto’s clarity and the occasional signs to San Marco and Accademia, we think we can home in on all the treasures with a guide-book and a map. So how do you account for the feeling that the ‘real’ Venice is the one you see when you’re lost? Exactly. But how can you find it on purpose? With a tip-off or two, it’s easy to find because in this labyrinthine city the unknown is often one small bridge away from the famous. Hidden Venice takes the wraps off five of these quite well kept secrets, each of them easily missed and all of them guardians of art.

ROUND AND ROUND BUT NOT STRAIGHT OUT AGAIN

There is something about the lure of the Salute: once inside, you want to plough a slow furrow round its geometric shape, stopping at every chapel and painting and then hitting the fresh air when the door comes round again. That is how to miss the sign to the Great Sacristy, a short corridor leading to a wonderfully startling treasury of Titians and Tintorettos.

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