2 Best Sights in Venice, Italy

The "little scuola" of the shoemakers conducted its affairs in its headquarters in this charming building on Campo San Tomà. It is now used for community meetings and lectures open to the public, as well as small exhibitions. Most notable is the relief carving (Pietro Lombardo, 1478) above the main door that vividly portrays San Marco miraculously healing Aniano, a poor shoemaker and the scuola's patron saint. The story goes that San Marco had arrived in Alexandria, Egypt, and was directed by the archangel Michael to go to Aniano to fix his broken sandal. He found the shoemaker in terrible pain from having injured himself with one of his tools. Marco preached the gospel to him, and then created a substance by mixing his saliva with dust from the road that healed the injury immediately. Aniano converted to Christianity and was baptized by Marco himself.

When it comes to contemporary art, Venice's Biennale may get all the ink, but this new art center on the Zattere gives it a run for its money. Set up within the Palazzo Clary, it features both permanent and temporary exhibitions of thought-provoking contemporary art. Be aware that some of its shows are dense, technical creations. When you work up an appetite, café/restaurant Sudest 1401 features classic and innovative dishes from the Piemonte and Valle d'Aosta regions, uncommon elsewhere in Venice. A bonus: it's one of the few museums open on Monday.