Some of the world’s most beautiful art hotels are located in Veneto, thanks to the history of this marvelous region, which has given rise to some of the most spectacular and best-preserved villas and palaces in the world.

Just think of the 16th-century villas, masterpieces of aesthetics and agricultural engineering by the most famous Renaissance architects—from Jacopo Sansovino to Andrea Palladio and Vincenzo Scamozzi—or the 18th-century palaces overlooking the Grand Canal, examples of the highest level of late Baroque and Neoclassical architecture, designed when Venice was the center of the world.

We will take you on a discovery of some of the most extraordinary museum hotels in Veneto. This list is by no means exhaustive, but rather open to new discoveries.

Aman Venice

The hotel is located within Palazzo Papadopoli, one of the most sumptuous palaces on the Grand Canal in Venice, currently owned by the Savoy-Arrivabene family, who leased it to the Amanresort International Group. Thanks to the palace’s distinguished and wealthy owners, who have succeeded one another since 1550, when it was built by the Coccina merchant family, the residence houses an incredible collection of artwork and period furnishings. These treasures are among the best-preserved in Venice, thanks to the expert restoration completed in 2013 and the fact that, until that date, the residence has always been inhabited and therefore never abandoned to the oblivion of time. Here, you might find yourself playing cards under a Tiepolo fresco, dining overlooking the Grand Canal among Cesare Rotta’s paintings, having breakfast in a Rococo ballroom, or sitting down to read a book in one of Venice’s most beautiful libraries, among walls covered in precious 17th-century gilded Cordoba leather.

Byblos Art Hotel Villa Amistà

A 16th-century Palladian-inspired villa in the heart of Verona’s Valpolicella region hosts, in a gigantic art installation itself, one of the world’s most beautiful modern art galleries. Established in 2005 from the passion of Dino Facchini, founder of the fashion brand Byblos, after a conservative restoration, the villa’s interiors were redesigned with the help of designer Alessandro Mendini. The result is a unique blend of neoclassical architectural elements and unabashedly Baroque pop art pieces. Among stucco and decorative elements, over 130 works by some of the most esteemed modern and contemporary artists can be admired in the ballroom, corridors, and bedrooms. So between a gourmet dinner, an afternoon at the spa, or an Alice in Wonderland-style stroll in the park, you can admire works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Vanessa Beecroft, Damien Hirst, Robert Indiana, Anish Kapoor, Takashi Murakami, Mimmo Paladino, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Marc Quinn, Mimmo Rotella, Cindy Sherman, and Tom Wesselmann.

Metropole Venice

In an 18th-century palazzo along Venice‘s Riva degli Schiavoni, collector and avid art enthusiast Pierluigi Beggiato has created a museum-hotel housing remarkable collections of art objects and fine antiques, bringing to life a world of colonial influences, oriental wonders, and refined 1930s objects. A longtime second home to artists and celebrities—Vivaldi composed his celebrated Four Seasons here, Sigmund Freud wrote some of his treatises, and Thomas Mann found inspiration for “Death in Venice”—the Metropole is a residence to savor, admire, and enjoy in every detail. Each floor, in fact, houses a different art collection: on the ground floor, accessories, beautiful handbags, business card holders, corkscrews, and toiletries from the 19th century to the Belle Époque; on the first floor, suitcases and trunks; on the second, fans; on the third, crucifixes; and on the top, headboards. The Metropole houses some of Venice’s most magical meeting places, such as the Oriental Bar and Bistro, famous for its cocktails and Tea Ceremony, and its wonderful garden where you can experience Arabian Nights moments under the eternal sky of Renaissance Venice.

Sina Centurion Palace Venice

The 5-star Sina Centurion Palace, opened in 2009, is housed in a historic Venetian Gothic-style palace built in 1892 for the Genovese family, close to some of Venice’s most famous attractions, including the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute, Punta della Dogana, home of the Francois Pinault Foundation, and the Guggenheim Museum.
The Sina Centurion Palace has always been closely linked to the world of contemporary art, a philosophy reflected in its numerous exhibitions—by illustrious names such as Tony Cragg, Gavin Rain, Helidon Xhixha, Richard Orlinski, and many others—and in its collaborations with various galleries, such as the nearby Galleria Ravagnan, which has loaned Andrea Roggi’s “The Balance of Our Love,” which overlooks the Grand Canal.
The Sina Centurion Palace houses Antinoo’s Lounge & Restaurant, where you can savor the best of Venice with contemporary flair and truly excellent ingredients. Executive Chef Giancarlo Bellino’s cuisine combines the sunshine of his native Puglia with traditional lagoon ingredients.

The St. Regis Venice

It would be enough to say that The St. Regis Venice was Monet’s favorite view of Venice, that its waterfront restaurant overlooking the Basilica della Salute is one of the best in the lagoon city, or that every guest is assigned a personal butler. However, the list of exclusive unique features of this wonderful 5-star hotel on the Grand Canal, recently completely renovated, is much longer.
Starting with every element of the interior design, inspired by Carlo Scarpa and the colors of the lagoon, which deserves a description of its own: from the bar cabinets, handcrafted masterpieces in Art Deco style, to the many contemporary works of art chosen by the hotel’s Art Curator Robin Greene, in collaboration with Berengo Studio for the unique Murano glass pieces, from the handmade stuccos to the Rubelli silks, from the marble to the glass and gold leaf ceilings. Every detail, even the most hidden, is a tribute to the history of Venice and its artisanal treasures. Gio’s Restaurant & Terrace and The St. Regis Bar offer the unique experience of eating or drinking on the water, among the gondolas, enjoying the sun setting over Punta della Dogana.