Basilica dei Frari

Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, known simply as the Frari, is one of the two great Gothic friars' churches of Venice and one of the city's richest buildings for art. The Franciscans were given the land in 1231 under Doge Jacopo Tiepolo. Their first church soon proved too small, and the present brick building took more than a century to complete before its consecration on 27 May 1492. Its campanile, finished in 1396, is the second tallest in Venice after St Mark's.

The church's chief treasure is Titian's Assumption of the Virgin, the enormous altarpiece installed above the high altar on 19 May 1518. It is framed by the arch of the monks' choir, so it is visible from the far end of the nave, and its red, gold and blue tones change with the light. Titian also painted the Pesaro Madonna for a chapel in the nave, and he is buried in the church, with a large monument marking his tomb.

Opposite stands the marble pyramid monument to Antonio Canova. Only the sculptor's heart is interred there; his pupils built it from a design Canova himself had drawn for a tomb for Titian that was never made. Other works not to miss include Giovanni Bellini's Madonna and Child with Saints Nicholas, Peter, Mark and Benedict, and Donatello's St John the Baptist in one of the choir chapels, his first documented work in Venice. The carved wooden choir stalls in the centre of the nave are also worth a close look.

The Frari is a working church, so dress modestly and expect parts of it to be closed during services. Allow about an hour. It suits art lovers above all, but the sheer scale of the interior impresses even visitors who rarely go into churches. Check the official site for opening times and admission before you go. Morning light is especially good on the Assumption, and quieter weekday mornings make it easier to sit in the nave and take it in.

The church is in the heart of San Polo, about three minutes' walk from the San Tomà vaporetto stop on Line 1. The Scuola Grande di San Rocco, with its Tintoretto cycle, is just behind the apse, and Campo San Polo and the Rialto are within a ten-minute walk.