Le Zitelle

Venice, Italy

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

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Le Zitelle, officially Santa Maria della Presentazione, stands on the Giudecca island in Venice as a Renaissance masterpiece designed by Andrea Palladio and built beginning in 1581. Originally part of a charitable complex that sheltered young women without dowries, the brick church features a distinctive two-story façade crowned by a tympanum and flanked by small bell towers, with a prominent dome topped by a roof lantern. The building's housing structure wraps around the church in a horseshoe configuration, enclosing a courtyard behind the apse. Inside, an axial plan unfolds with artworks by Francesco Bassano, Antonio Vassilacchi, and Palma il Giovane. Located near Il Redentore—built around the same period—Le Zitelle now ranks among Venice's five hidden jewels, though it opens only on Sundays, while its former convent has been converted into a luxury hotel.