This magnificent palazzo overlooking the Grand Canal, the “golden house,” was built between 1428 and 1430 for the noble Contarini family. Baron Giorgio Franchetti bought the place in 1894, and it now serves as an atmospheric art gallery for his exceptional collection (mostly early Renaissance Italian and Flemish). The highlight is “St. Sebastian” by Paduan artist Andrea Mantegna, displayed in its own marble chapel. The so-called “St. Sebastian of Venice” was the third and final painting of the saint by Mantegna, created around 1490 and quite different to the other two (in Vienna and Paris, respectively); it’s a bold, deeply pessimistic work, with none of Mantegna’s usual background details to detract from the saint’s suffering. Don’t miss also the three panels from Carpaccio’s “Stories of the Virgin” series on the second floor.