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Roger Thomas Shares His Favorite Art-Filled Places to Visit in Venice

The world-renowned interior designer reveals where he goes to find inspiration ahead of the Biennale

By Roger Thomas
Venice Grand Canal with historic buildings, boats on water, and blue sky in the background.
Venice. Photo: Pedro Szekely

Roger Thomas, who uses the term “evocatecture” to describe his work, is best known for creating some of the world’s most high-impact casino hotel interiors in Las Vegas and beyond. Throughout his storied career, he often spoke of his love of Venice and returned to the city multiple times each year. He recently purchased a light-filled apartment overlooking the Grand Canal, which he artfully and carefully restored over the course of two years.

As the historic city prepares for the 61st Venice Biennale that will open this spring, Thomas revealed some of his favorite places to find inspiration. “My career in hotel design was about making my own dreams come true,” Thomas tells Galerie. “The biggest dream of my life has been to live in Venice, and I’m happy to share some of my favorite destinations.”

Man standing confidently with arms crossed in front of a large ornate door, beside a classical stone statue.
Roger Thomas in Venice. Photo: Roger Thomas
Three monochrome patterned glass vases of varying shapes and sizes displayed on a plain surface.
Barovier & Toso: vases from the Saturnei series , designed by Ercole Barovier, XXVI Venice Biennale, 1952. Photo: Vintage photo, ABT

1. Le Stanze del Vetro at the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore

This is absolutely the best place to see the pinnacle of Venice’s Murano Glass. The changing exhibitions are not to be missed, both for the sheer beauty of the examples curated of the best modern creations, but also for the important scholarship of each exhibition.

Modern interior with floating concrete staircase, wooden elements, tiled floor, and a vintage typewriter on a table.
Negozio Olivetti. Photo: © Lorenzo Pennati, 2019
Vintage typewriter displayed behind a large window in an old-fashioned shop setting with textured walls and wooden details.
Negozio Olivetti. Photo: © Lorenzo Pennati, 2019

2. Carlo Scarpa’s Olivetti Showroom at Piazza San Marco

The single best remaining example of Venice’s most important architect of the modern era, Carlo Scarpa. The space is a totally intact and truly inspiring example of his mastery of space and detail.

Cubist sculpture of an abstract figure in thought, made of dark material, showcasing angular shapes and intertwined forms.
Raymond Duchamp-Villon, The Horse ( 1914 (cast ca. 1930)). Photo: Courtesy of The Peggy Guggenheim Collection

3. Raymond Duchamp-Villon’s The Horse at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection

Found on the canal-side terrace, it is the best expression of dynamic movement I know. Duchamp-Villon’s last sculpture is the ultimate synthesis of the early 20th century’s most important movements: Cubism and Futurism. It has been called “the most powerful piece of sculpture produced by any strictly Cubist artist.” Peggy Guggenheim acquired her cast from Duchamp’s brother, Marcel, who was a dear friend of hers. Don’t forget to look down, as the Palazzo has some of the best 20th century Venetian terrazzo floors!

Interior view of a historic church with ornate altar, surrounded by large, detailed religious frescoes on the walls.
Giovanni Bellini, Sacra Conversazione, (c. 1505). Photo: Courtesy of San Zaccaria

4. San Zaccaria

This remarkable church, which houses the remains of Saint John the Baptist’s father, is the home of Giovanni Bellini’s Sacra Conversazione, c. 1505. It’s easy to see why Bellini became the most influential master of the early Venetian Renaissance. Of the hundreds of altar pieces in Venice, this one has the most lyrical and inventive coloring. It is the perfect illusionistic fit for its architectural enclosure—even succeeding in the pretense of a landscape view on the edges of the illusory niche holding the group in conversation. It is missing its top and bottom portions, which were removed when the painting was stolen and taken to Paris by Napoleon, requiring the removal of the back wall. It was then altered to better fit its new location in the Louvre. Sadly, the missing pieces are lost forever. Don’t forget to have a one-euro coin with you for the lighting!

Interior of a historic church with ornate ceiling frescoes, wooden pews, and intricate architectural details.
Chiesa di San Sebastiano. Photo: Courtesy of Churches of Venice

5. Chiesa di San Sebastiano

Beginning in 1555, Paolo Caliari (called Veronese) created the interior design and paintings for the church, establishing it as a masterpiece of complete interior invention. While you are surrounded by Veronese’s extraordinary accomplishment, especially his ceiling, it is the altarpiece that is my particular favorite. It is truly a dynamic composition and an acknowledgment of Titian’s extraordinary work of the Pesaro altarpiece at the Frari Basilica.

Renaissance painting depicting a banquet scene with figures gathered around a table in an architectural setting.
Paolo Veronese, Feast in the House of Levi, (1573). Photo: Courtesy of Gallerie dell’Accademia

6. Paolo Veronese’s Feast in the House of Levi at the Gallerie dell’Accademia

Originally painted for the refectory of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, this is the Venetian party I would most want to attend. This is Venice at its 16th-century best—sumptuous silks on handsome people in an elegant, yet humorous gathering. This too was stolen by Napoleon, cut into three horizontal strips, wrapped around a tube covered with asphalt, and tied to the deck of a ship for its trip to Paris. I celebrate its return to Venice every time I stand in front of it.

Stone sculpture of a woman holding a child, with detailed architectural elements surrounding them.
Madonna and Child relief over the portal of the church of the Miracoli. Photo: Courtesy of Save Venice
Intricate carved stone relief depicting figures and decorative elements on a historic architectural structure.
Marble reliefs by Pietro Lombardo inside the church of the Miracoli. Photo: Courtesy of Save Venice
Elaborately decorated church altar with candles, marble details, ornate windows, and religious artwork in a historic setting.
Presbytery and miraculous image of the Madonna and Child on the high altar of the church of the Miracoli. Photo: Courtesy of Save Venice
Intricately decorated golden ceiling with ornate patterns and framed paintings in a historic building interior.
Coffered wooden ceiling of the church of the Miracoli. Photo: Courtesy of Save Venice

7. Santa Maria dei Miracoli

Built by the early Renaissance master stone carver Pietro Lombardo with his extremely talented sons and saved from crumbling into the canal by Save Venice in the late 1990s, this all-marble church is truly the jewel box of Venice. It has one of the most delightful interiors in this extraordinary city, including statues by Tullio Lombardo, Alessandro Vittoria, and Niccolò di Pietro. The architectural carvings are of the most astounding level of detail, particularly evident on the raised altar. It is truly the Lombardo family at their best.

Ornate architectural doorway with red marble columns leading to a room with classical sculptures in a historic building.
Museo di Palazzo Grimani. Photo: Matteo De Fina
Renaissance museum hall with statues, decorative archways, and detailed patterned floor under a domed ceiling.
Museo di Palazzo Grimani. Photo: Matteo De Fina

8. Palazzo Grimani

This remarkable townhouse was built on a Roman plan by one of the wealthiest families in Venice and the most avid collector of Greek and Roman antiquities. This extraordinary collection has been reinstalled by Venetian Heritage in one of the most amazing rooms I have ever experienced, and certainly the most extraordinary in the city, The Tribuna. Grimani kept detailed records of the installation, and every piece is back in its original location.

Medieval painting of a richly dressed procession with figures on horseback and on foot, featuring vibrant patterns and architecture.
Vittore Carpaccio, Trionfo di San Giorgio (Triumph of Saint George), (c. 1502). Photo: Courtesy of Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni

9. Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni

For me, this charitable fraternity established by the Dalmatians living in this cosmopolitan city is the best example of the beginning of the Venetian Renaissance, as well as of an intact interior of the period. Recently restored by Save Venice, this charming space is exactly as it existed when it was first created. Vittore Carpaccio painted his cycle of images in 1502–07 that would influence the entire Venetian Renaissance. The space is an opportunity for true immersion in Venice’s artistic past.

Renaissance painting depicting the Assumption of the Virgin Mary surrounded by angels and onlookers in a church setting.
Tiziano “Titian” Vecellio, Assumption of the Virgin (1516-1518). Photo: Courtesy of Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari

10. The Assunta at Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari

Painted by Tiziano “Titian” Vecellio while still in his early 20s, this centerpiece of one of the largest Gothic churches in Venice is the masterpiece that established the young Titian as the master of painting in Venice. His completely new ideas of coloring and composition changed the history of art. While you are there, you can enjoy Titian’s Pesaro altarpiece, another of his highly influential compositions, plus the only Donatello sculpture in Venice. You can also find Giovanni Bellini’s superb little altarpiece still in the original gilded frame, as well as the most beautiful reliquary in Venice with Andrea Brustolon’s phenomenal flying angels.

Ornate museum room with a classical marble statue in the center, surrounded by decorative walls and intricate ceiling designs.
Antonio Canova, Daedalus and Icarus.

11. Daedalus and Icarus at Museo Correr

Created in his early 20s, Antonio Canova’s first masterpiece is a truly extraordinary accomplishment, establishing him as the pre-eminent sculptor in neoclassical Italy. This museum is home to many of his masterpieces. Don’t miss the ceiling of the Biblioteca Marciana—the first public library in history—a Renaissance tour de force in the very last room.