Basilica di San Pietro di Castello (Basilica of St. Peter of Castello), Venice

San Pietro's history is more intriguing than meets the eye. While a church was initially constructed here in the 7th century, the present-day basilica was erected nearly a thousand years later, featuring a facade designed by Palladio in the mid-16th century.

Particularly noteworthy within the church is the altarpiece by Luca Giordano in the Cappella Vendramin (left transept) and Veronese's late work, "Saints John the Evangelist, Peter and Paul", located above the entrance to the neighboring Cappello Lando. In the latter, you can also find a 5th-century mosaic fragment set into the floor and a bust of Saint Lorenzo Giustiniani, the first Patriarch of Venice. Giustiniani, who passed away in 1456, rests in a glass case within the elaborate high altar, which, like the Vendramin chapel, was designed by Longhena. Another unique feature of the church is the so-called Throne of Saint Peter (right aisle), a marble seat crafted in the 13th century from an Arabic funeral-stone engraved with texts from the Koran.

The "campanile", considered one of the city's most precarious towers, was reconstructed by Mauro Codussi in the 1480s and was the first tower in Venice to be covered in Istrian stone. It stands as the only remaining stone-clad tower in the city.