Venice: The Peggy Guggenheim Collection

I expected Venice to be a really backwards, down-on-her-heels kind of place. I sure was wrong. Venice makes a really strong showing in the world of modern art, with both the Venice Biennale, and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

Peggy Guggenheim was a major American art collector, with a collection of hundreds of pieces by familiar names. She was married for a short time to artist Max Ernst; later she purchased a villa on The Grand Canal of Venice. Upon her death, the villa was converted into an art museum.

Thought the rooms aren't really designed for large groups (the echoing of voices got really distracting until I inserted my ear plugs), and the hallways are narrow, the museum is an inspiring must-see for any fan of modern art.

Not a bad place to live. Peggy Guggenheim's digs on the Grand Canal. Inside: works by Picasso, Ernst, Dali, Delauney, Duchamp, Calder, de Kooning, Pollock, you name it. If you were studying 20th century art, this would be the place to visit.

Looking directly into a delightful mirrored garden sculpture.

Alexander Calder.

The gardens of the villa are a slice of heaven.

Cami at the wonderful Guggenheim gates.