San Barnaba

Leonardo da Vinci exhibition

Former Catholic church turned exhibition space, where you can get hands-on with ingenious machines recreated from Leonardo da Vinci's designs.

With Kids

Dorsoduro

Show on map

Ca' Rezzonico + 2-min walk

Vaporetto Guide

www.leonardoavenezia.com

Visit official website

Admission is €9.

Book tickets

Additional resources

What makes this place special

An unexpected atmosphere

Once a church, San Barnaba is now deconsecrated, and inside you'll find a lively, hands-on exhibition rather than the quiet, solemn atmosphere you might expect from a working church.

Ancient roots

Built in the 9th century and rebuilt in the late 18th century, San Barnaba immediately catches your eye as you enter the small campo, with its striking Greek temple-like facade.

For Indy fans

Recognize it? Indiana Jones fans may remember the facade from 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade', where the church was cleverly transformed into the entrance to a fictional library.

Lonardo's inventions

Explore a large collection of meticulously handcrafted models of Leonardo's ingenious machines, built by hand using traditional materials such as wood, cotton, brass, iron and rope.

San Barnaba : Most of the mechanical contraptions are designed to be interactive

Discover more about San Barnaba through 12 photos with explanations.

Open gallery

Tickets

Tickets can be purchased on site or booked online in advance.

While advance booking isn't usually necessary here, online tickets let you skip the ticket queue and head straight inside.

Which Leonardo museum to visit?

Venice has two museums dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci.

The other one is the Da Vinci Interactive Museum, housed in the Scuoletta San Rocco, the smaller sister of the nearby Scuola Grande di San Rocco.

Da Vinci Interactive Museum : The entrance to the interactive museum faces Campo San Rocco

Ideally, visit both! They each highlight different sides of Da Vinci's genius.

Both are highly interactive, cost the same to enter, and are just a 10-minute walk from each other.

Okay, so it has to be just one, you say? …

Go for this museum if you're intrigued by an exibition housed in a former church and drawn to a more informal setup: an open space packed with a huge number of contraptions.

Choose Da Vinci Interactive Museum instead if you prefer a more structured museum experience - complete with digitized paintings, and overall a more modern setup.

Da Vinci Interactive Museum : highlights

How everything is connected

In the 18th century, cheap rents around the church drew in once-wealthy nobles who had fallen on hard times.

Because of the church’s name, they became known as the Barnabotti.

You may already be familiar with the Nicolotti and Arsenalotti (Castellani).

Their legendary fistfights once rocked the nearby Ponte dei Pugni, which you can still visit today and stand on the four stone footprints where the fighters took their positions before the clashes began.

Ponte dei Pugni : Stone footprints marked the start of the fights, but contestants often ended up in the murky canal as the bridge lacked railings

Truth be told, Venice has more than one interesting bridge.

In a city with over 400 bridges, it’s only to be expected that some are worth seeking out: not just for their architecture, but for the views, stories, and quirks behind them.

We have a dedicated section in the guide to help you hunt down 20+ bridges that are worth crossing.

Bridges worth crossing