Doge's Palace, St Mark's Basilica and Venice's civic museums: who runs which visit

The short answer

Two landmarks, two different operators. The Doge's Palace is one of the civic museums run by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, known as MUVE.[1] St Mark's Basilica is a cathedral looked after by the Procuratoria di San Marco, which runs its own ticket office.[4] Neither operator's ticket pages list the other's visit.[3][5]

So the first decision is which visit you mean: the palace and the civic collections around the square, or the basilica and its treasures. Each operator sells its own tickets.[5][3]

The civic museums: MUVE and the Doge's Palace

MUVE describes itself as a private foundation entrusted with the management of a public heritage, which it has looked after since 2008.[1] Its by-laws name the Municipality of Venice as its Founder Promoter, which appoints the board, and the mayor of Venice sits as vice president.[2] The foundation page speaks of fourteen museums, among them the Doge's Palace, the Museo Correr, Ca' Rezzonico, Ca' Pesaro, Palazzo Mocenigo, Carlo Goldoni's house, the Museo Fortuny, the Clock Tower, the Natural History Museum, the Murano Glass Museum, the Burano Lace Museum and the Torcello Museum.[1]

MUVE's ticket page describes the St Mark's Square Museums ticket as valid for the Doge's Palace and for the integrated route on the first floor of the Correr Museum, the National Archaeological Museum and the monumental rooms of the Marciana National Library.[3]

XTOUR treats the Doge's Palace as a place, the palace and its museum, and keeps the foundation that runs it separate.

St Mark's Basilica and the Procuratoria

The Procuratoria di San Marco describes itself as the fabric committee of the Basilica Cathedral of St Mark the Evangelist, responsible for protecting, maintaining and restoring the basilica, its bell tower and related properties. Its name dates from a royal decree of 9 July 1931, and a council of seven procurators governs it.[4]

The Procuratoria's ticket site calls itself the official ticket office of the basilica's monumental complex. It sells separate products for the basilica alone, the basilica with the Pala d'Oro, the basilica with the museum, the museum with the Loggia dei Cavalli, and a combined ticket for the basilica, the Pala d'Oro and the museum; the bell tower is a product of its own.[5] According to the site's FAQ, booking online means choosing a date and a time slot, entry may be refused if the date and time do not match the booking, and opening times may vary on national holy days, celebrations and occasions attended by the Patriarch of Venice.[6]

XTOUR has not read the basilica's dress or conduct rules, so it states none; check the Procuratoria's own site before you go.

Beyond the square

MUVE's network reaches past St Mark's Square. Its foundation page names the Murano Glass Museum, the Burano Lace Museum and the Torcello Museum.[1] MUVE sells those three together as an island-museums ticket and places them on the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello.[3] XTOUR lists the Murano Glass Museum with Venice as its base.

Who runs what

What XTOUR does not tell you

XTOUR does not repeat prices, opening hours, closures or entry conditions for any of these visits. MUVE's ticket page lists its prices[3] and the basilica ticket site's FAQ lists opening times[6]; check both when you book. XTOUR has not read the city of Venice's own rules for visitors.

For Venice as a base, see the Venice destination page; Venice's Gallerie dell'Accademia is not among the museums MUVE's foundation page names,[1] and the Accademia explainer tells it apart from Florence's Galleria dell'Accademia.