From around 1200 onwards the mendicant orders (friars) have held a significant place in Italian culture. In Venice their most important churches are those of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (Franciscan) and SS. Giovanni e Paolo (Dominican), both representing magnificant examples of 13th century gothic architecture.
Amongst much else the Frari has altar pieces by Giovanni Bellini and Titian, while the Dominican church has always been considered to be the Pantheon (like Westminster Abbey in the UK) of Venice, where Doges and other important Venetian figures are buried.