Help me choose museums and churches

St Peters in Chain is not on your list and should be. Most good guide books have some type of a rating system for sights to see. I would rely on that. We tend to hit the major attractions and then just wonder the streets stopping at anything that looks interesting. And we have seen some small, interesting places that were in nobody's guide book.

I think an awful lot depends on what you want to see in the particular churches.

Because there is so much world class art in situ you can choose which church depending on which artist you prefer.

For example I like Borromini and Bernini, so I go to the twin churches to see their architecture side by side. If I am in the mood for Caravaggio I visit the Farnese. Titian, various churches in Venice.

So, what floats your boat?

so many in Rome -- you could spend two weeks there doing nothing but churches. We loved St. Clemente because you can climb down to the earlier versions of the church in the archological digs under the church. It is near the Colosseum and St. Peter in Chains which has perhaps Michelangelo's greatest work (one of the top 3 anyway) Moses.

The Uffizi and Academia in Florence and there are several more interesting churches in Florence than the Duomo -- Santa Croce, Santa Maria Novella, San Miniato, and several more. Climb the Duomo but the interior is fairly unimpressive. We also loved the Musee San Marco which is the monastery where Savanarola ruled and Fra Angelico created small devotional paintings in the monk's cells.

I use a combination of guide book ratings and descriptions. RS books, DK books and Frommers (website) rate sights and they are pretty reliable for my tastes. I read descriptions of the collections, often using the sight's official site and choose those that are more to my personal taste.

In Venice, the Correr Museum and the Frari Church (with Rick's audio tour) . . . but there are others I haven't been to yet.

In Florence, for sculpture the Bargello, Opera del Duomo, Medici Chapels, for painting the Pitti Palace.

In Rome, the Capitoline, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme

In Venice, in addition to the Frari church, I enjoyed seeing Santa Maria dei Miracoli, San' Giacomo dell' Orio, della Salute, the church on the island of Torcello.... In Florence, the Bracacci Chapel.

Also in Venice, San Giorgio Maggiore is a beautiful church, and hosts some fascinating contemporary art.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

TW, as Nigel said, it depends on what you're interested in. As he does, I particularly enjoy art that's in situ and hasn't been trundled off to a museum (although the Borghese is fabulous) so for me, many of the churches are museums in-and-of themselves.

Believe it or not, St Pete's isn't even a favorite of the many Roman churches we've been to! So it's very much a matter of personal taste, I guess, and with nearly 1000 of them just in Rome, I've many, many more doors yet to darken (and if the husband was reading this, he'd be rolling his eyes; ha!)

That said, here are a few for Rome and Florence which come to mind (been just a little too long since I've last been to Venice.) Google them up to see if they'd appeal to you:

Rome:
Santa Maria del Popolo: lots of art but best known for its two Caravaggios

Santa Maria Maggiore: one of the 4 papal basilicas, she has a very long history. Gian Bernini is buried here, and it's one heck of a glorious chiesa: a must-do, IMHO!

San Giovanni in Laterano: another papal basilica with a long history, this is the Pope's 'official' church as Bishop of Rome. The baptistry is particularly old, and the first 8-sided design which was subsequently adopted by so many others.

Gesù: Baciccia's ceiling is just nuts.

Santa Maria in Trastevere: Medieval 12th century with magnificent mosaics

Santa Sabina: I love this one for its quiet austerity. She's a very old lady which has seen too many facelifts but there are enough antiquities left to be interesting. She's also perched on a hill (Aventine) with some excellent views of the city. Peer at St Pete's dome through the keyhole of the Priory of Malta - just down the street - while you're up here.

Santa Stephano Rotundo: one of Rome's oldest (5th century) and an unusual circular design. The inner walls are covered in 16th-century frescoes of martyrdoms depicted in every gruesome method imaginable!
There is also a Roman Mithraic temple under this one which unfortunately has been closed indefinitely to visitors.

If you like Bernini (I do) that's a whole other list so let us know if you want that one.

Florence:

Bargello: excellent museum of Renaissance antiquities in a Medieval setting.

Museo di San Marco: the monastery where Fra Angelico (and Savanarola) lived: see his paintings on the walls of the former monk's cells, and his ‘Annunciation' in the stairwell. A must-do!

Palatine Galleries at the Pitti Palace: tons of art but it can be overwhelming.

Santa Croce: gorgeous church chockfull of the fingerprints of the Masters, and Michelangelo, Machiavelli and Galileo are buried there, among others.

San Miniato al Monte: perched above Piazzale Michelangelo, a very old and lovely church with scraps of Gaddi frescoes. This is a particular favorite of mine!

Basilica Della Santissima Annunziata: very close to San Marco, and with some lovely dabblings by del Sarto, Rosselli, Lippi and others. This is also on a favorite little piazza with Ospedale degli Innocenti just across the way (those famous tondos by Della Robbia!) and a look down the street at an unusual view of Brunelleschi’s dome on the Duomo.

Santa Maria Novella: too many reasons to list

Santa Trinita: the Sassetti Chapel was painted by Ghirlandaio; Michelangelo's one-time master when he was very young.

Regarding Santa Sabina, it still has original iron grillwork on the windows, and the original carved wooden doors with scenes from the Bible. There is a nice little park close to it, with great views of Roma.

In Rome, check out the Palazzo Doria-Pamphilj. A gorgeous palace with a beautiful private art collection. I compare it to the Wallace Collection in London.

http://www.doriapamphilj.it/roma/en/