ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM

Opened in 1903, this rare gem has become one of Boston's most popular museums. Its 3 floors house the art collection of Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840-1924), who had this Venetian palazzo built in 1903 and lived here all her life. During her lifetime, it was known as Fenway Court.

The museum doesn't dwell on the fascinating life of this great collector who, after the loss of her only child, regained a taste for life thanks to a trip to Europe. Isabella Steward then travelled the world, buying works by Raphael, Titian(Europe), Matisse(Terrasse à Saint-Tropez) and Manet(Madame Auguste Manet)... While the museum gives pride of place to European art, with thousands of objects from Ancient Rome, the Italian Renaissance and ^19th-century French paintings, it also features some very fine American and Asian works of art.

Three portraits of this art specialist are on display, including two by John Singer Sargent. The first is in the Gothic Room (^3rd floor); Isabella Stewart was in her forties at the time. The second, painted a few years before his death, is on display in the Macknight Room (first floor). The third, by Anders Zorn, shows her beaming in Venice. Highlights include Rembrandt's self-portrait (aged 23) and Botticelli's The Tragedy of Lucretia(^2nd floor), Giotto's The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple and a stained-glass window from Soisson Cathedral (^3rd floor). Also in the Short Gallery, a portrait of a woman by Kronberg.

The refined, well-kept garden is a haven of peace. There are many plants (different according to the season), a mosaic and the statue of Medusa.

In 1990, two men posing as police officers managed to infiltrate the museum. They left with eleven paintings and two objets d'art, including three Rembrandts, five Degas, a Manet and, most priceless of all, Vermeer's 1664 painting The Concert. The perpetrators have never been arrested, although there are strong suspicions that the local Mafia was involved, and the works are still missing. It was the most expensive museum robbery in history, with the works valued at an estimated $500 million. Tip: use the map provided at the entrance to locate the masterpieces of this Venetian palace (their names are not indicated).