As safeguards of the world's artistic treasures, museums play an invaluable role in our culture. However, museums themselves are often stunning works of art, superb examples of a vast range of architectural styles.From the controversial glass pyramid of the Louvre in Paris to the elegance of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, this handsome volume examines the architecture of the world's most celebrated museums. Giulia Camin presents a history of each museum supplemented with architectural plans, detailed drawings and photographs of the interiors and facades, and information on the architects and engineers who played a key role in the design and building of these important structures.The book spotlights museums around the world including the Uffizi in Florence, the Prado in Madrid, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, and the sprawling Smithsonian complex in Washington, DC. Readers are taken on a tour of such modern masterpieces as the Jewish Museum in Berlin, designed by Daniel Libeskind and Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Bilbao, considered by many to be the signature building of the 20th century. Specially commissioned photographs demonstrate the innovative interior design of the Yad Vashen Museum in Jerusalem wherein gallery spaces-most of them underground-of varying heights and different degrees of light serve as the ideal setting in which to unfold the narrative of the Jewish Holocaust experience. In sharp contrast, the Oceanographic Museum of Monte Carlo soars almost 300 feet above the sea, topped by a restaurant that offers panoramic views of Monaco and the Italian Riviera.