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This site grew out of my frustration that there wasn't a site like
it, or indeed a comprehensive book available in English.
The churches are divided up by sestiere - the six 'boroughs'
of Venice. I've added an extra page for Giudecca, which is not a sestiere -
it's actually part of Dorsoduro - but is a separate enough entity to
deserve one I think. There are also pages devoted to the
islands and to demolished churches, the latter page being still unfinished. Artists, architects and saints might
get their own pages at some time in the future. I suppose I must
point out that, contradictory (and maybe even contrary) as it may seem to some, this is a
religion-free site. My interest is historical, artistic, and also
non-pompous. I am respectful of others' beliefs, usually, and expect them
to be respectful of my personal convictions too.
Each church's history
is told, followed by a description of its architecture, artistic
highlights, unique features, and/or any interesting stories. The degree to
which each topic is covered will vary, depending on the information
available and what makes each church interesting and worth visiting, as
will the amount of personal observation and opinion in each piece. The
latter depends on if the church has been visited by me, and how recently, and
it's this aspect that will keep the site improving for a good long while,
I think. My intention is to tell you what makes each church special,
rather than to list all of its features and contents. As I progress I'm finding that
I'm becoming more interested in finding out the sparse facts about forgotten
churches rather than writing about the other churches that
are well-enough
covered elsewhere. Each entry also tells you the nearest vaporetto stop and opening
times, where known. I'll endeavour to keep these times as accurate as
possible, but it's always a good idea to check before travelling, and to
be prepared for disappointment.
For a while I had no addresses or mapping, so geographical confusion
reigned. Now, though, there's a special
Google map.
The photos are mostly mine, except where noted.
There's also an alphabetical list of all the churches
and a page acknowledging my sources
(click here to send me an encouraging e-mail)
This is Me.

Progress reports
February 2012
I've finished the Humfrey book mentioned below, and have spruced up
my entries here with any juicy new info it provided. I'm now going
to devote myself more to my new
Florence churches site.
Not that this one is finished, oh no. The Demolished page is
especially in need of work. Aside from the entries I also need to
improve its organisation and make the resulting list more complete.
November 2011
Somewhat belatedly, I'm reading The Altarpiece in
Renaissance Venice by Peter Humfrey and adding much to my
understanding, and the entries.
Found some fascinating old photos, and artfacts, to
add to the entry for
Santi Cosma e Damiano.
September/October 2011
Major updates, photos and text, as mentioned below,
to San Samuele,
San Fantin,
San Pantalon,
Santa Caterina
,
Santa Maria dei Redentore
and
Angelo Raffaele, with some new photos
added to a few others too.
21-28th September 2011
This year's Venice trip has seen me get into many 'new' churches
and pick up various books, pieces of information and bits of paper.
Updates and additions to follow.
August 2011

This site now has its own Facebook page...
Friends of Fictional Cities and the Churches of Venice
Click on the link and Like the page for
regular news updates.
And you can post your comments too!
July 2011
Added some surprising interior pics of
San Samuele, photography being
possible due to it being used as a Biennale venue. And I'm doing
those links.
June 2011
Have now embarked on
The Churches of Florence,
not that The Churches of Venice is finished, of course, or ever really will
be. I really must provide clickable links from the lists at the top
of each page. Soon.
April 2011
The frustration with the Franzoi book Le
Chiesa di Venezia is that, although it's the standard work on
Venetian churches, it's never been translated into English. So imagine
my joy at hearing from a man named John Flint who has been
translating the book's entries for his own use for a while now, and
is now sharing these translations with me. In the coming weeks I'll
be working through these and adding any interesting new facts I
find. In truth I'm finding that a lot of what's written about the
churches of Venice is lifted from Franzoi, but it's a rare entry
that doesn't add a couple of juicy facts to my entry or tidy up some
dates.
March/April 2011
Adding scans from the Ughi map of 1729, mostly to the demolished
churches page, showing where them churches was. And
some never-before-seen interior photos of San Biagio! Making a start on an
Artists page.
November 2010
In response to gentle demands for addresses or a map each church
will be getting a link to a marker on a specially-created Google
map. For
this excellent map we hugely thank Bob Gellatly.
Another oft-pointed-out problem is the matter of oratorios. I've
tended to uninclude these smaller chapels as others tend to ignore
them too and they don't seem to contain much art of interest. Which
is all well and good, some people say, but then why have you
included San Vio and San Gallo. To which my reply is rude noise. But they have a
point. So, shall I include oratorios (in the sequence or on a
separate page) or just delete San Vio and San Gallo?!

Copyright © Jeff Cotton 2007-2012
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