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