The Churches of Venice

Gesuiti Domenico Rossi, Giovanni Battista Fattoretto, Fra Giuseppe Pozzo 1715-30
The word 'kitsch' springs to mind. History The church of Santa Maria Assunta had stood here since 1155, being built, along with an attached monastery and hospital, by the order of the Crucifers (Crociferi) It had then been rebuilt after fires in 1214 and 1514 when it was acquired by the Jesuits in 1657, after the order had been suppressed in 1656 for moral turpitude. The Manin family (who have tombs here) later put up the money for the church's reconstruction, and work began in 1715. The gap between acquisition and rebuilding being caused by the Jesuits being expelled from Venice due to the Republic's argument with the Pope over the right to try clergymen convicted of crimes. The Jesuits were never popular in Venice, which might explain this church's remote position, as well as the degree to which the church tries to impress. The work was entrusted to architect Domenico Rossi (the Manin family architect and Giuseppe Sardi's nephew). When the Jesuits were suppressed in 1773 the monastery became a school and then, in 1808, a barracks. The friars returned in 1844 and still look after the church. The church The façade is as overpopulated as you'd expect from a Baroque church in Venice. It is said to be the work of Giovanni Battista Fattoretto. On the first level there are statues of the apostles who witnessed the Assumption of the Virgin, by various sculptors. The Virgin passing into Heaven, with angels with robes billowing in the wind, above the pediment are by Giuseppe Torretti. The Manin coat of arms is above the doorway. Ludovico Manin being famously the last doge of all - the one who handed Venice over to Napoleon. The interior To enter this church is to wonder about those who conceived of the decoration in here and their conviction that it is decoration suitable for a church. Everywhere the walls seem to be covered in what looks like Victorian table-cloths, or the wallpaper in traditional Indian restaurants. But it's all marble inlay, made to look like fabric, swags and all. (This carved cloth is said by some to represent the shroud in which Mary was wrapped before her assumption.) Almost every surface is decorated. On the ceiling gold and white stucco work by Abbondio Stazio surrounds frescoes (two each) by Francesco Fontabasso and Louis Dorigny. Then there's the altar, inspired by Bernini, by Fra Giuseppe Pozzo, with its baldacchino with barley-twist columns and concealed lighting. There's also the Da Lezze family funerary monument by Sansovino. Art highlights Tintoretto's movement-filled Assumption of the Virgin is on the altar dedicated by the Zen family, in the left transept. Also Titian’s late, great and spooky The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence (below right) which had been in the previous church on the site. There's also a sacristy full of Palma il Giovane The church in art Campo dei gesuiti by Canaletto. Campanile 40m (130 ft) manual bells Original from 1150, topped by an 18th Century belfry. The north-facing windows were bricked up by Rossi in 1715. *W. D. Howells (in Venetian Life)* said The workmanship is marvellously skilful, and the material costly, but it only gives the church….a poverty, a coldness, a harshness indescribably table-clothy. In this dreary sanctuary is one of Titian's great paintings, The Martyrdom of St Lawrence, to which….you turn involuntarily, envious of the Saint toasting so comfortably on his gridiron amid all that frigidity. Ruskin said ...speaking of the buildings of the Grotesque Renaissance, that many of them are remarkable for a kind of dishonesty, even in the use of true marbles, resulting not from motives of economy, but from mere love of juggling and falsehood for their own sake. I hardly know which condition of mind is meanest, that which has pride in plaster made to look like marble, or that which takes delight in marble made to look like silk. Several of the later churches in Venice, more especially those of the Gesuiti of San Clemente, and of the Scalzi, rest their chief claims to admiration on their having curtains and cushions cut out of rock. The most ridiculous example is the Gesuiti... The Oratorio Opposite the church - it has a cycle of paintings by Palma il Giovanni telling the history of the Crociferi. Opening times Monday to Friday: 10.00-12.00 and 4.00-6.00 (5-7?) Oratorio: April to October Friday 10.00-12.30, Saturday 3.30-7.30. Vaporetto** Fondamente Nuove		The original church of the Crociferi, as seen on Jacopo de'Barbari's map of 1500.
Madonna dell’Orto 14th-15th Centuries
Photo above by Brigitte Eckert		The Tintoretto church. History A church and monastery were founded here in the 1360s by the Umiliati (Humiliated) order and initially dedicated to Saint Christopher, the patron saint of the gondoliers. (Tiberio da Parma, the leader of the order of the Humiliated, is buried here.) During the building of the church an unfinished statue of the Madonna, made by Giovanni de Sanctis (but also said to have fallen from heaven) and kept in his kitchen garden, started getting a reputation for working miracles. The church bought the statue, with the intention of thereby increasing offerings towards the cost of building, and on 18th June 1377 it was placed on the high altar. Since then the church has been known as Madonna dell'Orto, Our Lady of the Garden. Following a subsidence in the foundations the order were given 200 ducats to rebuild. Reconstruction work from 1399 resulted in the complete redecoration of the interior and the construction of the new façade. A new and larger monastery was built at this time too. The Umiliati were expelled 1462 by the Council of Ten because of their licentious habits. The Canons Regular of San Giorgio in Alga replaced then ten years later, and the restoration work was finished soon after. In 1669 Cistercians from San Tommaso on Torcello moved here. In 1787 as only three monks were living here, the Republic turned the church over to secular priests. The church was allowed to crumble (being pressed into use as a stables, a straw store and a powder magazine) until 1841, when some poor restoration (which included ripping up memorial stones and destroying the organ) was carried out, with the building reopening in 1868 as a parish church. In 1931 the complex was given to the monks of San Giuseppini del Murialdo, who still administer it. More restoration work was carried out 1930-1931, but the great acqua alta of 1966 damaged the church further. Following the flood it was thoroughly restored by Venice in Peril between 1970 and 1980. The church The gothic brick façade is one of Venice's most purely pleasing. The sloping galleries of apostles, carved by the Delle Masegne brothers, are unique in Venice. (The herring-bone patterned pavement is pretty rare too). The façade went up in the early 15th Century, with the side windows added a little later, and then the door case. This doorway, by Bartolomeo Bon, features a gothic ogee arch with a renaissance rounded arch underneath. This stylistic mixture might be explained by the fact that the doorway was made in the 1460s, but not installed until 1483, twenty years after Bon's death. So it's possible the rounded arch was added to spice up the, by then, unfashionably gothic doorway. The ogee arch is surmounted by a statue of Saint Christopher, with the Virgin and The Angel of the Annunciation on either side. These statues were taken from the 14th Century church. Art highlights This was the parish church of Jacopo Tintoretto and his family - they lived on the nearby Fondamenta dei Mori. His ashes are interred here, along with those of his wife and eight more family members. You'll find his memorial stone in the chapel to the right of the chancel, which was previously the chapel of the Bonetti family. There are something like 11 paintings by him here. His huge Worship of the Golden Calf and The Last Judgment, both dated 1546, flank the altar and were much admired by Ruskin. (It is said that amongst the bearers of the Golden Calf you'll find portraits of Giorgione, Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto himself, but this has never been proven.) Tintoretto's Presentation of the Virgin (see left) is from a few years later and is more lovable. It was painted to outdo Titian's painting of the same subject (now in the Accademia) and even emulates the older artist's characteristic colour scheme. The very-evident obelisk is also a steal from the Titian, but is also a not-unusual inclusion in paintings of this period, representing the sun and symbolising the triumph over death. Cima de Conegliano’s John the Baptist with Saints glows after a recent restoration. Titian's Tobias and the Angel was recently moved here from the nearby church of San Marziale. The miracle-working statue of the Madonna is in the Capella di San Mauro, along with twenty-eight paintings of Venetian saints and beatified persons, painted by various artists in the 17th Century. Lost art In the first chapel on the left is a photograph of Giovanni Bellini's small panel painting of the Madonna and Child (1480) (see left). The painting was stolen (for the third time, it's said) from the church on 1st March 1993. A guidebook written just before the most recent theft comments that the Child's hair was 'specially pretty'. The painting had been commissioned (or possibly 'bought from stock') by Luca Navagero, the Venetian vice-regent for Friuli, for his tomb elsewhere in the church. Pordenone's The Blessed Lorenzo Giustiniani and Saints was painted for the altar of the Renier family, where it remained until Napoleon nicked it. It's now in the Accademia. Quotes Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti in The Girl of his dreams looks up at the church: 'The brick dome of the bell tower had always looked like a panettone to him, and so it did now.' The same novel also reveals that Brunetti was on his holidays when the Bellini was stolen, and that by the time he returned to work the art-crime squad from Rome had given up and gone home. Campanile 56m (182ft) electromechanical bells Erected 1332, rebuilt with addition of belfry in 1503, with a statue of the redeemer on top of the oriental-looking brick dome and apostles perched on the edges, all by the Lombardi workshop. Restored 1819 following a storm. Opening Times Monday to Saturday: 10.00 to 5.00 Sundays: closed A Chorus Church Vaporetto Madonna dell’Orto
Miracoli Pietro Lombardo and sons 1481-89
History A shrine was built in 1408 to house a miracle-working icon of the Virgin and eventually the funds that this icon generated allowed the building of a small church squeezed into the same campo. It was paid for by Angelo Amadi, the nephew of Francesco Amadi who had had the icon painted. The uncle had also been married to noted beauty Elena Badoer. The Amadi family house nearby was given to Franciscan nuns after the building of the church. The church was designed by Pietro Lombardo and embellished with carvings by him, his sons, and their workshop. Since then it has been virtually untouched, only cleaned. The church The arms of the Amadi family are to be seen over the door. After admiring the handsome marble-clad exterior - unusually you can admire all four sides - you'll almost be prepared for the interior. Almost. Much rhapsodising and plenty of purple prose have been devoted to this interior, using phrases like 'renaissance jewel box', but you'll forgive it when you get to sit inside and wonder. The space consists of a single nave with a wooden barrel vault and a chancel up a steep flight of steps. No columns to complicate the space and add rhythm and no great paintings. It's not the details that appeal, it's simply the perfectly-proportioned whole, as you are enclosed by the polychrome marble patterns and porphyry and the fine carving skills of the Lombardi. It's very reminiscent of San Miniato in Florence, but so much smaller. The railings of the the staircase up to the chancel have small statues of the Virgin and the Angel of the Annunciation, the Archangel Gabriel, and Saints Francis and Clare, all by Tulio Lombardo. The miracle-working painting of The Virgin and Child by Niccolo di Pietro is above the altar. On either side of the altar are bronze statues of Saint Peter and Saint Anthony Abbot. They are by Vittoria, who was a pupil of the Lombardi, and are the only later additions to their work. Until the nineteenth century a nuns' passageway linked the church's gallery to the nearby convent (see print below right) which was also the work of the Lombardi, but which was almost totally destroyed in 1810. Lost art An Annunciation (maybe by Bellini, maybe Carpaccio) which once formed the outer doors of the organ here is now in the Accademia. The church in art The Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli and the apse of Santa Maria Nuova by Bernardo Bellotto (see below centre). In films Orson Welles’ 1951 film version of Othello sets the wedding of Desdemona and Othello in this church (see below right). The flower shop in the film Bread and Tulips in the campo behind the Miracoli is an invention. Donald Sutherland walks past the church in Don't Look Now, and you can see how grubby (and closed) it was before its 1997 restoration (below). Opening times Monday to Saturday: 10.00 to 5.00 Sundays: closed A Chorus Church Vaporetto Rialto		What is going on in the foreground here?!

San Bonaventura 1620 - 23
		History The church and its adjacent monastery were built on reclaimed land by a Franciscan order called the Reformati in 1620, and the church was consecrated in 1623. Both were suppressed in 1810. (Reports differ here with some saying that the monastery was demolished and replaced with a factory.) The Countess Paolina Giustinian-Recanati bought the monastery (site?) in 1859 and opened it as a convent for barefoot Carmelites, with the church serving as the convent's chapel. It became a children's hospital in the early 1900s. Some Carmelite nuns are said to still live there. Lost Art Works by Bassano and Tintoretto were to be found in the church before suppression. Giambattista Tiepolo's Santa Margherita di Cortona once here, is now in San Michele in Isola. Vaporetto Sant’Alvise
San Canzian Antonio Gaspari 1706
		History Tradition has it that the first church on this site was built in 864 by refugees from Aquileia, but the earliest printed reference is dated 1040. The church is dedicated to Saints Canziano, Canzio, and Canzionello - all three were martyred in Aquileia in 304 - but Venetian dialect has blended them into one. Consecrated in 1351, with much rebuilding since. The current church dates from a rebuilding in 1706 by Antonio Gaspari, paid for by Michele Tommasi whose bust is over the main entrance. Interior The church is usually entered by either of the two smaller doors opposite each other in the side walls of the bottom of the nave, which thereby form a sort of 'entrance corridor' effect at the very back of the church. These doors also let in a fair amount of the noise of the campo and the market stalls, adding to this church's feel of being open and used. The pale-pink walls balance out some somewhat dark and dingy paintings and the heavily-carved side chapels to make for a quietly quite pleasing interior Art highlights There are altarpieces by Bartolomeo Letterini, Domenico Zanchi and Nicolò Renieri, amongst other lesser-known 18th Century artists. There is also a chapel containing the sarcophagus, and a statue, of St Massimo. Campanile 24m (78ft) manual bells Restored in the 16th Century, including replacement of the belfry. The church in art John Singer Sargent Leaving Church, Campo San Canciano, Venice 1882 (see below). Opening times Vaporetto Ca d'Oro

San Felice 1531-35
		History Founded, it is said, in 960 by the Gallina family and dedicated to St Felix of Nola. After restoration it was consecrated in 1267. Danger of collapse led to the building of the present church in 1531 to a design reminiscent of Codussi's San Giovanni Grisostomo below. Reconsecrated in 1624. Amongst the relics here are bones of St Felix and a clod of earth stained with Christ's blood. The church A radical reworking of the interior in 1810 resulted in the replacement of the altars of the 16th Century church with inferior modern examples, my guide book says, somewhat sniffily, but this church is actually an unexpected calm grey-stone gem on the inside, if you can get in, much in the style of Brunelleschi. Art highlights There's an early Tintoretto: St Demetrius and a Donor of the Ghisi Family. Also a plaque over the sacristy door commemorating Pope Clement XIII, who was baptised here in 29th March 1693 as plain Carlo Rezzonico. Five figures carved by Giulio del Moro (late 16th Century.) Campanile 22m (72ft) manual bells Not easily seen. Opening times Vaporetto Ca d'Oro
San Geremia Carlo Corbellini 1753-1760
History The church was founded in the 11th Century by Mauro Tosello and his son Bartolomeo, who used it to house the arm of St Bartholomew that they had brought from Apulia in 1043. Rebuilt 1174 by Doge Sebastiano Ziani and reconsecrated in 1292. Fra Bartolomeo Fonzio Veneziano preached here, before being accused of heresy and drowned at the Lido with a stone around his neck on 4th August 1562. The present church dates from the rebuilding by the Brescian priest/architect Carlo Corbellini from 1753. The first mass was celebrated on 27th April 1760, while the work continued. The church Two marble façades of similar design, completed in 1871. One faces onto the campo (right) where the famous bull -hunt was held (possibly due the proximity of the Spanish embassy, hence Lista di Spagna) and is somewhat crowded on the left by the Palazzo Labia. The other one, damaged by a mad arsonist who set fire to wooden scaffolding in 1998 and is still being restored, faces the Cannaregio Canal (below right, with detail of damage). The interior A Greek cross with a dome at the crossing and semi-domes at the end of each arm. A chapel built in 1863 contains the 'partially incorrupt' body of Saint Lucy, stolen from Constantinople by crusaders in 1204. In 1810 it was placed in a chapel here which was embellished with elements from the Palladio-designed chapel in the church of Santa Lucia when that church was demolished to make way for the railway station that retains the name. The body was stolen again, from this church, in 1981, by gunmen who lost the saint's head, which was dislodged before they got out of the church. The body was found a month later in a hunting lodge. Saint Lucy's attribute in paintings is her eyes, usually on a plate, placed there after they were plucked out as punishment for her refusal of a marriage offer. Her face is now covered by a relatively recent silver mask - until the 1960s you could still gaze into her empty sockets. Other remains the church possesses include bones of the Saints Thomas and Bartholomew and a rib of Mary Magdalen. Art highlights Four works by (sigh) Palma il Giovane, including The Coronation of Venice by St Magnus, with the Madonna described in one guidebook as 'passable'. A visit (2008) The church is entered from the campo of the same name, and you actually thereby enter from the right-hand side. The main façade, damaged in a fire in 1998, is undergoing restoration, but still looks pretty much destroyed. The interior takes the form of a Greek cross and can best be described as dirty white with buff-coloured detailing. And it has far too many signs: word-processed and hand-written signs telling you what's forbidden, or how much you must pay for things, cover every flat surface, and some of the curved ones. It's oppressive. The chapel of Saint Lucy is off to the left and backs onto the Grand Canal. You can even go up behind the altar and press your nose against the glass case she lies in, which is pretty creepy. Her face is covered by a silver mask but her hands and feet are horribly visible. The art is so middling I found myself admiring an Annunciation by Palma il Giovane, even though it was dark and badly-illuminated. A Tintoretto is promised in a museum to the right of Saint Lucy's chapel, but this seems now to be a gift shop. Campanile 43m 140 ft manual bells One of the oldest left in the city and all that remains of the 12th Century church, topped by an octagonal tambour that's probably a little later but is visible in Jacopo De Barbari's map of 1500 (right) which shows the older church. The church in art The Grand Canal at the Entrance to the Cannaregio Canal by Michele Marieschi, painted in 1741-2 (right) also shows the old church, before the rebuilding which took place later in the 18th Century. Canaletto's San Geremia and the entrance to the Cannaregio (now owned by the Queen) was painted from drawings made on almost exactly the same spot on the Riva di Biasio that I stood on to take the photograph below. There are two watercolours and an oil painting of wide views of Palazzo Labia and San Geremia by John Singer Sargent. Also a closer-cropped watercolour of the join between the palazzo and the church. Opening times Monday to Saturday: 8.30 to 12.00, 4.00 to 6.00 Sundays: 9.30 to 12.15 Vaporetto Guglie

San Giobbe Antonio Gambello/Pietro Lombardo 1450-93
		Some churches have the best art – this one had* the best art.* The church An oratory and hospice dedicated to St Job (Giobbe) was founded here in 1378. The oratory had become famous for the fiery preaching of Fra Bernardino of Siena on his visit of 1443, but was becoming too small. Doge Christoforo Moro put up the money to build a new church in the preacher’s honour, and the present church was begun in a gothic style in 1450 by Antonio Gambello. Very little of his work remains - the double windows on south side, the exterior pilasters of the apse, the ante-sacristy (now called the Contarini Chapel), the campanile and the remaining wing of adjoining cloister. In 1470 Pietro Lombardo was called in to finish the work and this, his first job in Venice, is one of the earliest examples of Renaissance architecture in the city – the main doorway on the façade (left) is an especial treat in a Florentine style. The window and the three statues (now in the sacristy) are his work too. The church was consecrated in 1493. The interior Lombardo’s calm interior has chapels on the left side and used to have three major altarpieces (see Lost art below) on the right, and so large and impressive were they that they balanced the depth of the chapels on the left – a neat trick as the right hand side of the nave couldn’t have protruding chapels as it backed onto the existing cloister. The early renaissance style of the interior gives the church a Tuscan feel, which is only enhanced by the polychrome Della Robbia roundels in the vault of the very Florentine Martini Chapel. The altarpiece is more of Lombardo’s work, and the deep choir is reminiscent of San Francesco della Vigna. Doge Christoforo Moro, along with his wife Cristina Sanudo, is buried in the church, whose building he funded. He is reputed to be the inspiration for Shakespeare’s Othello. Art The Contarini Chapel, through a door on the right, is a remainder of Gambello's original building and contains a pleasing Nativity by Savoldo. Lost art The three altarpieces mentioned above were Giovanni Bellini’s Virgin with child (see left) (also known as The San Giobbe Altarpiece), Carpaccio’s Presentation of Christ in the Temple (inspired by the Bellini) and Marco Basaiti’s Agony in the Garden. They must have been a pretty impressive sight, all in the same small church, but now they are the three highlights of the second room in the Accademia, hung on the wall opposite the bench in the same order that they appeared in the church. They were looted by Napoleon and returned to the Accademia in 1815. Their aching lack in San Giobbe only adds to the forlorn feel of this church in this somewhat backwaterish part of Venice. Campanile 46m (150ft) electromechanical bells Erected between 1451 and 1464, with restoration work in 1903, 1905 and 1982. Ruskin said Its principal entrance is a very fine example of early renaissance sculpture. Note in it, especially, its beautiful use of the flower of the convolvulus. There are said to be still more beautiful examples of the same period, in the interior. The cloister, though much defaced, is of the Gothic period, and worth a glance.' And that the Virgin and Child by Bellini is Alone worth a modern exhibition building, hired fiddlers and all. The third best Bellini in Venice, and probably the world. Opening times Monday to Saturday: 10.00 to 5.00 Sundays: closed A Chorus Church Vaporetto Ponte dei Tre Archi
San Giovanni Grisostomo Mauro Codussi 1497-1504
A calm and cosy church that looks much better for a recent restoration. Just don't mention the light fittings. The Church The church is one of the very few in Western Europe named for the 5th Century patriarch of Constantinople, reflecting the strength of the Byzantine influence in Venice when the first church on the site was built in the 11th Century. This original church burned down in 1475. Work began on the replacement in 1497. Like San Zaccaria this church was designed by Mauro Codussi (it was supposedly his last in Venice) and it shares that church's curvy shapes, whilst the façade is almost identical to his one for San Michele in Isola. But this is not as easy a church to appreciate, as it's squeezed into a small and crowded campo. This and the constant flow of people from the Rialto up towards the station makes it easy to pass and miss. Old guide books refer to the dilapidated state of the exterior and describe it as being covered in reddish plaster, but post-restoration there's no ish about it. The façade was damaged during an air-raid in February 1918, and there'd also been a near miss on 13th September 1916 (see right). The interior The interior is compact, cosy and welcoming - a Greek cross plan ringed by apses. The pleasing proportions derive from Platonic ideals of perfect geometric form and balance. Codussi's original barrel vault over the choir was unfortunately replaced with a flat roof to help the lighting. But this remains one of those churches where dimness and unrestored paintings conspire to keep you squinting and a little frustrated. And talking of lighting - the light fittings in here bear an unfortunate but strong resemblance to condoms. If you can look at them without smirking you're a stronger person than I. Art highlights Our old friends Pietro Lombardo and Giovanni Bellini here provide us with a bas-relief of The Coronation of the Virgin and an altarpiece respectively. The altarpiece (on the right as you enter) is Saints Jerome, Christopher and Louis of Toulouse (right) one of Giovanni Bellini's last works, from 1513, and said by some to be his last great masterpiece. It's not as immediately striking as some of the other later gems in other churches in Venice, but it's characteristic serenity has grown on me with repeated visits. The use of space is oddly appealing too: just because Saint Jerome's in the wilderness outside doesn't mean the other two saints have to suffer too. Saint Louis is the saint for whom the church of Sant'Alvise (below) was built. The Sebastiano del Piombo painting over the high altar is of saints and Mary Magdalene. Henry James thought the Magdalene looked like a 'dangerous but most valuable acquaintance' (see below right). This is Sebastiano's only altarpiece in Venice, and was long thought to be a Giorgione, or even by Vasari. It's one of those altarpieces that looks more impressive in photographs, because in situ it's not easy to see. The Tullio Lombardo relief of The Coronation of the Virgin you can get close enough to, though, and it's very fine. Campanile 21m (68ft) manual bells The original campanile, dating from 1080, was demolished in 1532 when the calle was broadened, but can be seen in Carpaccio's The Miracle of the Holy Cross at the Rialto Bridge in the Accademia. The current one was built 1552-1590 and is nicely decorated around the base. Ruskin said One of the most important in Venice. It is early Renaissance, containing some good sculpture, but chiefly notable as containing a noble Sebastian del Piombo, and a John Bellini, which a few years hence, unless it be "restored," will be esteemed one of the most precious pictures in Italy, and among the most perfect in the world. John Bellini is the only artist who appears to me to have united, in equal and magnificent measures, justness of drawing, nobleness of colouring, and perfect manliness of treatment, with the purest religious feeling. He did, as far as it is possible to do it, instinctively and unaffectedly, what the Caracci only pretended to do. Titian colours better, but has not his piety. Leonardo draws better, but has not his colour. Angelico is more heavenly, but has not his manliness, far less his powers or art. Opening times Monday-Saturday 10.00-6.30, Sunday 11.30-6.30 Vaporetto Rialto
San Girolamo Domenico Rossi, early 18th Century
		History A convent with a small oratory was founded here in 1375 by Augustinian nuns originally from Santa Maria degli Angeli on Murano. They fled here from Treviso, escaping the invading Hungarians lead by King Lajos. Later that century the convent was enlarged and a church built. This work was completed in 1425 but in 1456 these buildings were damaged by fire, which resulted in rebuilding and further enlargement. The present church dates from the rebuilding by Domenico Rossi in the early 18th Century following another fire in 1705. The new church was consecrated on the 15th June 1751. Both church and convent were suppressed by the French in 1807. From 1840-1855 the church was used as the steam mill of a sugar factory installed in the convent, and a chimney was installed in the campanile (see below left). It's also said to have once been used as a brick factory. The church was restored and reopened in 1952, but the campanile's long gone and the church now always seems firmly closed. Art Contains works by Palma il Giovanne, according to the old sign on the wall by the speedboat (left). Vaporetto Ponte dei Tre Archi
San Leonardo Bernardo Maccaruzzi 1794
History Built in 1025 and consecrated in 1343. In 1260 the Scuola di Santa Maria della Carità, the first of Scuole Grandi was founded here. It later moved to the church of the same name which is now part of the Accademia Galleries. The present church dates from a rebuilding of 1794 by Bernardino Maccaruzzi. Suppressed by the French in 1807. Having been used as a coal warehouse, and for band practice it is now a community centre and sometimes houses exhibitions. It lurks amongst fruit and veg stalls, almost always surrounded by boxes and carts. Campanile Fell on the 24th August 1595, damaging 12 houses and part of the church and leaving 10 people dead. Opening times During exhibitions. During the 2009 Biennale it housed Planet Kurdistan (see below right). Vaporetto San Marcuola		Photo by Michelle Lovric
San Marcuola Giorgio Massari and Antonio Gaspari 1728-36
History Founded in the 9th-10th Century and dedicated to St Ermagora and St Fortunato, which became, by the mysterious workings of Venetian dialect, San Marcuola. This church was famous for housing the right hand of John the Baptist - the one with which he'd baptised Christ. Rebuilt after a fire, which was caused by an earthquake, and reconsecrated in 1343. Barbari's map of 1500 shows the church perpendicular to the Grand Canal with the apse to the north. This church also had a hermit's cell over the door in which three (and later six) women were walled up, who moved to the church of the Eremite when San Marcuola became unstable and was rebuilt, parallel to the Grand Canal this time, with its apse to the east. The architect was Giorgio Gaspari, who died in 1730, and so the work was completed by Giorgio Massari. (???) The church The façade was to look very like that of the Pieta, but it remains unfinished above the plinth, with the ledges that were to hold up the marble cladding now usually full of pigeons. Interior and art Rectangular with pairs of altars at each corner, the altars having statues, rather than paintings, by Gian Maria Morleiter and his workshop. He is also responsible for the statues of the church's saints flanking the tabernacle on the high altar. There's a ceiling painting of them too, by Franceso Migliori who has other works here. The painting on the ceiling of the apse is upside down, meaning you have to be standing with your back to the altar to see it the right way up - odd that. There's a Tintoretto Last supper on the left wall of the apse - the first of his many, from 1547, and so still quite Titian-looking. A visit An unspecial church with (2009) possibly the rudest and most unhelpful attendant in Venice, on my visit anyway. The floor (visible in photo right) is not your usual orange and white checkerboard. Campanile Rebuilt 1728, the remaining lower portion is now a house. Opening times Monday to Saturday 9.30 - 11.30 Vaporetto San Marcuola
San Marziale 1693-1714
		History Tradition tells us that this church was founded in the 9th Century and dedicated to San Marcilliano, who Venetian dialect transforms into San Marziale. A statue of the Virgin and child that was carved by a shepherd called Rustico in Rimini (with the help of angels) came 'miraculously' alone on a boat to Venice in 1286. This led to a rebuilding, by the Bocchi family, and a reconsecration in 1333. The present church dates from another rebuilding of 1693-1714 which was consecrated in 1721. The church The exterior is whitewashed and plain, but with an attractive little campanile. The interior is said to be sumptuous, with luminous ceiling paintings by Sebastiano Ricci depicting St Martial in Glory and the creation and arrival of the miraculous statue of the Virgin mentioned above. The luminosity of these paintings pre-date Tiepolo and his re-introduction of the shadowless glow into Venetian art. A copy of the famous and miraculous statue is to be found in a niche on the altar dedicated to the Beata Vergine delle Grazie. The sculpture over the high altar is by Fra Giuseppe Pozzo, who also had a hand in the high altar of the Gesuiti. Art highlights Tintoretto's St Martial in Glory over the second altar on the right was originally painted for the high altar. It was the artist's first commissioned altarpiece and he was paid 50 ducats for it. Lost art Tobias and the angel by Titian has been moved to Madonna dell’Orto A visit There was a service in progress, with two old ladies in attendance and the priest chanting whilst sitting down facing the altar. I'd come so far I sat quietly at the back and took in the plain and aisleless space with six extravagant side altars. Four of them feature barley-sugar spiral columns and two are even more sticky-outy and architectural with precarious putti. The ceiling paintings were disappointing as they were sorely lacking in the luminosity promised. I left without having had a wander around so as not to disturb the service. Judgement reserved. Opening times Monday to Saturday 4.00 to 6.30pm Sunday 8.30 to 10.00am Vaporetto San Marcuola
Sant’Alvise 14th-15th Centuries
A church famous for its ceiling decoration and its barco. History The convent church of Sant’Alvise was built in 1388 at the behest of doge’s daughter Antonia Venier, an Augustinian nun. Saint Louis, Bishop of Toulouse (Alvise is Louis in Venetian dialect) had appeared to her in a dream and told her to build a church in his honour, and he even told her where to build it. Tradition has it that she then withdrew to the convent herself. Rebuilt in 1430 and restored at the end of the 17th Century. In 1807 nuns from Santa Caterina moved here. Following suppression in 1810 the convent became a home for abandoned girls and the church became a parish church. The church The exterior is in a plain and lofty flat gothic style. Inside, the barco (nuns’ choir) at the back of the church dates from the 15th Century, although the wrought-iron grill is an 18th Century addition. The nuns entered this raised gallery from the convent next door and remained unseen behind the grill for the service. A similar grill in the right-hand wall allowed them to come down and take the sacrament. The decoration of the rest of the single-nave church dates from the the 17th Century - most overwhelming are the vertiginous architectural ceiling frescos by Antonio Torri and Pietro Ricchi. Ruskin hated these works, blaming Veronese for inspiring later and lesser artists with his superior ceilings. Art highlights Three Tiepolos depicting Christ’s passion - two are early and less impressive, but the dramatic Ascent to Calvary looks like it might have been inspired by Tintoretto, who is not himself represented here, strangely. Eight small 15th-century tempera panels on the back wall are of varying quality. These were called ‘baby Carpaccios’ by Ruskin, which has been interpreted as a contention that they were by Carpaccio when he was a boy, although he would've been 8! They were actually painted by the school of Lazzaro Bastiani, with whom Carpaccio was a student, and taken from the organ case of the suppressed church of Le Vergini.		Campanile 26m (85 ft) electromechanical bells 14th Century brickwork, it had a pine-cone spire and four little towers, in the 17th Century this was replaced by an octagonal drum. Restored during work in 1910 to its original appearance. Opening times Monday to Saturday: 10.00 to 5.00 Sundays: closed A Chorus Church Vaporetto Sant’Alvise The Convent Still a working convent, housing 23 white-clad nuns of the Canossian order from Santa Lucia, they now have their own chapel so don’t need to use the barco. I’m told that if you're dressed appropriately you can visit the cloisters and gardens. You just have to knock on the door of the nursery adjacent to the façade of the church on weekday mornings, and ask nicely.
Santa Caterina mid-15th Century
		History The original church and monastery was founded in the 11th Century by the Friars of the Penitence of Jesus Christ, who were also called the Sacchini friars because of their sackcloth robes. The church passed on to Augustinian nuns around 1289. The church and convent were suppressed in 1807, becoming a boarding school. Interior The current church dates from the mid-15th Century. It's gothic in style, with two aisles, a ship's-keel roof and a large nun's gallery. A large fire here on Christmas night 1978 destroyed the roof, which has been rebuilt. Lost art Amongst the art works long removed is Titian's Tobias and the Angel which is now in the Accademia, thanks to Napoleon, but is now attributed to 'a follower of Titian'. Also now in the Accademia is Veronese's fine Mystic Marriage of St Catherine (see left) which was painted for the high altar here. There was also a series of six paintings of Episodes in the Life of Saint Catherine by Tintoretto, which is now to be found in the Patriarchal Palace. Opening times The building now belongs to a school (some sources say it's being used as a store) and so is not accessible. Vaporetto Fondamente Nuove A detail from the Merian map of 1635
Santa Fosca 1679 - 1733
History Following the arrival of the body of Santa Fosca on the island of Torcello in the 10th century her popularity grew and this church was built. Renovation followed in 1297 and a complete rebuilding in 1679. Façade renovated by Filippo Dona and reconsecration in 1733. A plaque in the church commemorates the ceiling falling in after mass on the 24th June 1761, but no one was injured. More restoration work in 1847. The Church The handsome façade was added in 1741, and paid for by the Donà family, but it's not known who designed it. The tympanum is topped by statues of the Risen Christ and two virtues. Art highlights A Byzantine Pietà and a damaged Holy Family by Tintoretto's son. Lost art Saint Peter Martyr (now in the Accademia) is a panel from a lost polyptych by Carpaccio originally painted for Santa Fosca. Campanile 31m (101ft) manual bells Erected 873, rebuilt in 1297 and rebuilt 1450 after falling down during the storm of 10th August 1410. Topped by four gothic shrines and a lead-covered onion dome. Ruskin said it was: ...of late gothic uninjured by restorations and peculiarly Venetian in being crowned with a cupola, not the pyramid. Opening times 9.30-11.30 Vaporetto San Marcuola
Santa Maria dei Penitenti Giorgio Massari 1730-38
		History Built by Massari and consecrated in 1763. It has an unfinished façade from a design by Lazarri of 1845. Contained three works by Jacopo Marieschi, the son of the vedute painter Michele, including the painting over the high altar. The attached hospice for fallen women was built in 1703 by Maria Elisabetta Rossi. Update 9.2009 In the first episode of of BBC series Kevin McCloud's Grand Tour of Europe KM arrives in Venice, following in the footsteps of Inigo Jones, and to find out how Venetian buildings are built he is taken by architect Matteo Negro to 'a convent he is restoring' (below) and it's Santa Maria dei Penitenti. Vaporetto Ponte dei Tre Archi
Santa Maria dei Redentore 1614-23
History Built by Capuchin nuns who had been allowed to settle here in 1612, the church was consecrated on 1st October 1623. A convent was built behind the church, but was suppressed and later demolished. A visit It is a plain small and aisleless space with a pair of side altars and quite a nice painting of saints and the holy family over the main altar. Nowhere in the church to find out anything about this painting and no-one was around to ask. It looked to be 16th Century. Vaporetto Ponte dei Tre Archi
Santa Maria dei Servi
		History A monastery of the Servite Order was founded here in 1318 and work on the church began in 1330, but work was not completed until 1474, with consecration in 1491. The church was conceived to compete with San Zanipolo and the Frari in size, as can be seen in the etching of 1703 (see below). There was a serious fire in 1769, the church and monastery were suppressed in 1812 and almost totally demolished. The site was bought by Canon Daniele Canale who, along with Anna Maria Marovich, in 1864 founded a charitable institution for women just released from prison called the Istituto Canal Marovich ai Servi. The Cappella dei Lucchesi (left) was rebuilt as the chapel for the institute. The 15th century Gothic entrance (below left) is one of two doorways which are all that remain of the monastery, on the site of which is now a student hostel. Lost art A statue of Adam by Tullio Lombardo was carved around 1490 for the tomb of Doge Andrea Vendramin in the old church. It was moved to San Zanipolo initially, with the Doge's tomb, but has now ended up in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The church also contained the tombs of Doge Francesco Donà (now at Meren near Conegliano) and Admiral Angelo Emo (now in San Biagio). A 14th Century relief of the Madonna della Misericordia, now over the door of the Scuola dei Calegheri e Zavatteri opposite the church of San Tomà, came from this church. The Lamentation over the Dead Christ by Giovanni Bellini (or more likely one of his pupils) which is now in the Accademia was originally here. Veronese's Supper in the House of the Pharisee (now in the Louvre) was painted for the refectory. Ruskin said Only two of its gates and some ruined walls are left, in one of the foulest districts of the city. It was one of the most interesting monuments of the early fourteenth century Gothic; and there is much beauty in the fragments yet remaining. How long they may stand I know not, the whole building having been offered me for sale, ground and all, or stone by stone, as I chose, by its present proprietor, when I was last in Venice. More real good might at present be effected by any wealthy person who would devote his resources to the preservation of such monuments wherever they exist, by freehold purchase of the entire ruin, and afterwards by taking proper charge of it, and forming a garden round it, than by any other mode of protecting or encouraging art. There is no school, no lecturer, like a ruin of the early ages. Opening times 9.00 to 12.15, 4.30 to 6.15 Vaporetto San Marcuola
Santa Maria Maddalena Tommaso Temanza/Giannantonio Selva 1760-89
History The first church here was built in 1220 by the Baffo family on the site of their fortified house. It was replaced by the present church in the 1760s, to a neoclassical design by Tommaso Temanza who died in 1789 and was buried in the church. Temanza was better known as a theorist and historian and this is one of his few buildings. The work here was finished by Giannantonio Selva, who went on to design the Fenice opera house. Closed in 1820 and reopened as an oratory. The church was recently restored and has housed Biennale exhibits. The church Modelled on the Pantheon, circular on the outside with the circularity emphasised by the flattening of the temple front. A 'compact' hexagonal interior with four chapels. Art 18th Century works, including a Last Supper by Giandomenico Tiepolo Local colour The nearby Rio Terra della Maddalena was probably the first canal to be filled in. As late as the 18th Century it was just know as the Rio Terra with no name to distinguish it. Opening times Very rare Vaporetto San Marcuola Photos by Michelle Lovric		Photos by Brigitte Eckert
Santa Maria Valverde 13th Century/Clemente Moli 1651-59
A speedboat has just chopped the snogging couple's gondola in half, you see. Photo by Michelle Lovric		A favourite lonely spot of mine. History Built as an abbey church in 936, it was originally named Santa Maria di Val Verde from the original name of the island on which it was built. In 1348 all the monks died of the plague with only the abbot surviving. He died in 1369 and patronage of the church passed to the Moro family. The church was enlarged in the 13th Century and the façade, by Bolognese architect Clemente Moli, was added during further rebuilding in 1651-59. This work was financed by philosopher Gasparo Moro, whose bust by Moli is above the door (see left). Moli also carved the allegorical figures either side of the door and the Virgin up on the segmental pediment. On 9th June 1611 Girolamo Savina, then the prior of the abbey, and the author of a famous chronicle called the Cronaca Savina, was murdered whilst saying mass, by a monk who had poisoned the communion wine. Before dying Savina forgave his poisoner and obtained a pardon for him. To the left is the old Scuola della Misericordia which was built for the confraternity of the Misericordia in the first half of the 15th Century by the Bon family. It had a Gothic arch with a large relief of the Madonna della Misericordia attributed to Bartolomeo Bon. The arch was demolished in 1612, and the relief (below left) is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, along with other sculptures from the scuola. In 1583 the Confraternity moved to the new Scuola, the huge and unfinished Gothic barn-like building by Sansovino just to the left at the other end of the bridge in the photo (below). The old scuola became a hospice and, in 1643, the guildhall of the silk-cloth weavers' guild. It was later used as a theatre. The complex is now used as an art restoration centre, for both sculpture and paintings. The convent was in such a sorry and collapsed state it was demolished in the early 19th Century. The church escaped suppression in the Napoleonic period, but was in a poor state when it was taken in hand by Abbot Pietro Pianton who, from 1828-1864, managed to find and reinstate some of its original fittings, as well as fittings from other suppressed churches, and so restored the church's fortunes. Patriarch Domenico Agostini bought the building in 1844, so saving it from becoming an Evangelical church. Pianton's work was unfortunately reversed after his death in 1864. After legal proceedings the Mor-Lin family reacquired the church and dispersed the art works that weren't originally to be found there. The church had closed in 1868, but it did re-open, badly restored and without its original fittings, in the early part of the 20th Century. The last mass was celebrated here on 17th August 1967. The church has had restoration work done on it lately though, at least on the exterior, as can be seen by comparing the screen capture from the James Bond film Moonraker, released in 1979 (left) with the newly-pink exterior and cleaned stonework as seen in the recent photograph below. Campanile 14m (46ft) manual bells May have had a defensive function originally as it faces the lagoon. Local plans The first plans for a railway bridge linking Venice to the mainland, in 1830, had the Misericordia as the site of the terminal. The church in film Apart from appearing in Moonraker, it seems that Klaus Kinski in Nosferatu in Venice feasts on a victim here. Opening times The church has been deconsecrated and empty for decades now - it is said to now be 'owned privately' - and that impromptu wooden door and the graffiti and smashed windows have been bad indicators for a fair few years now. The impromptu interior photo (left) was grabbed for this site in April 2009 by an intrepid correspondent just before she was chased away by builders - 'E' un CANTIERE!' There are more dilapidated interior pics here - click on the 'Suite' link. Update August 2009 Correspondent Francesco Boraldo has provided a photograph (left) of the previously only tantalisingly-rumoured elegant cloister in the angle between the church and the old scuola. And of the campanile seen from this cloister (right). Vaporetto Madonna dell'Orto

Santa Sofia Antonio Gaspari 17th Century
History Tradition dates the founding of this church to the late 9th Century, but the earliest written record is for 1020. There was a rebuilding in 1225, 1568 and 1698. The current church mostly dates from a 17th Century restoration by Antonio Gaspari. It then burnt down on 28th February 1760 but rebuilt. The church was suppressed in 1810 and sold to the Jewish community but reopened following its purchase by Giovan Battista Rebellini in 1836. The church The church's (unfinished) façade is hidden behind a house built for the priest Don Massiaglia in 1872. But the façade was already blocked in in 1500 (see below right). Art Upon suppression, most of the the church's art and some of its altars were lost. When it reopened works were donated by private citizens. These include some paintings by minor figures, and five statues of saints from the altar of the Scuola dei Barbieri in Santa Maria dei Servi. The two saints on the inner façade (Cosma & Damiano) and the pair on the altar (Luke and Andrew) are by the Rizzo workshop, and the Madonna on the altar in the left aisle may be by André Beauneveu or Bartolomeo Bon. Lost art A Veronese Last Supper painted for this church is now in the Brera, Milan. Campanile 19m (62ft) manual bells 13th Century and chunky, but was once more elegant, it seems (see right). Opening times 9.00-12.00 Vaporetto Ca d'Oro		Jacopo de'Barbari's map of 1500 shows the church before rebuilding, but it's still hemmed in.
Santi Apostoli Alessandro Vittoria? 1570-75
		History Supposedly one of the churches founded by the Bishop of Oderzo, St Magnus, in the 7th Century, and built on a site where he saw twelve cranes, after an apparition of the twelve apostles told him to look for this sign. The church was rebuilt around 1020, with the first documented mention in 1094. Destroyed by a fire in 1105 and rebuilt. It was rebuilt again from 1570-75, probably by Alessandro Vittoria. Restored again in the mid-18th century by Giovanni Pedolo. The church The interior is a big dark box. Which all goes to throw into relief the lovely old Corner chapel, the work of Giovanni Battista Castello. (It shows on the outside as the pale-brick domed bit (see left.) A bright and stony sanctuary, it's older than the rest of the church and was built by Codussi for poor old Caterina Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus who was buried here in 1510. The chapel also has the tombs of her brother and father, the latter attributed to Tullio Lombardo. Her body was then moved to a big, flat and plain tomb in San Salvador around 1580. If I was her I'd have stayed here. The chapel also has a luminous altarpiece by Giambattista Tiepolo of The Martyrdom of Saint Lucy, whose just-removed eyes stare at you from a plate, and yes they do follow you around the chapel. The church has a sweet very old (late 13th Century) Veneto-Byzantine fresco fragment in the chapel to the right of the high altar, and on the left wall there's a spooky little dark nun's balcony, or something like that. Campanile 47m (153 ft) electromechanical bells The 7th Century campanile was destroyed by the fire of 1105. Rebuilt 1450, renovated 1601-09 by Francesco di Piero, brought down by a storm in 1659 and rebuilt 1672-1720 to a design by Andrea Tirali. Jan Morris says that an 'old and simple' sacristan fell from the campanile soon after its completion in 1672(?) but was caught by the minute hand on the clock, and so was slowly lowered to a parapet as time passed. The church in art Canaletto's View of Campo Santi Apostoli (see below) Ruskin said The exterior is nothing. Opening times Monday to Saturday: 7.30 to 11.30 & 5.00 to 7.00 Vaporetto Ca d'Oro
Scalzi Baldessare Longhena/Giuseppe Pozzo 1654-1705
History The Barefoot Carmelites, or Scalzi, came to Venice in 1633 and in 1646 got Baldassare Longhena (the architect of the Salute church at the other end of the Grand Canal) to build them a church, dedicated to Santa Maria di Nazareth. The church was consecrated in 1705. Longhena had died in 1682 and the work was continued by the Carmelite Giuseppe Pozzo. The church Façade built 1672-80, by Giuseppe Sardi and paid for by Conte Cavazza, who stumped up the necessary 74,000 Ducats. Semi-clothed saints attributed to Bernardo Falcone. It lays claim to being the least worst baroque façade in Venice. The interior is an unrelaxing baroque riot in marble, with walls that might make you think of dark salami, statues aplenty, and a painting on every surface. It has no aisles, but a sequence of connected side chapels. The baldachin over the high altar is huge with twisty columns and statues of sibyls lounging about on the architecture. Lodovico Manin, Venice's last doge, deposed by Napoleon in 1797, is buried here. A visit I'm sorry but I just can't take these extravagant baroque churches seriously, they're so over the top and overpopulated I get a headache. But some welcome warm contrast is provided here by a couple of the chapels having Tiepolo ceiling vaults. Campanile 37m (120ft) electromechanical bells Made to plans by Longhena, has a small onion dome on an eight-sided drum. Ruskin said It possesses a fine John Bellini, and is renowned through Venice for its precious marbles. I omitted to notice before, in speaking of the buildings of the Grotesque Renaissance, that many of them are remarkable for a kind of dishonesty, even in the use of true marbles, resulting not from motives of economy, but from mere love of juggling and falsehood for their own sake. I hardly know which condition of mind is meanest, that which has pride in plaster made to look like marble, or that which takes delight in marble made to look like silk. Several of the later churches in Venice, more especially those of the Jesuiti of San Clemente, and this of the Scalzi, rest their chief claims to admiration on their having curtains and cushions cut out of rock. The most ridiculous example is in San Clemente, and the most curious and costly are in the Scalzi; which latter church is a perfect type of the vulgar abuse of marble in every possible way, by men who had no eye for colour, and no understanding of any merit in a work of art but that which arises from costliness of material, and such powers of imitation as are devoted in England to the manufacture of peaches and eggs out of Derbyshire spar. Lost art Tiepolo's masterpiece the Translation of the Holy House was destroyed by an Austrian bomb, aimed at the railway station, on the 17th October 1915 (see right). Fragments of it are now in the Accademia. The 'John Bellini' mentioned by Ruskin above is no longer to be found here, but seems to have been a Madonna which was also admired by George Eliot in her Journals. Opening times Monday to Saturday: 7.45 to 12.30, 4.00 to 7.00 Sundays: 7.00 to 11.45, 4.00 to 6.45 Vaporetto Ferrovia
Scuola dell'Angelo Andrea Tirali 1713
		History Begun in 1713 by Andrea Tirali, who is also responsible for the tambour on the top of the campanile of the Santi Apostoli church opposite. Built for the confraternity of the Angelo Custode. When the confraternities were suppressed in 1812 the German Protestants (moved from the Fondaco de Tedeschi, where they'd been since 1657) began using this building for worship, bringing with them two paintings. One being a Madonna in Glory with the Archangel Michael by Sebastiano Ricci. The angel over the entrance is by Flemish sculptor Heinrich Meyring more (in)famous for his work on San Moisè. This building is now an Evangelical Lutheran church. Vaporetto Ca d'Oro