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This site grew out of my frustration that there wasn't a site like
it, or indeed a comprehensive book devoted to Venice's churches available in English.
The churches are divided up by sestiere - the six 'boroughs'
of Venice established by Doge Vitale Michiel in 1171. 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 its own page, I think. There are also pages devoted to the
islands and to demolished churches. 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 artistic, historical, and also
impious. 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, the art it has lost
and 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
my having visited the church, 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 digging out
the sparse facts about forgotten churches rather than writing about the
churches that are well-enough covered elsewhere. Also I'm
finding that on later visits experience and education is making me
notice different things. Each entry also tells you the nearest
vaporetto stop and a link to it's position on a special
Google map. And then there's the opening times - 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.
The photos are mostly mine, except where noted.
There's also an alphabetical list of all the churches
and a page revealing my sources
NEWS
January 2018
In prospect this year is a trip to Bologna
in May, to get that city's page presentable. A visit
to Venice is also a possibility as there are some tempting
exhibitions to celebrate Tintoretto's 500th birthday.
October 2017
The Padua and the Verona pages had
gathered some dust in the past year, but after a trip in
September improvements (and additions) due to research and visits
are in progress.
I'm also experimenting with giving every
other paragraph grey text, to differentiate between them
without using up space with blank lines. I tried red text at first,
being inspired in the whole thing by illuminated manuscripts, but
changed it to grey because I thought that it looked too much like I
was highlighting that text as more important - which I'm not.
June 2017
Following March’s visit I
have made a start on a page on Bologna’s churches, but planning a
trip to Siena in October I realised that beginning Bologna should
best wait until after necessary work on the still-incomplete pages
devoted to Verona and Padua, as well as Siena. So I’m now planning a
trip to Padua and Verona in (the otherwise somewhat empty of
commitments month of) September.
Seasoned aficionados of
this site will know that I have long left the exploration of the
Basilica San Marco to others, due to my not being at all fond of
queues, crowds and mosaics. But this situation changed recently, with my
taking various courses devoted to the early medieval period and
Byzantium, and my
visit to Venice in January 2017. So to celebrate the 10th
birthday of The Churches of Venice I'm
making a start!
Basilica San Marco
March 2017
On a trip to Milan this
month I spent
an afternoon in the Brera Gallery, finding the paintings there that
were once in churches in Venice (and Padua and Verona). So I have now been
able to add some juicy details and dubious opinions to their mentions
on this site.
January 2017, Part 2
The trip to Venice this month has
indeed resulted in additions major and minor, fresh photos and
factual updates, as well as updated entries on art from some closed
churches found in the Sant’Apollonia Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art.
Most exciting of all was finding the macabre painted crypt of
San Simeon Piccolo suddenly shockingly surprisingly open. I went into the Basilica for the first time in
decades too.
January 2017
This year marks this site's 10th
birthday. And still improving! Last year saw the addition of the
Scuole page and I've even begun a Basilica San Marco page, as
mentioned below, but am loath to upload it until I have freshly
visited the place (I've not been inside since the early 1990s)
which I'm hoping to do on a suddenly-arranged trip to Venice later
this month!
(click here to send me an encouraging e-mail)
This is Me
and my other sites are...
These sites also have their own Facebook page...
The Friends of Fictional Cities and the Churches of Venice
& Florence
Click on the link and Like the page for
regular news updates.
You can post (positive) comments too.
Copyright © Jeff Cotton 2007-2018
More than a decade of steady improvement!
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