Churches, Venice

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San Giacomo di Rialto (St.James in Rialto, in English) is the anciest church of Venice built in the 5th century. Close to it you can see a small bell tower with a clock built in the 15th century and restored in 1794. The interior of the church is banked due the frequent inondations, it has got nice marble columns and bronzes made by Girolamo Campagna in 1604. On the right wall there is L'Annunciazione (The Annunciation, in English) made by Marco Vecellio.

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The Chiesa di Santa Stae (Church of St.Stae, in English) was probably built in the seventh century. The church yuo can see nowdays was made in the 17th century on a project of Giovanni Grassi. The facede was made in 1709 by Domenico Rossi. Inside the church you can see paintings made by G.B.Tiepolo, Piazzetta and Sebastiano Ricci.

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The Chiesa San Giacomo dell'Orio (Church of St.John of the Orio, in English) is one of the anciest churches of Venice. It was built in 1225 and it was restored and modified in the next centuries. The facade was built taking the Byzantine churches as model. Behind the church you can see the bell tower built in the 13th century. Inside there is a painting made by Lorenzo Lotto and San Lorenzo tra i Santi Gerolamo e Prospero (St.Lawrence between St.Jerome and St.Prosper, in English) made by Veronese in 1572.

The Chiesa di San Simeon Grande (Church of St. Simeon the Big, in English) was built in the 14th century. It was restored in 18th century. The interior of the church has got three naves with columns. There you can see two fantastic paintings: Presentation to the Temple work by Jacopo Palma il Giovane and The last Supper work by Jacopo Tintoretto.

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The small Chiesa di San Simeon Piccolo (Church of San Simeon the Little, in English) is located just in front of the train station exit, on the other side of Canal Grande. It was built on a project made by Giovanni Scalfarotto in 1718. The church has got a peculiarity very rare in Venice: the high copper cupola and the nice pronao. From 2006 it is in restauration and it is closed to the visit.

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The Chiesa Gli Scalzi is the first church that you meet when you leave the Saint Lucia Train Station.
The church was built on a project made by Baldassarre Longhena in 1654 for the Discalced Carmelites who comes from Rome. The church was built in the Roman Baroque style according to the desires of the buyers of Romans origins.
The beautiful facade was made by Giuseppe Sardi and it is the only one in all Venice built using Carrara marble.
The interior of the church has got a single nave with coloured marbles and statues made by Giuseppe Pozzo. In the church you can see the ashes of the last Doge of the Repubblic of Venice: Ludovico Manin.

[…] The sacristy ceiling of the church is decorated with the earliest of Veronese's works for San Sebastiano – "Coronation of the Virgin" and frescoes representing the Four Evangelists – St John, St Luke, St Mark and St Matthew. The three large paintings on the ceiling of the nave – "The Banishment of Vashti", "Esther Crowned by Ahasuerus" and "The Triumph of Mordecai", painted in 1556, tell a story of Esther, the Persian Queen who saved the Jews from persecution. Paintings on the left and the right wall of the church depict the life, deeds and martyrdom of Saint Sebastian – "St Sebastian Reproving Diocletian", "Martyrdom of St Sebastian", painted in 1558, "Sts Mark and Marcellinus Being Led to Martyrdom" and "Martyrdom of St Sebastian", painted in 1565. "Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints", painted during 1564 and 1565, dominates the altar of the chancel. Several frescoes of the upper part of the nave are very noticeable – "Monk with a Black Boy", "St Sebastian"… and brilliant "Three Archers".

Organ, commissioned in 1558, was cast by Maestro Domenico da Treviso who agreed to follow Veronese's special design, and carved & gilded by Maestro Francesco Fiorentino and Maestro Bartolomeo Bolognese. Veronese decorated the wings of the organ with two paintings – "Presentation in the Temple", visible when wings are closed, and "Healing of the Lame Man at the Pool of Bethesda", visible when wings are opened.

Although of not very attractive exterior, rather small, and off the beaten path, San Sebastiano is one of the churches with the most impressive paintings and it should not be missed.

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Santa Maria della Salute (Basilica of St Mary of Health/Salvation AKA Salute) is in a prime location right opposite St. Mark's Square. It is really easy to pick out in my pictures because the dome is covered with scaffolding. So I have photos from many different angles.

This is another plague church. After the plague ran through Venice starting in 1629 and was not stopped by prayers in other churches, the Venetian Senate in October 22, 1630, decreed that a new church would be built - not just against the "plague" or to a patron saint, but to the Virgin Mary. It worked before - why should it not work again?

Each year they put a temporary bridge across the Grand Canal and the Senate processes across to the the church yearly, on 21 November, the Feast of the Presentation of the Virgin, in a celebration known as the Festa della Madonna della Salute. That would be interesting to see.

Santa Maria della Salute is on the opposite side of the Grand Canal from St. Mark's Square, near the triangular tip of the Dorsoduro quarter. If you're visiting the Accademia art gallery or the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Salute is easily to reach on foot from either of those museums. (Just make sure you have a good map, or you could get lost.)