The Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli is a beautiful church in Venice, located in the sestiere of Cannaregio. SHORT HISTORY The church was built between 1481 and 1489, at the behest of the Lombard merchant Angelo Amadi, who desired a proper shrine for a painting depicting the Virgin, inherited from his uncle, Francesco Amadi. The painting, dating back to the beginning of the 15th century, was considered miraculous by the inhabitants of the area. The project was entrusted to the architect Pietro Lombardo who, with the help of his sons, Tullio and Antonio, designed and built this small church. One of the first Renaissance-style churches built in Venice, it was renovated during the 16th century, without changing its external appearance. In 1997, the church was the subject of a careful restoration, which allowed the locals and tourists alike to fully enjoy its artistic beauty. ART AND ARCHITECTURE The facade, divided into five sectors by pillars, has two orders. The lower order, with pillars with Corinthian capitals, is architraved, while the upper one, with pillars in Ionic style, is composed of 5 blind arches. Above the facade, there is a large semicircular pediment, decorated with a rose window, Read more [...]
Tag: Saint Mary in Venice
Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute
Rising at the entrance to the Grand Canal, the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute is one of the defining monuments of Venice. Its great dome dominates the view from the Bacino di San Marco, while its marble mass marks the tip of Dorsoduro beside Punta della Dogana. Commonly called La Salute, the church stands between the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal, directly across the water from Piazza San Marco. From the square, La Salute appears as a theatrical counterpoint to the Doge’s Palace, San Giorgio Maggiore and the long waterfront of the city. The church was built as an ex voto after the plague of 1630-1631, when Venice suffered one of the most destructive epidemics in its history. The Republic promised a sanctuary to the Virgin Mary, under the title of Santa Maria della Salute, meaning Saint Mary of Health or Salvation. Designed by Baldassare Longhena, the church combines religious symbolism, difficult lagoon engineering and Venetian Baroque architecture. The building is not a longitudinal church with a traditional nave. Its main space is centralized, octagonal and luminous, organized around a massive dome and a sequence of Marian altars. Inside, visitors find works by Titian, Luca Giordano, Tintoretto, Pietro Read more [...]