Church of Sant’Alvise

The Church of Sant’Alvise is a Gothic church in Venice, located in the Cannaregio district, overlooking the homonymous square.

The church is dedicated to Saint Louis of Toulouse, a Neapolitan prince from the House of Anjou canonized in 1317, known in Venice as Sant’Alvise.

SHORT HISTORY

The church of Sant’Alvise was built in 1383, together with the nearby convent, by the noblewoman Antonia Venier, after the saint appeared to her in a dream.

Later, Antonia Venier retired in the monastery, following the Augustinian rule. At the beginning of the 16th century, other Augustinian nuns were welcomed here, after they escaped from the territories affected by the War of the League of Cambrai.

The church underwent a major reconstruction in the 17th century, which largely changed the interior.

ART AND ARCHITECTURE

The church is built in Gothic style, having a basilica plan. The facade, very simple, is delimited by six protruding pilasters, connected by ogival arches. The portal in Istrian stone is enriched by a statue of Sant’Alvise in marble, attributed to Bartolomeo Bon.

The bell tower retained its original Gothic appearance of the 14th century. It was built in terracotta, with a pinecone cusp and spiers at the corners.

Statues and paintings from the 17th century adorn the walls. Remarkable is the large ceiling fresco realized by Piero Antonio Torri and Pietro Ricchi, around 1674.

The most prestigious works of art found in the church are the three paintings by Giambattista Tiepolo, executed between 1737 and 1740: Crowning with Thorns and Flagellation on the right aisle, and Christ Reaching the Calvary on a wall of the presbytery.

On the 17th-century altar in polychrome marble, on the left wall, there are placed three statues attributed to Giovanni Maria Morlaiter.

HOW TO GET THERE

The closest vaporetto stop is Sant’Alvise, located about 150 meters away, on the waterbus Lines 4.1, 4.2, 5.1 and 5.2. To find the church on foot, use the map below.