Church of San Barnaba

The Church of San Barnaba is a beautiful church in Venice, located in the district (sestiere) of Dorsoduro, in Campo San Barnaba.

The church has a facade inspired by a Greek temple, and is famous for being featured in a few scenes of the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

SHORT HISTORY

The church was founded in 936, on the place of a previous church, San Lorenzo, which was probably built at the beginning of the 9th century.

Because of the numerous fires, the Church of San Barnaba underwent several reconstructions, until it was finally consecrated on December 6, 1350.

The current appearance dates back to 1779, when it was completed the renovation work began in 1749, on a project by the architect Lorenzo Boschetti.

In 1810, in full Napoleonic domination, the parish was suppressed and the church was deconsecrated. It was later converted into a permanent exhibition space dedicated to the machines of Leonardo da Vinci.

ARCHITECTURE

The facade of the church, designed by Lorenzo Boschetti, was built in 1749 in a Classical style, with Corinthian style columns.

The interior has a single nave, with six side altars, three on the right and three on the left, all decorated with paintings, except one, and a presbytery with a square plan.

The bell-tower, built in Romanesque style, stands detached from the church. With three arched windows on each side and a conical roof, the bell-tower was restored in 1882 by Lodovico Cadorin.

ART

Inside, you can find works by Antonio Foler, Francesco Beccaruzzi, Giuseppe de Gobbis and Paolo Veronese.

On the side walls of the presbytery, there are two paintings by Jacopo Palma il Giovane.

On the ceiling, there are two large frescoes both dating back to the 18th century, attributed to Costantino Cedini.

HOW TO GET THERE

On foot, the Church of San Barnaba is located about 1.3 kilometers away from the Venezia Santa Lucia railway station. The closest vaporetto stop is Ca’ Rezzonico, located about 180 meters away, that you can reach with the waterbus Line 1 ACTV. If you plan to find the church on foot, use the map below.