Venice - Italy - page 325

The church stands adjacent to the city's main hospital, which features a gor-
geous 15th-century facade, harking back to its days as the Scuole di San Marco;
by contrast, the church facade is beguilingly simple (as well as incomplete), but
includes an outstanding stained-glass window on one side, allowing the sun's rays
to cast brilliantly colored patterns into the church's vast interior. Inside are excel-
lent artworks, including canvases by Veronese and Giovanni Bellini. It was Bellini
who created the altarpiece near the mortal remains of the military hero
Mercantonio Bragadin. Bragadin's fate was to be skinned alive by the Turks in the
late 16th century, after a noble attempt to defend Cyprus—all this is pictured in
the fresco below his urn. In fact, much of the commemorative effect of the church
is linked with military heroism and victory; the lovely Capella del Rosario (Rosary
Chapel) was built to celebrate and remember the defeat of the Turks at Lepanto
in 1571, a major victory for the Republic. The chapel you see today is not the
original 16th-century version, because that was gutted by fire in the 19th century,
but the paintings on the ceiling are Veronese masterpieces, and well worth a con-
sidered look.
Heading back toward St. Mark's Square from Campo SS. Giovanni e Paolo,
you should try to pass through Campo S. Maria Formosa, where there's a morn-
ing market and a number of relaxing cafes. It's also the site of Venice's first
Renaissance-style church, built during the late 15th century; Santa Maria
Formosa ( % 041-5234645; € 2 or free with Chorus Pass; Mon-Sat 10am-5pm,
Sun 1-5pm) was founded (legend has it) after an instruction given to St. Magnus
by a particularly alluring vision of the Virgin. You can witness an allegorical rep-
resentation of the church's creation in the painting behind the main altar; it's by
an 18th-century female, Giulia Lama. Also look for the beautifully restored 15th-
century Triptych of the Virgin of Mercy by Bartolomeo Vivarini set in the marble
altar, opposite the entrance, to your right. To your left are more exquisite paintings—
San Sebastian and Santa Barbara, among others—by Jacopo Palma il Vecchio,
whose execution of facial expressions is particularly remarkable.
ATTRACTIONS IN CANNAREGIO
If you've ever wondered where Shakespeare found the connection between Venice
and a Jewish moneylender, pay a visit to Cannaregio's Jewish Ghetto

5

. This
compact island has the distinction of being the world's first ghetto neighborhood,
founded in 1516. Before that time, the Jews, who had settled in Venice in the
early 10th century, were scattered across the city. Many worked as moneylenders
or pawnbrokers after being forced out of their other professions during the early
Middle Ages. Cannaregio was chosen because it was far from the city's centers of
power. The term “ghetto” is derived from the fact that there were once two
foundries—or geto, in Venetian dialect—in this district; the term became “ghetto”
in the hard pronunciation of the Ashkenazi (German) Jews. Here, inhabitants had
an enforced lock-in from midnight until dawn (and were forced to pay the
Christian guards who barred the two access points on and off the island), while
during the day they were required to wear a yellow hat. Because the community
rapidly grew—from just 700 in the 16th century up to nearly 5,000 a century
later—the area became known for its unique, multistoried buildings (to deal with
the overcrowding). The Jewish community was a diverse one with Jews from
all over the known world gathering here, each community founding its own