Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
Castello
Zanipolo
BASILICA
(Chiesa dei SS Giovanni e Paolo; 041 523 59 13;
www.basilicasantigiovanniepaolo.it
;
Campo Zanipolo;
adult/student €2.50/1.25; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat, noon-6pm Sun; Ospedale)
When the Dominicans
began building Zanipolo in 1333 to rival the Franciscans' I Frari (
Click here
), this barn-
like church stirred passions more common to Serie A football than architecture. Both
structures feature red-brick facades with high-contrast detailing, but since Zanipolo's
facade remains unfinished, the Frari won a decisive early decision. Over the centuries,
Zanipolo has at least tied the score with its pantheon of ducal funerary monuments and the
variety of its masterpieces.
Built in classic Italian Gothic style, the basilica could accommodate virtually the entire
population of 14th-century Castello and its walls are lined with the lavish tombs of 25
Venetian doges. In 1867 a fire destroyed paintings by Tintoretto, Palma di Giovanni, Ti-
tian and Bellini, but thankfully a second Bellini polyptych, on the second altar in the right
aisle, survived intact. Rarest of all is the surviving 15th-century stained glass in the south
transept. Created on Murano, it richly illuminates designs by Bartolomeo Vivarini and
Girolamo Mocetto.
