Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SIGHTS
ARSENALE
See Click here .
HISTORIC QUARTER
ZANIPOLO
See Click here .
BASILICA
GIARDINI PUBBLICI
See Click here .
GARDEN
CHIESA DI SAN ZACCARIA
MAP GOOGLE MAP
( 041 522 12 57; Campo San Zaccaria 4693; 10am-noon & 4-6pm Mon-Sat, 4-6pm Sun; San Zaccaria) F
When 15th-century Venetian girls showed more interest in sailors than saints, they were
sent to the convent adjoining San Zaccaria. The wealth showered on the church by their
grateful parents is evident. Masterpieces by Bellini, Titian, Tintoretto and Van Dyck crowd
the walls. Bellini's altarpiece is such a treasure that Napoleon whisked it away to Paris for
20 years when he plundered the city in 1797.
Founded in the 9th century, the church offers a brief history of Venetian architecture,
from its watery Romanesque crypt to its early-Renaissance facade. The latter, begun by
Antonio Gambello in the Gothic style, was finished with a flourish by Mauro Codussi, who
crowned it with a crescendo of rounded embellishments in white Istrian stone. The church
also claims to possess the remains of St Zacharias, father of John the Baptist, as well as the
oldest tombs of the doges in Venice.
To your right as you enter, the Cappella di San Atanasio (admission €1) holds Tintoretto's
Birth of St John the Baptist , while Tiepolo depicts the Holy Family fleeing to Egypt in a
typically Venetian boat. Both hang above magnificently crafted choir stalls. Behind this
chapel you'll find the Gothic Cappella di San Tarasio (also called Cappella d'Oro or the Golden
Chapel), with impressive Renaissance-style frescoes by Andrea del Castagno and
Francesco da Faenza from the 1440s.
The star of the show, though, is undoubtedly Giovanni Bellini's Virgin Enthroned with
Jesus, an Angel Musician and Saints (1505), which glows like it's plugged into an outlet.
Bellini was in his 70s when he painted it and had already been confronted by the first
achievements of Giorgione (1477-1510), with his softer sfumato ('smokey') technique,
which blurred hard lines, enhancing the emotional quality of the light, colour and perspect-
ive. Bellini's assimilation of the technique is clear. Not only are his colours typically vivid,
CHURCH
Search WWH ::




Custom Search