Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice

The Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, known in Venetian as San Zanipolo, is a church in the Castello sestiere of Venice, Italy.

Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo
Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Castello
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45.4392°N 12.3421°E / 45.4392; 12.3421
LocationVenice
CountryItaly
DenominationRoman Catholic
Architecture
Architectural typeChurch

One of the largest churches in the city, it has the status of a minor basilica. After the 15th century the funeral services of all of Venice's doges were held here, and twenty-five doges are buried in the church.

Description

The huge brick edifice was designed in the Italian Gothic style, and completed in the 1430s. It is the principal Dominican church of Venice, and as such was built to hold large congregations. It is dedicated to John and Paul, not the Biblical Apostles of the same names, but two obscure martyrs of the Early Christian church in Rome, whose names were recorded in the 4th century but whose legend is of a later date.

In 1246, Doge Jacopo Tiepolo donated some swampland to the Dominicans after dreaming of a flock of white doves flying over it. The first church was demolished in 1333, when the current church was begun. It was not completed until 1430.

The vast interior contains many funerary monuments and paintings, as well as the Madonna della Pace, a miraculous Byzantine image situated in its own chapel in the south aisle, and a foot of Saint Catherine of Siena, the church's chief relic.

Santi Giovanni e Paolo is a parish church of the Vicariate of San Marco-Castello. Other churches of the parish are San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti, the Ospedaletto and the Beata Vergine Addolorata.

The Renaissance Equestrian Statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni (1483), by Andrea del Verrocchio, is located next to the church.

The belltower has 3 bells in D major.

  • The facade of Santi Giovanni e Paolo.
    The facade of Santi Giovanni e Paolo.
  • Bel-gable
    Bel-gable
  • Interior of the church.
    Interior of the church.
  • Chapel of the Rosary.
    Chapel of the Rosary.

Notable artists
  • Giovanni Bellini (Saint Vincent Ferrer Altarpiece in the south aisle)
  • Bartolomeo Bon (the great west doorway)
  • Cima da Conegliano or Giovanni Martini da Udine (Coronation of the Virgin in the south transept)
  • Lorenzo Gramiccia (Madonna del Rosario in Capella di Trinita)
  • Piero di Niccolò Lamberti and Giovanni di Martino (tomb of Doge Tommaso Mocenigo in the north aisle)
  • Gregorio Lazzarini (sala S. Tommaso)
  • Pietro Lombardo (tombs of Doge Pietro Mocenigo on the west wall and Doges Pasquale Malipiero and Nicolo Marcello in the north aisle; tomb of Alvise Diedo in the south aisle)
  • Tullio Lombardo ( and Alessandro Leopardo?) (Funerary monument of Doge Andrea Vendramin on the north wall of the choir)
  • Lorenzo Lotto (St Antoninus Giving Alms in the south transept)
  • Rocco Marconi (Christ between SS Peter and Andrew in the south transept)
  • Giuseppe Maria Mazza (five large bronze reliefs depicting the miracles of Saint Dominic in the Chapel of San Dominico)
  • Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (St Dominic in Glory on the ceiling of the Capella di San Domenico)
  • Alvise Tagliapietra, reliefs in the Chapel of the Rosary
  • Giovanni Bellini (SS Vincent Ferrer, Christopher and Sebastian)
    Giovanni Bellini (SS Vincent Ferrer, Christopher and Sebastian)
  • Bartolomeo Bon (the great west doorway)
    Bartolomeo Bon (the great west doorway)
  • Cima da Conegliano Coronation of the Virgin
    Cima da Conegliano Coronation of the Virgin
  • Lorenzo Gramiccia Madonna del Rosario
    Lorenzo Gramiccia Madonna del Rosario
  • Piero di Niccolò Lamberti Giovanni di Martino tomb of Tommaso Mocenigo
    Piero di Niccolò Lamberti Giovanni di Martino tomb of Tommaso Mocenigo
  • Rocco Marconi Christ between SS Peter and Andrew
    Rocco Marconi Christ between SS Peter and Andrew
  • Giovanni Battista Piazzetta St Dominic in Glory
    Giovanni Battista Piazzetta St Dominic in Glory
  • Veronese (The Assumption, The Annunciation and The Adoration of the Magi on the ceiling of the Capella del Rosario; The Adoration of the Shepherds in the Capella del Rosario). The famous The Feast in the House of Levi, painted for the refectory, is now in the Accademia Gallery.
  • Alessandro Vittoria (St Jerome in the north aisle)
  • Alvise Vivarini (Christ carrying the Cross in the sacristy)
  • Bartolomeo Vivarini (Three Saints in the north aisle)
The Capella del Rosario (Chapel of the Rosary)
Built in 1582 to commemorate the victory of Lepanto, contained paintings by Tintoretto, Palma the Younger, Titian (The Assassination of Saint Peter Martyr) and Giovanni Bellini, among others, but they were destroyed in a fire in 1867 attributed to anti-Catholic arsonists.
  • Chapel of the Rosary
    Chapel of the Rosary
  • Lady of the Rosary Giovanni Dureghello
    Lady of the Rosary Giovanni Dureghello
  • David by Alessandro Vittoria
    David by Alessandro Vittoria
  • Isaiah by Alessandro Vittoria
    Isaiah by Alessandro Vittoria
  • Libyan Sibyl by Alessandro Vittoria
    Libyan Sibyl by Alessandro Vittoria
  • Delphic Sibyl by Alessandro Vittoria
    Delphic Sibyl by Alessandro Vittoria
  • Siding wooden altar by Giacomo Piazzetta
    Siding wooden altar by Giacomo Piazzetta
  • Martyrdom of St Christina by Sante Peranda
    Martyrdom of St Christina by Sante Peranda
  • Dead Christ Giovanni Battista Zelotti
    Dead Christ Giovanni Battista Zelotti
  • Miracle of St Dominic Alessandro Varotari
    Miracle of St Dominic Alessandro Varotari
  • St Michael Vanquishing the Devil Bonifacio de' Pitati
    St Michael Vanquishing the Devil Bonifacio de' Pitati

Funerary monuments

After the 15th century the funeral services of all of Venice's doges were held in Santi Giovanni e Paolo. Twenty-five doges are buried in the church, including:

  • Marino Zorzi (d. 1320): was buried in the ancient cloister. The exact spot where Marino and his wife Agneta (or Agnese) were buried was lost, so the friars affixed a commemorative plaque in the ancient cloister of the church.[1][2][3]
  • Jacopo Tiepolo (d. 1249)
  • Marino Morosini (d. 1253)
  • Reniero Zeno (d. 1268)
  • Lorenzo Tiepolo (d. 1275)
  • Giovanni Dolfin (d. 1361)
  • Marco Cornaro (d. 1368)
  • Tomb of Jacopo e Lorenzo Tiepolo
    Tomb of Jacopo e Lorenzo Tiepolo
  • Tomb of Marino Morosini
    Tomb of Marino Morosini
  • Monument Giovanni Dolfin
    Monument Giovanni Dolfin
  • Tomb to Marco Corner
    Tomb to Marco Corner
  • Monument to Michele Morosini
    Monument to Michele Morosini
  • Tomb of Antonio Venier
    Tomb of Antonio Venier
  • Monument to Michele Steno
    Monument to Michele Steno
  • Monument to Pasquale Malipiero
    Monument to Pasquale Malipiero
  • Monument to Nicolo Marcello
    Monument to Nicolo Marcello
  • Monument to Pietro Mocenigo
    Monument to Pietro Mocenigo
  • Monument to doge Andrea Vendramin
    Monument to doge Andrea Vendramin
  • Monument to Giovanni Mocenigo
    Monument to Giovanni Mocenigo
  • Monument of Leonardo Loredan
    Monument of Leonardo Loredan
  • Monument to Alvise Mocenigo
    Monument to Alvise Mocenigo
  • Funeral monument of Sebastiano Venier
    Funeral monument of Sebastiano Venier
  • Funeral monument of Bertuccio Valier
    Funeral monument of Bertuccio Valier
  • Funeral monument of Silvestro Valier
    Funeral monument of Silvestro Valier

Other people buried in the church include:

  • Orazio Baglioni (d. 1617), general
  • Gentile Bellini (d. 1507), artist
  • Giovanni Bellini (d. 1516), artist
  • Gianbattista Bonzi (d. 1508), senator
  • Bartolomeo Bragadin (poet)
  • Marco Antonio Bragadin (d.1571), general, flayed alive by the Turks - the tomb contains only his skin
  • Jacopo Cavalli (d. 1384), general
  • Alvise Diedo, commander-in-chief
  • Marino Faliero (d. 1355), the 55th Doge of Venice, beheaded
  • Marco Giustiniani (d. 1346), sea captain
  • Pompeo Giustiniani (d. 1616), condottiere
  • Palma the Younger (d. 1628), artist
  • Monument to Orazio Baglioni
    Monument to Orazio Baglioni
  • Monument to Giambattista Bonzio
    Monument to Giambattista Bonzio
  • Monument to Bartolomeo Bragadin
    Monument to Bartolomeo Bragadin
  • Monument to Marcantonio Bragadin
    Monument to Marcantonio Bragadin
  • Monument to Giacomo Cavalli
    Monument to Giacomo Cavalli
  • Monument to Marco Giustiniani della Bragora
    Monument to Marco Giustiniani della Bragora
  • Monument to Pompeo Giustiniani
    Monument to Pompeo Giustiniani
  • Monument to Palma il Giovane
    Monument to Palma il Giovane
  • Vettor Pisani (d. 1380), admiral
  • Niccolò Orsini, (d. 1510), commander-in-chief
  • Leonardo da Prato (d.1511), condottiere
  • Alvise Trevisan (d. 1528)
  • Edward Windsor, 3rd Baron Windsor (d. 1574)
  • Vincenzo Benedetti, (d. 1658)
  • Monument of Admiral Vettor Pisani
    Monument of Admiral Vettor Pisani
  • Tomb of Niccolò Orsini di Pitigliano
    Tomb of Niccolò Orsini di Pitigliano
  • Tomb of Leonardo da Prato
    Tomb of Leonardo da Prato
  • Monument to Alvise Trevisan
    Monument to Alvise Trevisan
  • Tomb of Edward Windsor
    Tomb of Edward Windsor

See also

References
  1. Francesco Zazzera, Della nobilta dell'Italia parte prima. Del signor D. Francesco Zazzera napoletano. Alla sereniss. e catol. maesta' del re Filippo 3. nostro signore, 1615, p. 16. «MARINO huomo eloquentissimo, fu di maniera versato ne la Politica, e ne le ragioni di Stato che prevalendo la sua opinione, in tutte le Consulte, e Consegli, in maniera si sollevò, che gli ne toccò à seder nel Segio Dogale, dopo la morte di Pietro Gradenigo, nel qual luogo governò Doge 49° essendo creato secondo la più vera epinione l'an.1311.perche altri vogliono che fusse nel 1303.oue conoscendosi (dato però à la vita dopo spirituale, e contemplativa) non potere, conforme al suo desiderio attendere; anzi pur troppo strana parendogli, e diversa l'una da l'altra operazione, detestando i suoi primi studi, e pentito di haver cosi follemente Spesi tanti anni; mosso da divina ispirazione, il decimo mese, e decimo giorno del suo dominio, à quella dignità renunziando, si ritirò in una sua Villa, ove remoro da le pratiiche, conversazioni e del secolo; alcuni vogliono che morisse ne la Religion di Benedettini, ed altri ne l'antica sua solitudine, ove fin dal principio menar vita si elesse in tutto ritirata dal mondo: e così fu invero, perche avanzandosi continuamente ne la inselvatichir se medefimo, menò quasi vita Eremitica fino al 1320 che rendè lo spirito al suo Creatore, acqui Standofi un soura nome di Santo; e porgendo occasione à parenti più affezzionati, di originarsi nuovo coagnome. posciache cresciuta vedendosegli fina a le spalle una Zazzera, à capelliera, com'era da tutti de la Zazzera menzionato, così à Pietro suo fratello fu cagione di toglierla per sua Impresa nel viaggio de l'Ambasceria, ove fu destinato; ed à soccessori suoi dopò di formarlo nuovo cognome: che fatto ciò brevemente il sudetto Andrea Dandolo ne la sua Cronica accenna con le parole sudette, soggiungendo di vantaggio, come a proprie sue spese, edificasse il nobilissimo Tempio di San Domenico; dotandolo eziandio di rendita conveniente per molti padri: tutto che si contentasse far sepellir le sue ossa, ne la Chiesa di S. Giovanni, e Paolo, ov'era la sua quasi continua abitazione.»
  2. "Treccani - la cultura italiana | Treccani, il portale del sapere".
  3. https://venipedia.it/it/enciclopedia/marino-zorzi
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Preceded by
Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari		 Venice landmarks
Santi Giovanni e Paolo		 Succeeded by
St Mark's Basilica
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