The Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, known in Venetian as San Zanipolo, is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

and Dominican conventual church in the Castello ''sestiere'' of

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, Italy. It is one of the largest churches in the city of Venice. 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 John and Paul (Latin: ''Ioannes, Paulus'') are saints who lived during the fourth century in the Roman Empire. They were martyred at Rome on 26 June. The year of their martyrdom is uncertain according to their ''Acts''; it occurred under Julian ...

, 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 Jacopo Tiepolo (shortly before 1170 – 19 July 1249), also known as Giacomo Tiepolo, was Doge of Venice from 1229 to 1249. He had previously served as the first Venetian Duke of Crete, and two terms as Podestà of Constantinople, twice as gove ...

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 The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

image situated in its own chapel in the south aisle, and a foot of

Saint Catherine of Siena Caterina di Jacopo di Benincasa (25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), known as Catherine of Siena, was an Italian mystic and pious laywoman who engaged in papal and Italian politics through extensive letter-writing and advocacy. Canonized in 1461, ...

, the church's chief

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

. 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 Andrea del Verrocchio ( , , ; born Andrea di Michele di Francesco de' Cioni; – 1488) was an Italian sculpture, sculptor, List of Italian painters, painter and goldsmith who was a master of an important workshop in Florence. He apparently bec ...

, is located next to the church. The belltower has 3 bells in D major. Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo.jpg, The facade of Santi Giovanni e Paolo. Exterior of Santi Giovanni e Paolo (Venice) - Campanile a vela.jpg, Bel-gable Santi Giovanni e Paolo Venice interior 01.jpg, Interior of the church. Veneto Venezia5 tango7174.jpg, Chapel of the Rosary.

Notable artists

Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 29 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father, ...

('' Saint Vincent Ferrer Altarpiece'' in the south aisle) *

Bartolomeo Bon Bartolomeo Bon (also spelled Buon; died after 1464) was an Italian sculptor and architect from Campione d'Italia. His career spans the transition between Venetian Gothic architecture and the rather late start of Venetian Renaissance architecture ...

(the great west doorway) *

Cima da Conegliano Giovanni Battista Cima, also called Cima da Conegliano (), was an Italian Renaissance painter, who mostly worked in Venice. He can be considered part of the Venetian school (art), Venetian school, though he was also influenced by Antonello da ...

Giovanni Martini da Udine Giovanni Martini or Giovanni Martini da Udine (1470/75 – September 30, 1535) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the Renaissance, born in Udine between 1470 and 1475. With Pellegrino da San Daniele he is one of the main representatives of Re ...

(''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 Gregorio Lazzarini (1657 – 10 November 1730) was an Italians, Italian painter of mythological, religious and historical subjects, as well as portraits. One of the most successful Venetian artists of the day, a prominent teacher, and father to ...

(sala S. Tommaso) *

Pietro Lombardo Monument of the Doge Pietro Mocenigo 1481 :''Pietro Lombardo is also the Italian version of the name of the theologian Peter Lombard.'' Pietro Lombardo (1435–1515) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect; born in Carona (Ticino), he ...

(tombs of 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 Tullio Lombardo (c. 1455 – November 17, 1532), also known as Tullio Solari, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor. He was the brother of Antonio Lombardo and son of Pietro Lombardo. The Lombardo family worked together to sculpt famous Catholic ...

( and Alessandro Leopardo?) ( on the north wall of the choir) *

Lorenzo Lotto Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480 – 1556/57) was an Italian Renaissance painter, draughtsman, and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school, though much of his career was spent in other north Italian cities. He painted mainly altarpie ...

('' 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 Saint Dominic, (; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilians, Castilian Catholic priest and the founder of the Dominican Order. He is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientists, and he a ...

in the Chapel of San Dominico) *

Giovanni Battista Piazzetta Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (also called Giambattista Piazzetta or Giambattista Valentino Piazzetta) (February 13, 1682 or 1683 – April 28, 1754) was an Italian Rococo painter of religious subjects and genre scenes. Biography Piazzetta was ...

(''St Dominic in Glory'' on the ceiling of the Capella di San Domenico) *

Alvise Tagliapietra Alvise Tagliapietra (1670–1747) was a Venetian baroque sculptor. Tagliapietra was born in Venice in 1670 and died there in 1747. Between 1705 and 1711, he and his studio carved several standing marble figures for the high altar of the Church ...

, reliefs in the Chapel of the Rosary Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 29 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father, ...

Description

Notable artists

Funerary monuments

References

External links