Description
The Basilica of Saints John and Paul, to Venetians San Zanipolo, is the largest church in Venice, in the Castello district: a Gothic giant over 100 meters long, considered the city's pantheon for the many doges and illustrious figures buried in it.
It all began, the legend says, with a dream of Doge Jacopo Tiepolo, who in 1234 donated an oratory to the Dominican friars. The friars built their church, then enlarged it, and in 1430 it was consecrated.
Inside, the Gothic vaults, 32 meters high, are tied by wooden tie beams, and enormous cylindrical columns divide three aisles. Until the 1600s the nave was divided by the friars' choir, later demolished to make room for ceremonies, for example the doges' funerals.
The inner facade is taken up by the Mocenigo tombs. That of Doge Pietro, finished in 1481 by Pietro and Tullio Lombardo, shows the doge standing and proud, portrayed as already risen. That of Doge Giovanni, by Tullio Lombardo, is an example of the new Renaissance taste.
In the right aisle, above an altar, is Giovanni Bellini's Polyptych of St Vincent Ferrer, in nine panels. In the transept, the great Gothic window has stained glass on cartoons attributed to Vivarini, Cima da Conegliano and Mocetto.
The Rosary Chapel has a ceiling with three canvases by Veronese, brought here from another church, l'Umiltà at the Zattere, and another from its presbytery. In 1867 a fire destroyed the original chapel and its masterpieces, among them an altarpiece by Giovanni Bellini and Titian's Martyrdom of St Peter.
In an urn lies what remains of a man's skin. It belongs to Marcantonio Bragadin, the Venetian commander whom the Turks flayed alive after the fall of Famagusta. It arrived here in 1596, and in 1961 it was examined by scientists.
In the building next door, now a convent, was the Scuola di Sant'Orsola, for which Carpaccio painted the Stories of St Ursula, now in the Gallerie dell'Accademia.
The facade is tall, with stepped profile, a central rose window and six Gothic niches that hold some tombs. The portal has six columns of Proconnesian marble brought here in 1459, and three pinnacles like little temples with statues of the great Dominican saints.
Don't miss
• The Mocenigo tombs.
• The Polyptych of St Vincent Ferrer.
• Veronese's canvases.
• The monument to Bragadin.
Did you know?
• The gilded wooden equestrian monument to General Pompeo Giustiniani is known as the “arm wrestling”.
• The church has been a minor basilica since 1922.
It all began, the legend says, with a dream of Doge Jacopo Tiepolo, who in 1234 donated an oratory to the Dominican friars. The friars built their church, then enlarged it, and in 1430 it was consecrated.
Inside, the Gothic vaults, 32 meters high, are tied by wooden tie beams, and enormous cylindrical columns divide three aisles. Until the 1600s the nave was divided by the friars' choir, later demolished to make room for ceremonies, for example the doges' funerals.
The inner facade is taken up by the Mocenigo tombs. That of Doge Pietro, finished in 1481 by Pietro and Tullio Lombardo, shows the doge standing and proud, portrayed as already risen. That of Doge Giovanni, by Tullio Lombardo, is an example of the new Renaissance taste.
In the right aisle, above an altar, is Giovanni Bellini's Polyptych of St Vincent Ferrer, in nine panels. In the transept, the great Gothic window has stained glass on cartoons attributed to Vivarini, Cima da Conegliano and Mocetto.
The Rosary Chapel has a ceiling with three canvases by Veronese, brought here from another church, l'Umiltà at the Zattere, and another from its presbytery. In 1867 a fire destroyed the original chapel and its masterpieces, among them an altarpiece by Giovanni Bellini and Titian's Martyrdom of St Peter.
In an urn lies what remains of a man's skin. It belongs to Marcantonio Bragadin, the Venetian commander whom the Turks flayed alive after the fall of Famagusta. It arrived here in 1596, and in 1961 it was examined by scientists.
In the building next door, now a convent, was the Scuola di Sant'Orsola, for which Carpaccio painted the Stories of St Ursula, now in the Gallerie dell'Accademia.
The facade is tall, with stepped profile, a central rose window and six Gothic niches that hold some tombs. The portal has six columns of Proconnesian marble brought here in 1459, and three pinnacles like little temples with statues of the great Dominican saints.
Don't miss
• The Mocenigo tombs.
• The Polyptych of St Vincent Ferrer.
• Veronese's canvases.
• The monument to Bragadin.
Did you know?
• The gilded wooden equestrian monument to General Pompeo Giustiniani is known as the “arm wrestling”.
• The church has been a minor basilica since 1922.