The Church of the Redeemer in Venice is a fabulous establishment that I recommend you visit.
Loaded with history, it's also a true work of architectural art.
Today, I'm going to tell you all about it.
Here we go!
The Church of the Redeemer in Venice: article summary
The Church of the Redeemer in Venice: a historic building
To understand the history of the Church of the Redeemer in Venice, we need to go back a few centuries. In 1575, a terrible plague epidemic swept through Venice, lasting for over a year. With the spread of the disease showing no sign of abating, on September 4, 1576, the Senate decreed the erection of a church dedicated to Christ the Redeemer.
On May 3, 1577, the foundation stone was laid along the Giudecca. After less than three months, the plague miraculously stopped.
Then the doge, magistrates, nobles, ecclesiastics and all the people in procession, crossing the basin with a floating bridge, symbolically thanked the Lord in this place.
It was designed by the most important Venetian architect of the time, Andrea Palladio.
Palladium, who took over from Jacopo Sansovino as public architectural consultant of the Republic.
The latter presented two projects, one with a longitudinal layout and the other a more modern central layout. A commission was set up especially for the occasion, and voted by a majority in favor of the first proposal. The choice of the longitudinal-plan church gets closer of the demands made by the Council of Trent.
An exceptional façade
The sanctuary is a fine example of the harmonious union between Christian worship and the temple of classical antiquity. Palladio wanted to create a structure that, seen from the outside, can accompany the faithful towards rebirth and the divine.
The same fifteen-step staircase on the outside is an allegory of the progressive ascent to God, and the great dome that marks and identifies the entire religious building ends in a lantern on which rests Christ the Redeemer with the banner of the Resurrection.
The splendid, linear façade, entirely in white marble, features four columns that divide it vertically and support a tympanum. The capitals of these columns are the perfect union of two classical styles:
- Visit Ionic style: with its spiral scrolls
- Visit Corinth style: with its characteristic acanthus leaves
Another, smaller tympanum rises above the portal, supported by two further half-columnsCorinthian style. On the sides of the door, in the appropriate entrances, there are two statues representing the evangelist San Marco, patron saint of the town, and San Francesco d'Assisi.
On the sides of the main tympanum, Palladio skilfully reproposed a two-storey structure, a false tympanum that seems to be hidden behind the main one.
Church of the Redeemer in Venice: sublime statues
Above this false tympanum are two statues representing San Lorenzo Giustiniani (the first patriarch of Venice, on the left) and Sant'Antonio da Padova (one of Venice's most beloved saints, on the right).
Three other statues are positioned above the upper tympanum, representing Faith (center) with a raised chalice and the cross.
All these statues were commissioned by the Capuchins to embellish the simple Palladian façadeThey were therefore made after 1673.
A grandiose interior
The church has a long nave with deep side chapels. The latter are covered by a large vaulted ceiling. linked by a large triumphal arch to the presbytery.
The presbytery houses the high altar, protected by large columns that mark its centrality. Soft, suggestive light streams in through a series of spacious windows.
Celebrations around the Church of the Redeemer in Venice
Right in front of its facade On the occasion of the Festa del RedentoreEvery third Saturday in July, one of the city's most important festivals takes place.
For the occasion, a very long floating bridge was built across the entire Giudecca Canal. It ends at the Zattere to allow the faithful easier access to the church. It's an annual festival much appreciated by Venetians who are always out in force.
How do I get to the church?
The easiest way to get there is to take the Vaporetto by taking lines 2, 4.1 and 4.2, then get off at the Redentore station.
The Church of the Redeemer in Venice is a place I recommend you visit. Its history and its magnificent architecture will round off your visit to the city.
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