Church of San Polo
Churches in Venice - San Polo
Founded in the 9th century, the Church of San Polo then underwent two important restructuring projects which altered the original Byzantine appearance of the building (the two column-bearing lions at the base of the nearby bell-tower were probably part of this original structure).
The first major work on the church took place in the 15th century, and the late Gothic additions made at that time include the fine portal attributed to Bartolomeo Bon. The second refurbishment took place in 1804, when Davide Rossi effectively turned the church into a neo-classical building. Extensive restoration has recently revealed the Gothic survivors within this neo-classical super-structure: these include the wooden ceiling, the apsed presbytery and the single light windows on the facade (part of the 9th-century church).
The austere interior contains various works of art. Inside the façade and over the first altar on the right you can see two works by Jacopo Tintoretto and studio: The Last Supper and The Assumption of the Virgin with Saints. The Presbytery is entirely decorated with works by Palma il Giovane, whilst to the right and left respectively stand the Chapel of the Sacrament (a precious Lombardo structure decorated with 18th-century frescoes by Salviati) and the altar decorated with Paolo Veronese's The Marriage of the Virgin.
The second altar in the north aisle contains Giambattista Tiepolo's famous The Virgin appearing to San Giovanni Nepomuk (1754), whilst behind the main facade of the church is the eighteenth-century Oratory of the Crucifixion, entirely decorated by Giambattista Tiepolo's less famous son Giandomenico; the works here include the 14 Stations of the Cross, which show the younger Tiepolo evolving a very personal style that would come to full fruition in his later works.
Official website: www.chorusvenezia.org
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