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Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice

Coordinates: 45°26′21″N 12°20′32″E / 45.4392°N 12.3421°E / 45.4392; 12.3421
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(Redirected from Basilica di San Zanipolo)
Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo
Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Castello
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45°26′21″N 12°20′32″E / 45.4392°N 12.3421°E / 45.4392; 12.3421
LocationVenice
CountryItaly
DenominationRoman Catholic
Religious orderDominicans
History
StatusMinor basilica
Conventual church
Architecture
Architectural typeChurch

The Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, known in Venetian as San Zanipolo, is a Catholic minor basilica and Dominican conventual church in the Castello sestiere of Venice, 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

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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.

Notable artists

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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.

Funerary monuments

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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:

Other people buried in the church include:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Marco Pozza (2020). Zorzi, Marino (in Italian). Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, volume 100. Roma: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. Accessed September 2024.
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Preceded by
Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari
Venice landmarks
Santi Giovanni e Paolo
Succeeded by
St Mark's Basilica