What are the most beautiful churches in Venice?

THE CHURCHES OF VENICE

The churches of Venice, besides being religious places, are treasure chests that hold priceless treasures. Sometimes, just one of the masterpieces they contain would justify the opening of a single exhibition and would be enough to attract thousands of passionate visitors.

Discovering them a little at a time is like going on a treasure hunt that reveals not only the extraordinary world of art but also Venetian origins and culture.

Have you ever entered a church in Venice?

Some have rich and elaborate facades, such as the Scalzi church located next to Santa Lucia Station. Others, on the other hand, are simple, without decoration, such as the church of San Pantalon in the Dorsoduro sestiere.

In the beginning

In the beginning, churches were simple wooden buildings, erected with available materials, to accommodate and shelter the religious groups that landed on the island. Then they gradually grew larger, partly due to the increasing influx of the faithful and their donations. Thus, over the centuries they were enlarged, rebuilt several times, renovated, until they reached their present form.

They are not only churches

Since the founding of the city, churches, in addition to being places of worship, also played a role in the daily social life of Venetians. For example, some small schools, trade confraternities, had their headquarters at the altar dedicated to their patron saint, hosted by the church.

In addition, local daily life took place around the church, and the ringing of the bells punctuated certain hours of not only religious but also civil significance, such as the opening of the vera da pozzo, to draw water, the beginning of the workday, or the alarm for the outbreak of a fire.

They contain priceless treasures

The degree of magnificence of the facade of each church in Venice is not indicative of the rarity or value of the jewels that are kept inside.

It is impossible to enter a church and not find an extraordinary work by a well-known artist or a special and priceless relic or a rare wooden work or the funeral monument of a famous person ... almost beyond belief!

Just one of these treasures, in places and circumstances other than Venice, would be enough to make it an artistic cultural event of international significance.

They have strange names

If you pay attention to the names that churches in Venice have sometimes you will find that they are not at all familiar. This is the case, for example, with the church of San Zanipolo, which in Venetian is a contraction of "St. John and Paul." Or San Marcuola, San Stae, San Salvador, the list is long.

Have you ever entered a church in Venice?

The most beautiful churches in Venice

Some have counted 137 churches, including consecrated and unconsecrated ones, while others say Venice has only 128. I would say that in any case the number is considerable and it is probably difficult to find someone who remembers visiting just all of them.

Choosing which is the most beautiful among more than a hundred is even more arduous.

St. Mark's Basilica is beautiful, literally covered in wonderful mosaics, so how can one not consider it one of the most beautiful in the city? But declaring which one has the primacy of beauty is truly an impossible task because each one has something spectacular about it.