DK Travel : Venice : History & Culture

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Chiesa di San Giacomo dell’Orio

On no account miss this unusual church. Founded in the 9th century, its Latin-cross shape boasts a marvellous 15th-century wood-beamed ceiling and a forest of colourful granite and black limestone columns from the Middle East, several of them loot from the Crusades. The floor merits close scrutiny for its multitude of fossils, while memorable paintings include Palma il Giovane’s Descent of Manna (1580–81), left of the main altar, and a painted crucifix (1350) attributed to Paolo Veneziano.
Chiesa di San Giobbe

Set in a peaceful square, this church is a bit of a hotchpotch after undergoing numerous architectural modifications before it was suppressed under Napoleon. An oratory and a paupers’ hospital, it was founded in the 14th-century, with funding from Doge Cristoforo Moro and decorations by Pietro Lombardo. Superb altarpieces by Giovanni Bellini and Vittorio Carpaccio now hang in the Accademia Galleries (see Accademia Galleries), but still here are a 1445 triptych by Vivarini in the sacristy and a lovely Nativity (1540) by Girolamo Savoldo.
Chiesa di San Moisè

So overloaded was the 1668 façade of this church with ostentatious Baroque stone decorations that several statues were removed in 1878 to save it from collapse. It has been blasted by critics as “the height of architectural folly” and by John Ruskin (see Ruskin’s Venice, editor Arnold Whittick) as “one of the basest examples of the basest school of the Renaissance”. Devoid of religious symbols, it is given over wholly to the glorification of the aristocratic Fini family, who laid out 30,000 ducats for the job.
Chiesa di San Sebastiano

This 16th-century church is a treasure trove of Paolo Veronese paintings, and the artist devoted most of his life to the spectacular fresco cycle (see San Sebastiano).
Chiesa di Santa Maria del Giglio

Opening on to a lovely square next to the Grand Canal, this church is a further example of Venetian Baroque extravagance. Commissioned by the Barbaro family, its façade exalts their generations of maritime and political triumphs, with crests, galleys and statues. Relief maps along the lower plinth depict Zara, Candia, Padua, Rome, Corfu and Spalato, the fortified cities where many family members had served. Works of art inside the church include Venice’s only canvas by the Flemish artist Rubens, depicting a curvaceous Madonna and child. Tintoretto’s contributions are the Evangelists adorning the doors of the organ.
Claudio Monteverdi

This late Renaissance madrigalist (1567–1643) is attributed with the introduction of the solo voice to theatre. His opera Proserpina Rapita was the first to be performed in Venice. After long periods at the court of the Gonzagas, he accepted an appointment at the Basilica San Marco and worked for the Scuola Grande di San Rocco (see Scuola Grande di San Rocco).
Corte Seconda del Milion

The newly restructured Malibran Theatre in this photogenic square was erected on the site of the Polo family abode, where famous 13th-century explorer Marco was born (see Marco Polo). Other early Gothic buildings remain, their timber overhangs set off by bright red geraniums. Along with the adjoining bridge, the square was named in honour of the explorer whose marvellous stories about the Orient in his book Il Milione continue to inspire generations of travellers.
Dalmatians (Slavs)

Active traders whose boats gave their name to the Riva degli Schiavoni (see Riva degli Schiavoni).
Daniele Manin

Organizer of the 1848 rebellion against Austrian rule, the Venetian patriot (1804–57) is commemorated by a statue in Campo Manin. An independent “republic” was declared and survived 17 months of bombardments and even cholera, concluding with Manin’s exile to Paris.
Dead Lagoon, Michael Dibdin

Detective Aurelio Zen navigates Venice’s murky waters wrought with unease and intrigue.