Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice

The Basilica di Santi Giovanni e Paolo, known in Venetian as San Zanipolo, is a church in the Castello sestiere of Venice, Italy.

Santi Giovanni e Paolo

One of the largest churches in the city, it has the status of a minor basilica. 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

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 statue 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.

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  The facade of Santi Giovanni e Paolo.
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  Bel-gable
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  Interior of the church.
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  Chapel of the Rosary.

Notable artists

• Giovanni Bellini (SS Vincent Ferrer, Christopher and Sebastian in the south aisle)
• Bartolomeo Bon (the great west doorway)
• Cima da Conegliano or Giovanni Martini da Udine (Coronation of the Virgin in the south transept)
• Lorenzo Gramiccia (Madonna del Rosario in Capella di Trinita)
• Piero di Niccolò Lamberti and Giovanni di Martino (tomb of Doge Tommaso Mocenigo in the north aisle)
• Gregorio Lazzarini (sala S. Tommaso)
• Pietro Lombardo (tombs of Doge Pietro Mocenigo on the west wall and Doges Pasquale Malipiero and Nicolo Marcello in the north aisle; tomb of Alvise Diedo in the south aisle)
• Tullio Lombardo ( and Alessandro Leopardo?) (tomb of Doge Andrea Vendramin on the north wall of the choir)
• Lorenzo Lotto (St Antonine in the south transept)
• Rocco Marconi (Christ between SS Peter and Andrew in the south transept)
• Giuseppe Maria Mazza (five large bronze reliefs depicting the miracles of Saint Dominic in the Chapel of San Dominico)
• Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (St Dominic in Glory on the ceiling of the Capella di San Domenico)
• Alvise Tagliapietra, reliefs in the Chapel of the Rosary

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  Giovanni Bellini (SS Vincent Ferrer, Christopher and Sebastian
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  Bartolomeo Bon (the great west doorway)
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  Cima da Conegliano Coronation of the Virgin
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  Lorenzo Gramiccia Madonna del Rosario
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  Piero di Niccolò Lamberti Giovanni di Martino tomb of Tommaso Mocenigo
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  Rocco Marconi Christ between SS Peter and Andrew
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  Giovanni Battista Piazzetta St Dominic in Glory

• Veronese (The Assumption, The Annunciation and The Adoration of the Magi on the ceiling of the Capella del Rosario; The Adoration of the Shepherds in the Capella del Rosario). The famous The Feast in the House of Levi, painted for the refectory, is now in the Accademia Gallery.
• Alessandro Vittoria (St Jerome in the north aisle)
• Alvise Vivarini (Christ carrying the Cross in the sacristy)
• Bartolomeo Vivarini (Three Saints in the north aisle)

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  Veronese The Annunciation
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  Veronese The Assumption
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  Veronese The Adoration of the Shepherds
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  Alessandro Vittoria St Jerome
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  Alvise Vivarini Christ carrying the Cross
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  Bartolomeo Vivarini Three Saints

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.

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  Chapel of the Rosary
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  Lady of the Rosary Giovanni Dureghello
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  David by Alessandro Vittoria
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  Isaiah by Alessandro Vittoria
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  Libyan Sibyl by Alessandro Vittoria
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  Delphic Sibyl by Alessandro Vittoria
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  Siding wooden altar by Giacomo Piazzetta
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  Martyrdom of St Christina by Sante Peranda
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  Dead Christ Giovanni Battista Zelotti
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  Miracle of St Dominic Alessandro Varotari
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  St Michael Vanquishing the Devil Bonifacio de' Pitati

Funerary monuments

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:

• Jacopo Tiepolo (d. 1249)
• Marino Morosini (d. 1253)
• Reniero Zeno (d. 1268)
• Lorenzo Tiepolo (d. 1275)
• Giovanni Dolfin (d. 1361)
• Marco Cornaro (d. 1368)

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  Tomb of Jacopo e Lorenzo Tiepolo
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  Tomb of Marino Morosini
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  Monument Giovanni Dolfin
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  Tomb to Marco Corner

• Michele Morosini (d. 1382)
• Antonio Venier (d. 1400)
• Michele Steno (d. 1413)
• Tommaso Mocenigo (d. 1423)
• Pasquale Malipiero (d. 1462)
• Nicolo Marcello (d. 1474)
• Pietro Mocenigo (d. 1476)
• Andrea Vendramin (d. 1478)

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  Monument to Michele Morosini
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  Tomb of Antonio Venier
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  Monument to Michele Steno
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  Monument to Pasquale Malipiero
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  Monument to Nicolo Marcello
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  Monument to Pietro Mocenigo
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  Monument to doge Andrea Vendramin

• Giovanni Mocenigo (d. 1485)
• Leonardo Loredan (d. 1521)
• Alvise I Mocenigo (d. 1577)
• Sebastiano Venier (d. 1578)
• Bertucci Valier (d. 1658)
• Silvestro Valier (d. 1700)

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  Monument to Giovanni Mocenigo
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  Monument of Leonardo Loredan
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  Monument to Alvise Mocenigo
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  Funeral monument of Sebastiano Venier
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  Funeral monument of Bertuccio Valier
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  Funeral monument of Silvestro Valier

Other people buried in the church include:

• Orazio Baglioni (d. 1617), general
• Gentile Bellini (d. 1507), artist
• Giovanni Bellini (d. 1516), artist
• Gianbattista Bonzi (d. 1508), senator
• Bartolomeo Bragadin (poet)
• Marco Antonio Bragadin (d.1571), general, flayed alive by the Turks - the tomb contains only his skin
• Jacopo Cavalli (d. 1384), general
• Alvise Diedo, commander-in-chief
• Marino Faliero (d. 1355), the 55th Doge of Venice, beheaded
• Marco Giustiniani (d. 1346), sea captain
• Pompeo Giustiniani (d. 1616), condottiere
• Palma the Younger (d. 1628), artist

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  Monument to Orazio Baglioni
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  Monument to Giambattista Bonzio
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  Monument to Bartolomeo Bragadin
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  Monument to Marcantonio Bragadin
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  Monument to Giacomo Cavalli
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  Monument to Marco Giustiniani della Bragora
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  Monument to Pompeo Giustiniani
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  Monument to Palma il Giovane

• Vettor Pisani (d. 1380), admiral
• Niccolò Orsini, (d. 1510), commander-in-chief
• Leonardo da Prato (d.1511), condottiere
• Alvise Trevisan (d. 1528)
• Edward Windsor, 3rd Baron Windsor (d. 1574)
• Vincenzo Benedetti, (d. 1658)

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  Monument of Admiral Vettor Pisani
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  Tomb of Niccolò Orsini di Pitigliano
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  Tomb of Leonardo da Prato
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  Monument to Alvise Trevisan
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  Tomb of Edward Windsor

See also

• List of Doges of Venice
• Lost artworks
• Sant'Anastasia (Verona) — similar Dominican church in Verona.

External links

• Official website (in Italian)