San Giovanni Elemosinario
Encyclopedia
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, northern Italy, dedicated to Saint John the Almsgiver
John the Merciful
John the Merciful was the Patriarch of Alexandria in the early 7th century and a christian saint.- Early life :He was born at Amathus...
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This church was founded in 1071, and was completely destroyed by the disastrous Rialto fire in 1514. The church was rebuilt by Antonio Abbondi
Antonio Abbondi
Antonio Abbondi generally known as Scarpagnino was an Italian architect of the Renaissance period, active mainly in Venice.Born at Grosio, in Valtellina...
called Scarpagnino. The painter Antonio Vassilacchi
Antonio Vassilacchi
Antonio Vassilacchi, also called L'Aliense, was a Greekpainter, who was active mostly in Venice and the Veneto.-Biography:...
worked here in the 16th century. Nestled into the dense area near the Rialto Market (with your back to the Bridge on the San Polo side, turn left just past the flea market booths; the entrance will be through the frescoed arch behind iron gates on your left).
The altarpiece on the high altar depicts St. John the Almsgiver
John the Merciful
John the Merciful was the Patriarch of Alexandria in the early 7th century and a christian saint.- Early life :He was born at Amathus...
(1545-1550) by Titian
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
; the right apse chapel houses Saints Catherine
Catherine of Alexandria
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the pagan emperor Maxentius...
, Sebastian and Roch (c. 1533) by il Pordenone
Il Pordenone
Il Pordenone, byname of Giovanni Antonio de' Sacchis , was an Italian painter of the Venetian school, active during the Renaissance. Vasari, his main biographer, identifies him as Giovanni Antonio Licinio.-Biography:...
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