Santa Maria degli Angeli is a church in Murano

Murano

Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about 1.5 km north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 . It is famous for its glass making, particularly lampworking...

, an island in the Venetian Lagoon

Venetian Lagoon

The Venetian Lagoon is the enclosed bay of the Adriatic Sea in which the city of Venice is situated. Its name in the Venetian language, Laguna Veneta— cognate of Latin lacus, "lake"— has provided the international name for an enclosed, shallow embayment of saltwater, a lagoon.The Venetian Lagoon...

, northern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

History

The church's origins date to 1188 when Ginevra Gradenigo, a Venetian noblewoman forced to became a nun by his father, donated to abbess Giacomina Boncio a land to built there a monastery. Demolished, rebuilt and reconsecrated in 1529, the church was then united to the monastery of Santa Maria di Piave in Lovadina, in the province of Treviso

Province of Treviso

The Province of Treviso is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Treviso.The province has an area of 2,477 km², and a total population of 886.886 . There are 95 municipalities in the province .-Municipalities:-External links:*...

, which enriched the building. Henry III of France

Henry III of France

Henry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...

 visited it in 1574.

The monastery housed nuns from the most prestigious noble families of Venice. The convent was suppressed in 1810 and the church was closed in 1848, and deprived of most of its treasures. Restored in 1861, it was reopened two years later.

Currently Santa Maria degli Angeli is not one of the parish churches of Murano.

Description

The church is accessed from an entrance with a bas-relief in Istrian marble, depicting the "Annunciation".

The interior is home to artworks by Francesco Zugno

Francesco Zugno

Francesco Zugno was an Italian painter of the Rococo period. He was born in Brescia. Among his masterworks is a series of wall frescoes of figures in quadratura balconies—part genre, part courtly conceit. He was strongly influenced by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and his works.-References:* entry...

, Antonio Molinari

Antonio Molinari

Antonio Molinari was an Italian painter of the Baroque era of Venice.Son of a painter, he apprenticed with Antonio Zanchi in Venice. He was strongly influenced by the vigorous and athletic paintings of Neapolitan painters like Luca Giordano. He typically painted tumultuous narratives of mythology...

, Palma il Giovane (The Virgin in Glory and Saints) and 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:...

, who painted the Annunciation (c. 1537) at the high altar; there also the funerary monuments of the doge Sebastiano Venier

Sebastiano Venier

Sebastiano Venier was Doge of Venice from June 11, 1577 to March 3, 1578.-Biography:Venier was born in Venice around 1496. He was a son of Moisè Venier and Elena Donà, and a nephew of Zuan Francesco Venier, Co-Lord of Cerigo. He was a paternal grandson of Moisé Venier...

, of Lorenzo Contarini and Jacopo Soranzo.