San Zaccaria di Venezia
The
Chiesa di San Zaccaria (Church of St
Zacharias) in
Venice is dedicated to the father of
John the Baptist, whose body it supposedly contains. It is a large
church located in the quiet Campo San Zaccaria, just off the waterfront to the south east of
St Mark's.
The present church was built in a mixture of
Gothic and
Renaissance styles between
1444 and
1515.
Antonio Gambello was the principal
architect, but the facade was completed by
Mauro Codussi. The first church on the site was founded by
Doge Giustiniano Particiaco in the
9th century and eight doges are buried in the still extant
crypt. The original
Romanesque church was rebuilt in the
1170s (when the present
campanile was built) and was replaced by a Gothic church in the
14th century. The church was attached to a
Benedictine monastery, which was visited by the doge annually at
Easter in a ceremony which included presentation of the
cornu (ducal cap). This tradition was begun after the monks donated land for the extension of the
Piazza San Marco in the
12th century.
The interior of the church has an
apse surrounded by an
ambulatory lit by tall Gothic windows, a typical feature of Northern European church architecture which is unique in Venice. The walls of the aisles are entirely covered with paintings by
Tintoretto,
Angelo Trevisiani,
Giuseppe Salviati,
Giovanni Bellini,
Antonio Balestra,
Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo,
Palma Vecchio and
Van Dyck. The artist
Alessandro Vittoria is buried in the church, his tomb marked by a self-portrait
bust.
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Satellite image from Google Maps
