The Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo is called by Venetians as Church of San Zanipolo and it is one of the largest churches in Venice. The huge Cathedral is home to 25 Venetian Doges’ tombs, representing outstanding works of art, such as the Tomb of Pietro Mocenigo by Pietro Lombardo.
The huge building was designed according to the Italian Gothic style, and completed in the 1430s. As a Dominican church, it is dedicated to John and Paul, not the Biblical Apostles of the same names, but two unknown martyrs of the Early Christian church in Rome, whose names were recorded in the 3rd century but whose legend was known only later on.
The interior contains many funerary monuments and paintings, as well as the Madonna della Pace, a miraculous Byzantine statue located in its own chapel in the south aisle, and a foot of St Catherine of Siena, the church’s chief relic. Highlights of the basilica include the Capella del Rosario with impressive paintings by Paolo Veronese, the baroque high altar.
Donate