The church of Santa Maria di Nazareth, better known as the church of the Scalzi, Venice

Chiesa di Santa Maria di Nazareth

The church of Santa Maria di Nazareth, better known as the church of the Scalzi, is located in front of the Ponte degli Scalzi.

Image: Didier Descouens, Santa Maria degli Scalzi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Santa Maria degli Scalzi (Venice) – Pulpit
Images: Didier Descouens Santa Maria degli Scalzi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

About the Church

The building began in 1654 – a project by Baldassare Longhena for a small community of Discalced Carmelites. The facade was built by Giuseppe Sardiand between 1672 and 1680 and is typical of a Venetian Late Baroque style.

The interior decoration is the work of various artists, among others to Giovan Battista Tiepolo, who frescoed a chapel and the ceiling. Tiepolo’s ceiling frescoes were destroyed by an Austrian bomb in 1915. The remains of the fragments of Tiepolo’s work are now in the Gallerie dell’Accademia.

The interior is dominated by the abundant use of polychrome marble.

The church underwent a major restoration between 1853 and 1862

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Mystic Garden

Santa Maria degli Scalzi (Venice) – Altar
Images: Didier Descouens Jacopo Antonio Pozzo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Venice’s Hidden Mystic Garden is a secret green haven within the 17th-century convent and offers a rare glimpse into the city’s lesser-known monastic traditions.

The garden has been meticulously restored in recent years to recapture its original splendour.

It’s a contemplative space designed around plants rich in religious and symbolic meaning. Seven distinct sections—framed by fourteen cultivated areas—reflect the spiritual journey outlined by Saint Teresa of Avila, the Carmelite founder.

Among its treasures is a particular variety of lemon balm (Melissa moldavica), still cultivated by the friars to produce Acqua di Melissa, a herbal tonic first distilled in 1710.

From April to October, the Mystic Garden is open for guided visits by appointment.

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Scalzi Information & Opening Times

Scalzi Organ
Images: Didier Descouens Santa Maria degli Scalzi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

	Summer Hours 7am – 1pm / 2.30pm – 6.45pm
	Mass Times Daily: 7.30am, 8.30am, 6pm Holidays: 8am, 9.30am, 11am, 6pm
	Admission Fee: Free
	Walking From Times Ferrovia (Train Station), 2 minutes / Casino, 10 minutes *All times approximate
	Nearest Waterbus Vaporetto Stop Waterbus stop: Ferrovia – 1 min / Piazzale Roma – 5 mins
	Buy Waterbus Tickets View our vaporetto/waterbus timetables here ➤ Buy vaporetto/waterbus tickets ➤
	Google Map Location