San Francesco della Vigna

Along with Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, this is one of two Franciscan churches in Venice. The site, originally a vineyard (Vigna), was donated by Marco Ziani in 1253 for construction of the monastery.

The church was designed in sober Renaissance style by Jacopo Sansovino in 1554, the white marble façade however was not based on Sansovino’s designs, but instead was a product of an Andrea Palladio. The British charity Venice in Peril restored Palladio’s facade in the 1990s.

Inside the church, each chapel was sold for 200-350 ducats to aristocratic donors, raising much needed construction funds, granting the rights to place their coat-of-arms in the chapel and to bury their family there. For the right to be buried in the floor of the chancel in front of the high altar, Doge Andrea Gritti paid 1000 ducats.

The chapels house masterpieces that both were made for this church or were moved here mainly in the 19th century from shuttering churches, oratories and monasteries.

Artists paintings include works by Tintoretto, Palma the Younger, Bellini and many more.

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