I Gesuiti Church

The church of Santa Maria Assunta, known as I Gesuiti was built in 1715-1728 by Jesuits. Saint Ignatius of Loyola visited the city of Venice for the first time in 1523 to embark on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He returned to I Gesuiti in 1535 with a group of friends, who already called themselves the Society of Jesus (members of which are referred to as Jesuits - Gesuiti in Italian), and here they were ordained as priests.

The layout of the church is typical of Jesuit churches, in the form of a Latin cross with three chapels in the longest wing. The transept and chancel are alongside two other chapels. The six chapels on the sides of the nave are separated by small rooms which were probably once used for confession. Between the second and third chapels stands the remarkable pulpit created by Francesco Bonazza and along the entire corridor there are 'corretti', grates that visitors to the convent could look through.

The nave of the church pales in comparison to the altar, which is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, due to the presence of four pillars which support the cross vault. These pillars were decorated with green and white marble between 1725 and 1731.

The ceiling is adorned with frescoes. In the chancel, Angel musicians in Glory (1720), and on the vaulted ceiling The Triumph of the Name of Jesus (1732), were painted by Ludovico Dorigny. On the ceiling of the nave, Abraham and Three Angels and Vision of St John Evangelist were painted by Francesco Fontebasso in 1734. The chancel is decorated with statues of cherubs, little angels, angels and archangels by Giuseppe Torretti.

The campanile is almost entirely the original that was erected for the church of the Betlemitani, the only addition is the belfry from the eighteenth century.

Address
Ramo Donà 5102, Venice, Italy

Established
1715-1728