| San Zaccaria | |
|---|---|
 Facade of the church | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Catholic Church |
| Province | Venice |
| Location | |
| Location | Venice, Italy |
  Shown within Venice Show map of Venice San Zaccaria, Venice (Italy) Show map of Italy | |
| Coordinates | 45°26′05″N12°20′36″E / 45.43472°N 12.34333°E /45.43472; 12.34333 |
| Architecture | |
| Completed | 15th-century |
TheChurch of San Zaccaria is a 15th-century formermonastic church in centralVenice. It is a large edifice located in the Campo San Zaccaria, just off the waterfront to the southeast ofPiazza San Marco andSt Mark's Basilica. It is dedicated toZechariah, father of John the Baptist and was built by theRepublic of Venice.
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The first church on the site was founded byDoge of Venice,Giustiniano Participazio, in the early 9th century to house the body of the saint to which it isdedicated, a gift of the Byzantine EmperorLeo V the Armenian, which it contains under the second altar on the right. The remains of various doges are buried in thecrypt of the church. The original church was rebuilt in the 1170s (when the presentcampanile was built) and was replaced by a Gothic church in the 15th century. The remains of this building still stand, as the present church was built beside and not over it.
The present church was built between 1458 and 1515. Antonio Gambello was the original architect, who started the building in the Gothic style. Many years later,Mauro Codussi completed the upper part of the facade, with its arched windows and columns, and the upper parts of the interior in early Renaissance style. The facade is a harmonious Venetian mixture of late Gothic and Renaissance styles.
The church was initially attached to aBenedictinemonastery ofnun, which was also founded by Participazio and various other doges of the family. The nuns of this monastery mostly came from prominent noble families in the city and had a reputation for laxness in their observance of the monastic enclosure. Theabbess was usually related to the doge.
In 855,Pope Benedict III took refuge in the monastery while fleeing the violence ofAnastasius Bibliothecarius, whose election as Pope his supporters had challenged. Out of gratitude, Benedict III gave the nuns an extensive collection ofrelics, which was the foundation of a comprehensive collection for which the monastery was famed. Among these were those ofAthanasius of Alexandria and a piece of theTrue Cross.
In 1105, a devastating fire destroyed the entire monastic complex. According to chronicles of the time, some one hundred nuns who had taken refuge in the monastery's cellars died from smoke inhalation.
Under the direction ofEnrico Dandolo, the convent wasreformed into a Cluniac house.[1]
The monastery had the tradition of being visited by the doge and his entire court annually atEaster in a ceremony which included the presentation of thecorno ducale, the insignia of his office. This tradition is said to have begun in the 12th century after the nuns had donated land for the building of a ducal chapel, nowSt Mark's Basilica, and ended only in 1797, at the end of theRepublic, when the monastery was suppressed by the invading forces of Napoleon's army.
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The interior of the church has anapse surrounded by anambulatory lit by tall Gothic windows, a typical feature of Northern European church architecture which is unique in Venice. Nearly every wall is covered with paintings by 17th and 18th-century artists. The church houses one of the most famous works byGiovanni Bellini, theSan Zaccaria Altarpiece. The walls of the aisles and the chapels host paintings by other artists includingAndrea del Castagno,Palma Vecchio,Tintoretto,Giuseppe Porta,Palma il Giovane,Antonio Vassilacchi,Anthony van Dyck,Andrea Celesti,Antonio Zanchi,Antonio Balestra,Angelo Trevisani andGiovanni Domenico Tiepolo.
The artistAlessandro Vittoria is buried in the church, his tomb marked by a self-portraitbust.
The church organ was built byGaetano Callido in 1790.
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