Venice - Church of the Redeemer Il Redentore

A festival and the church owe their origin to an epidemic of plague in 1576. At that time the Senate vowed to build the church and to celebrate the Feast of the Redemption; the Franciscans undertook the religious obligations. The building of the church began in 1577 and was completed in 1592.

After the dedication of the church the Doge came every year with the chief officials of the state to a thanksgiving service. The Venetians still make a pilgrimage here on the Feast of the Redemption (3rd Sunday in July) to thank the Saviour for the end of the epidemic. A bridge of boats is constructed from Zattere across the Giudecca Canal, over which the procession makes its way to the Church of the Redeemer. In the evening the festival concludes with a magnificent fireworks display and a procession of illuminated boats.

Palladio modeled the interior of the church on his earlier basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, even though it is less ornate. On either side of the nave, the architecture of which is reminiscent of a Roman bath-house, are three semi-circular chapels. The altar reredoses portray scenes from the life of Christ. Of special interest are the "Baptism of Christ" from the workshop of Veronese, and the two altar wings, the "Scourging" and "Transfiguration of Christ" from the school of Tintoretto. Although the Late Baroque altar was not finished until 1680, the bronze Crucifixion group dates from the end of the 16th c. Like the high altar of S. Maria Maggiore it is a work by Girolamo Campagnas (1550-1623). Also notable is a painting of the Madonna by Alvise Vivarini.