Venice - Santi Giovanni et Paolo Zanipolo
Next to the Franciscan Church of I Frari, the church of the Mendicant Order of Dominicans, the Zanipolo, is the prime example of Late Gothic ecclesiastical architecture in Venice. The vast brick structure, dating from 1333 to 1390, is sometimes justifiably referred to as the "Pantheon of the Doges". Eleven Doges were buried here in the 15th and 16th centuries.
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Must-see attractions nearby:
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Many of their tombs were designed by Pietro Lombardo, the architect of the Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, and his equally famous son Tullio.
Capilla del Rosario
Formerly decorated with works by Tintoretto and Palma the Younger which were all destroyed in the fire of 1867, the ceiling has paintings by Veronese: "The Adoration of the Magi" (in the Presbytery), "The Assumption of the Virgin (at the front of the chapel), "The Adoration of the Shepherds", "The Annunciation" and "The Nativity" (on the wall by the entrance).
South aisle
The early Renaissance Polyptych, still in its original frame, is by Giovanni Bellini (ca. 1465).
Capilla del Rosario
Formerly decorated with works by Tintoretto and Palma the Younger which were all destroyed in the fire of 1867, the ceiling has paintings by Veronese: "The Adoration of the Magi" (in the Presbytery), "The Assumption of the Virgin (at the front of the chapel), "The Adoration of the Shepherds", "The Annunciation" and "The Nativity" (on the wall by the entrance).
South aisle
The early Renaissance Polyptych, still in its original frame, is by Giovanni Bellini (ca. 1465).
Things to See
High Altar
The High Altarof the Zanipolo is thought to have been designed by Baldassare Longhena in about 1619. Its Baroque design was used as a model for altars in southern Germany and Austria.
South Transept
"St Antonius Pieruzzi giving Alms" is the work of Lorenzo Lotto (St Antonius Pieruzzi was Archbishop of Florence (1480-1556). The stained glass in the window above is from Murano and represents figures from the Bible, the Early Fathers and Dominican Saints.
On the wall next to the Cappella San Domenico is a work by Alvise Vivarini entitled "Bearing the Cross".
On the wall next to the Cappella San Domenico is a work by Alvise Vivarini entitled "Bearing the Cross".
Tombs
Of especial interest in the Zanipolo are the wall-tomb of Doge Andreas Vendramin (d. 1478) on the left side of the sanctuary, the work (1492-95) of Tullio Lombardo, and on the right of the entrance the tomb of Doge Pietro Mocenigo, which Pietro Lombardo created in 1481. Other notable people who are buried in the church are Marco Corner (d. 1368), Michele Morosine (d. 1382), Leonardo Loredan (d. 1521), Jacopo Cavalli (d. 1384), the Venier family (15th-16th century), Pasquale Malipiero (d. 1462), Bertucci Valier (d. 1708), Tommaso Mocenigo (d. 1423), Niccolò Marcello (d.1474), Giovanni Mocenigo (d. 1485) and Alvise I (d. 1577).
