San Geremia is a church in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, located in the ''

sestiere A (plural: ) is a subdivision of certain Italian towns and cities. The word is from (‘sixth’), so it is thus used only for towns divided into six districts. The best-known example is the ''sestieri'' of Venice, but Ascoli Piceno, Genoa, Mi ...

'' of Cannaregio. The apse of the church faces the Grand Canal (Venice), between the

Palazzo Labia Palazzo Labia is a baroque palace in Venice, Italy. Built in the 17th–18th century, it is one of the last great palazzi of Venice. Little known outside of Italy, it is most notable for the remarkable frescoed ballroom painted 1746–47 by Giova ...

and the Palazzo Flangini. The edifice is popular as the seat of the cult of

Saint Lucy Lucia of Syracuse (283–304), also called Saint Lucia ( la, Sancta Lucia) better known as Saint Lucy, was a Roman people, Roman Christian martyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, ...

of Syracuse, whose remains are housed inside.

History

The first church was erected here in the 11th century, and was later rebuilt on several occasions. In 1206 it is mentioned to house the remains of St. Magnus of

Oderzo Oderzo ( la, Opitergium; vec, Oderso) is a '' comune'' with a population of 20,003 in the province of Treviso, Veneto, northern Italy. It lies in the heart of the Venetian plain, about to the northeast of Venice. Oderzo is crossed by the Montic ...

(died 670), who had taken refuge in this area from the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the '' History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

Assedio Venezia Chiesa San Geremia (1849)

A first rebuilding was held under doge

Sebastiano Ziani Sebastiano Ziani was Doge of Venice from 1172 to 1178. He was one of the greatest planners of Venice. During his short term as Doge, Ziani divided the city-state into many districts. He realised that the government headquarters were too close ...

, the new church being consecrated in 1292. The current edifice dates from 1753, designed by Carlo Corbellini; the façade is from 1861. The brickwork bell tower (probably dating from the 12th century) has two thin Romanesque

mullioned window A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

s at the base. The church was damaged by Austrian shelling during their successful siege of the city in 1849 during the First Italian War of Independence. On 27 June 1998 there was a fire.

Interior

The interior has rather sober walls. The altar and its presbytery are notable, with two statues of ''St. Peter'' and ''St. Jeremy Apostle'' (1798) by Giovanni Ferrari. The altar background has a monochrome fresco by Agostino Mengozzi Colonna depicting ''Two Angels uphold the Globe''. A work by

Palma the Younger Iacopo Negretti (1548/50 – 14 October 1628), best known as Jacopo or Giacomo Palma il Giovane or simply Palma Giovane ("Young Palma"), was an Italian painter from Venice and a notable exponent of the Venetian school. After Tintoretto's death ...

(''The Virgin at the Incoronation of Venice by St. Magnus'') decorates the fourth altar. The church contains statuary by Giovanni Maria Morlaiter (''Madonna of the Rosary'') and Giovanni Marchiori (''Immaculate Conception''). The church is object of pilgrimages and wide devotion for the presence of the relics of

, which were carried here in 1861 when the nearby church dedicated to her was demolished. In 1955 Angelo Roncalli, future Pope John XXIII and then Patriarch of Venice, had a silver mask put on the saint's face to protect it from dust. The saint's body was stolen on November 7, 1981, but was restored in December of the same year without any ransom. The police discovered the relics outside Venice in a nylon bag on her Feastday, Dec. 13.

Gallery

San Geremia (Venice) view from Grand canal.jpg, Church San Geremia from Grand Canal San Geremia (Venezia) Altar.jpg, Interior San Geremia (Venice) Font.jpg, Font San Geremia (Venice) Left organo.jpg, Left organ San Geremia (Venice) Right organo.jpg, Right organ San Geremia (Venice) Agostino Ugolini- Deposizione di Cristo dalla croce.jpg, ''Deposition'' by Agostino Ugolini San Geremia (Venice) Sebastiano Santi - Cristo crocifisso tra i Ss. Agostino, Lorenzo Giustiniani, Antonio di Padova, e Gaetano da Thiene.jpg, ''Crucifixion with Saints'' by Sebastiano Santi San Geremia (Venice) G.B. Mengardi Sacra Famiglia.jpg, ''Holy family'' by

Giovanni Battista Mengardi Giovanni Battista Mengardi, or Giambattista Mengardi (7 October 1738, in Padua – 28 August 1796, in Venice) was an Italian painter and art restorer. Life and work He had his first art lessons in Padua; continuing in Venice, where he was able to ...

San Geremia (Venice) Francesco Maggiotto Morte di San Giuseppe 1805.jpg, ''Death of St Joseph'' by Francesco Maggiotto San Geremia (Venice) Santa Lucia.jpg, Relics of St. Lucia

External links

Churches of Venice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geremia Roman Catholic churches completed in 1753 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Venice Baroque architecture in Venice