The Chiesa di San Moisè (or San Moisè Profeta) is a

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style,

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church in

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

, 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 re ...

History

The church was built initially in the 8th century. It is dedicated to

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

since like the Byzantines, the Venetians often considered

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

prophets as

canonize Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

d saints. It also honors ''Moisè

Venier Venier is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Andrea Venier, castellan of Scutari * Annibale Venier (born 1951), an Italian rower * Anton Venier, Austrian luger *Antonio Venier (c. 1330–1400), Doge of Venice * Cecilia Venier-Baff ...

'', the aristocrat who funded the reconstruction during the 9th century. San Moisè is the parish church of one of the parishes in the Vicariate of San Marco-Castello. The other churches within the parish are Santa Maria Zobenigo, San Fantin,

Santa Croce degli Armeni Santa Croce degli Armeni or Holy Cross Armenian Church is a church in Venice, on Calle dei Armeni, near St Mark's Basilica. It is the national church of the Armenian community in Venice. History The first contacts between Armenian merchants and ...

and the

Basilica of San Marco The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark ( it, Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco), commonly known as St Mark's Basilica ( it, Basilica di San Marco; vec, Baxéłega de San Marco), is the cathedral church of the Catholic Pat ...

itself.

Exterior

The elaborate Baroque facade, dating from 1668, is profusely decorated with sculpture. Some of its sculptures are generally attributed to German artist

Heinrich Meyring Heinrich Meyring/ Heinrich Meiering (1628 – 11 February 1723) was a German sculptor, active mainly in Venice and the Veneto. He is also known as ''Enrico Merengo'' or ''Arrigo Merengo''. Meyring was born in Rheine, Westphalia. He is cons ...

. The architectural design attributed to

Alessandro Tremignon Alessandro Tremignón (or Tremignàn, Tremiglióne; 1635–1711) was an Italian architect from Padua. Work Tremignon was active in Venice. He was influenced by Baldassare Longhèna. Tremignon adapted the High Baroque structural style of Longhen ...

, with patronage by

Vincenzo Fini Vincenzo is an Italian male given name, derived from the Latin name Vincentius (the verb ''vincere'' means to win or to conquer). Notable people with the name include: Art *Vincenzo Amato (born 1966), Italian actor and sculptor *Vincenzo Bella ...

, whose bust is found over the entry door. Statues in public spaces were forbidden in Venice, thus by putting his bust on the facade of a church, he could circumvent this ordinance and display his wealth and his recent addition to the Libro d'Oro or Venetian aristocracy. San Moise (Venice) - Cenotafio di Girolamo Fini , di Heinrich Meyring.jpg, Girolamo Fini's Cenotaph San Moise (Venice) - Cenotafio di Vincenzo Fini (Monument), di Heinrich Meyring.jpg, Monument to Vincenzo Fini San Moise (Venice) - Cenotafio di Vincenzo Fini di Heinrich Meyring.jpg, Vincenzo Fini's Cenotaph

Interior

The interior is dominated by Meyring's huge and mannerist sculptural set piece and

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

, depiction ''Moses at Mount Sinai receiving the Tablets'', created by Tremignon and Meyring. Behind it is a canvas painted by

Michelangelo Morlaiter Michelangelo Morlaiter (Venice, 23 December 1729 – 1806) was an Italian painter, active mainly in Venice. He was one of the founding members and professor of the '' Accademia di Scoltura, Pittura, ed Architettura Civile'' in Venice in 1766. His ...

. It also has a ''Washing of the Feet'' by

Tintoretto Tintoretto ( , , ; born Jacopo Robusti; late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594) was an Italian painter identified with the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized the speed with ...

, and a ''Last Supper'' by

Palma il Giovane 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 altarpiece of the ''Deposition'' (1636) was painted by

Niccolò Roccatagliata Niccolò or Nicola Roccatagliata (1593–1636) was an Italian sculptor, mainly active in Venice. Born in Genoa, he is mainly remembered for his work in the church of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice including bronze statuettes of ''St George'' and ...

in collaboration with Sebastiano.

John Law John Law may refer to: Arts and entertainment *John Law (artist) (born 1958), American artist *John Law (comics), comic-book character created by Will Eisner *John Law (film director), Hong Kong film director * John Law (musician) (born 1961), B ...

, originator of the

Mississippi Scheme The Mississippi Company (french: Compagnie du Mississippi; founded 1684, named the Company of the West from 1717, and the Company of the Indies from 1719) was a corporation holding a business monopoly in French colonies in North America and th ...

, is buried in the church. File:San Moisè (Venice) Interno - General view.jpg, Interior view File:Enrico Merengo Altare di San Moise.jpg, Main Altarpiece with sculpture by Meyring and painting by Morlaiter File:San Moisè (Venice) Interno - Fonte battesimale.jpg, Baptismal font File:San Moisè (Venice) Interno - Organo.jpg, Organ File:San Moisè (Venice) Interno - Mosè colpisce la roccia - Soffitto.jpg, Ceiling File:San Moisè (Venice) Interno - Pietà by Antonio Corradini.jpg, Pietà File:Jacopo tintoretto, lavanda dei piedi, 1580 ca.jpg, Washing the feet and Agony in the Garden of Getsemani (upper left corner) by Tintoretto

References

Sources

* Extracted from Italian Wikipedia. {{DEFAULTSORT:Moise Roman Catholic churches in Venice 9th-century churches in Italy 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy