The church of Santa Maria della Pietà or della Visitazione is a prominent church in the sestiere of Castello 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 ...

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 ...

. It is sited on the ''Riva degli Schiavoni'', a short walk from the

Doge's Palace The Doge's Palace ( it, Palazzo Ducale; vec, Pałaso Dogal) is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme auth ...

History

The present church was built from 1745-1760 adjacent to the site of an earlier church, and adjacent to the orphanage and hospital, the

Ospedale della Pietà The Ospedale della Pietà was a convent, orphanage, and music school in Venice. Like other Venetian ''ospedali'', the Pietà was first established as a hospice for the needy. A group of Venetian nuns, called the Consorelle di Santa Maria dell’Um ...

. The design was by

Giorgio Massari Giorgio Massari (13 October 1687 – 20 December 1766) was an Italian late-Baroque architect from Venice. He designed the Villa Lattes near Treviso in 1715, the church of Santo Spritito in Udine, the church of Santa Maria della Pace 1720–46 in ...

, but its façade remained incomplete, with marble facing rising only a third of the way up the columns. In 1906, it was completed but without the originally projected three statues on the roof. Only a single simple cross ornaments the centre. Above the entrance is a large bas-relief representing ''Charity'' (1800) by Marsili. The interior is oval. The ceilings were frescoed by

Tiepolo Giovanni Battista Tiepolo ( , ; March 5, 1696 – March 27, 1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an import ...

depicting ''Strength and Peace'' and ''Triumph of Faith'', flanked by angelic musicians, while the presbytery was painted by the same artist with the theological Virtues, (1745-1755). Tiepolo was aided by

Jacopo Guarana 225px, ''Allegory of the virtues Mocenigo'', 1787 Jacopo Guarana (October 28, 1720 – April 18, 1808) was a Venetian painter of the late Baroque period who was born in Verona. He was active mainly in Venice and its mainland territories. In ...

, the pupil of

Sebastiano Ricci Sebastiano Ricci (1 August 165915 May 1734) was an Italian painter of the late Baroque school of Venice. About the same age as Piazzetta, and an elder contemporary of Tiepolo, he represents a late version of the vigorous and luminous Cortonesqu ...

who had originally made designs for the frescoes. A chapel by

Giovanni Maria Morlaiter Giovanni Maria Morlaiter (15 February 1699 – 22 February 1781) was an Italian sculptor of the Rococo or late-Baroque, active mainly in his native Venice. Biography Almost all the sculpture in the church of the Gesuati, Venice is the work of M ...

with a precious tabernacle decorated with gilded bronze figures and, at the sides, the Archangels Gabriel and Michael. The altar-piece, representing the Visitation, was begun by

Giambattista Piazzetta Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (also called Giambattista Piazzetta or Giambattista Valentino Piazzetta) (February 13, 1682 or 1683 – April 28, 1754) was an Italian Rococo painter of religious subjects and genre scenes. Biography Piazzetta was ...

and, on his death, finished by his disciple, Giuseppe Angeli. In the choir above the main entrance door there is a painting depicting ''Jesus in Simon’s house'' (1544) by

Alessandro Bonvicino Alessandro Bonvicino (also Buonvicino) (possibly 22 December 1554), more commonly known as Moretto, or in Italian Il Moretto da Brescia (the Moor of Brescia), was an Italian Renaissance painter from Brescia, where he also mostly worked. His ...

, called the Moretto da Brescia. In the side altars there are paintings by Maggiotto, Giuseppe Angeli, and Angelo Marinetti.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria della Pieta, Venice Roman Catholic churches in Venice 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy