San Francesco di Paola is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in Via Garibaldi in the Sestiere of Castello in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, Italy.

History

In 1291, the bishop of Castello, Bartolomeo Querini, endowed the construction of a hospice for the elderly. It was erected on the left shore of the Rio de Castello and flanking this hospital, rises an oratory dedicated to St Bartholomew. In the second half of the 14th century rose a church dedicated to the same saint. In 1588, the church was placed on the

Order of Minims The Order of Minims (; abbreviated OM), known in German-speaking countries as the Paulaner Order (), are a religious order of friars in the Catholic Church, founded by Francis of Paola in fifteenth-century Italy. The order soon spread to France, ...

of San Francesco di Paola, who refurbished, and in 1618 reconsecrated the church to St Francis of Paul. The adjacent monastery was suppressed in 1806, and razed in 1885. An elementary school now stands in its place.

Art and Architecture

The church has a classical facade with two orders and a triangular tympanum. A clock painted at 9:30 AM is on the facade. The interior has a number of canvases, many depicting the miracles of the Saint:''The saint Resuscitates a Child'' (1748) by

Francesco Solimena Francesco Solimena (4 October 1657 – 3 April 1747) was a prolific Italian Baroque painter, one of an established family of painters and draughtsmen. Biography Francesco Solimena was born in Canale di Serino in the province of Avellino. H ...

; ''Exorcism of a Possessed'' (1748) by

Giandomenico Tiepolo Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (August 30, 1727March 3, 1804) was an Italian painter and printmaker in etching. He was the son of artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and elder brother of Lorenzo Baldissera Tiepolo. Life history Domenico was born in Ve ...

;''Virgin, St John the Evangelist and Donors'' by Jacopo Palma il Giovane; ''St Francis resuscitates his disciple Tommaso di Ture, crushed by a tree'' (1746) by Vincenzo Canal. Other works in the church were attributed to Alvise dal Treviso (copy), Marco Zanchi, and Bartolommeo Litterini. The ceiling is painted by

Giovanni Contarini Giovanni Contarini (1549–1605) was an Italian painter of the late Renaissance. History Born in Venice, Contarini was a contemporary of Palma il Giovane. He was a great student of the works of Tintoretto and Titian and is declared to have been ...

with biblical subjects and events in the life of San Francesco of Paola. The presbytery vault frescoes are by Michele Schiavone. The altar had two statues, one of ''St Bartholemew apostle'' by Alvise Catajapiera and the other of ''St Mark evangelist'' by Giorgio Morlaiter. A. Regazzi page 3.

Bibliography

Le chiese di Venezia, Marcello Brusegan; Ed. Newton {{DEFAULTSORT:Francesco di Paola Venice Francesco di Paola Renaissance architecture in Venice 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy