San Lorenzo is a church building in the

sestiere A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the title of (). Formed a ...

of Castello of

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 ...

, northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The church dates to the 9th century, and became attached to the neighboring

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery. It was rebuilt in 1580-1616 to designs by Simone Sorela. The high altar was partially sculpted by Giovanni Maria da Cannaregio using designs by Girolamo Campagna. The latter sculptor completed the statues of ''Saints Lawrence and Sebastian''.

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

was buried there, per his request on his deathbed. His remains had been in the chapel of St. Sebastian, which was demolished in 1580.Francesco Sansovino e Giustiniano Martinioni on aggiunta di Venetia città nobilissima et singolare descritta in XIIII libri da M. Francesco Sansovino, Venezia, Steffano Curti, 1663, pp. 79-81. Since then there has been no information regarding the whereabouts of his ashes, which are consequently missing. Saint Paul I of Constantinople relics were brought to Venice in 1226. They are currently kept in San Lorenzo.

References

Roman Catholic churches completed in 1616 Lorenzo Venice Lorenzo Baroque architecture in Venice 9th-century establishments in Italy 1616 establishments in Italy {{Veneto-RC-church-stub