San Martino is a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

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 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 ...

History

The church now stands near the

Arsenale The Venetian Arsenal () is a complex of former shipyards and armories clustered together in the city of Venice in northern Italy. Owned by the state, the Arsenal was responsible for the bulk of the Venetian Republic's naval power from the Late ...

, and is officiated by a military chaplain. Initially founded in the 10th century, from 1546 to 1610 it was rebuilt based on a plan by

Jacopo Sansovino Jacopo d'Antonio Sansovino (2 July 1486 – 27 November 1570) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect, best known for his works around the Piazza San Marco in Venice. These are crucial works in the history of Venetian Renaissance arc ...

Description

The facade (1897) was designed by Federico Berchet and Domenico Rupolo. The vault is frescoed with ''Saint Martin in Glory'' 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 ...

, with the

quadratura Illusionistic ceiling painting, which includes the techniques of perspective di sotto in sù and quadratura, is the tradition in Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo art in which ''trompe-l'œil'', perspective tools such as foreshortening, and other ...

painted by Domenico Bruni. The walls portray saints and evangelists by Matteo Zais. A funeral monument (1633) to Doge

Francesco Erizzo Francesco Erizzo (Venice, 18 February 1566 – Venice, 3 January 1646) was the 98th Doge of Venice, reigning from his election on 10 April 1631 until his death fifteen years later. His reign is particularly notable because the last year of his rei ...

was completed by Matteo Carneri. A chapel has a fresco cycle of the ''Glory of the Eucharist'' flanked by ''Sacrifice of Isaac'' and ''Sacrifice of Mechizedek'' on the walls by Fabio Canal. The 15th-century altar by

Tullio Lombardo Tullio Lombardo (c. 1455 – November 17, 1532), also known as Tullio Solari, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor. He was the brother of Antonio Lombardo and son of Pietro Lombardo. The Lombardo family worked together to sculpt famous Catholic ...

was brought here from the church of Santo Sepolcro. The sacristy is frescoed with a ''Last Supper'' (1549) and ''Resurrection'' by Girolamo da Santacroce. The church has a ''Risen Christ'' altarpiece by Santacroce. The sacristy ceiling is frescoed by

Antonio Zanchi Antonio Zanchi (; 6 December 1631 – 12 April 1722) was an Italian painter of the Baroque, active mainly in Venice, but his prolific works can also be seen in Padova, Treviso, Rovigo, Verona, Vicenza, Loreto, Brescia, Milano, and Bergamo, a ...

and Domenico Bruni. The organ was constructed by Pietro Nachini and restored by Gaetano Callido. The first altar on the right has a ''St Cecilia and St Lorenzo Giustiniani'' by Giovanni Segala. The church contains the funereal monument of

Doge Doge, DoGE or DOGE may refer to: Internet culture * Doge (meme), an Internet meme primarily associated with the Shiba Inu dog breed ** Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency named after the meme ** Kabosu (dog), the dog portrayed in the original Doge image ...

designed by Mattia Carnero in 1633. The next altar towards the presbytery contains the canvas of ''Holy Family with St Mark and Bishop Foca'' by Giovanni Laudis. The third altar has a ''Madonna in Sorrow'' 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 ...

, next to ''Three angels with symbols of the passion'' and a ''Deposition'' by the same painter. The

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

was carved by Sebastiano Messenali (1752), and the small altar by

. There are also a ''St John the Evangelist writes the Apocalyptic Gospels'' by

Matteo Ponzone Matteo Ponzone (17th century) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active between 1630 and 1700 mainly in Venice. He was a pupil of Santo Peranda. Several of his works are in the churches and public buildings of Venice, particularly in Sa ...

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martino, San 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Venice Renaissance architecture in Venice Jacopo Sansovino buildings 10th-century establishments in Italy 1610 establishments in the Republic of Venice 1610 establishments in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1610