The ' (Church of the Holy Apostles of Christ), commonly called ', is a 7th-century

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 Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

located in the

Cannaregio Cannaregio () is the northernmost of the six historic ''sestieri of Venice''. It is the second largest ''sestiere'' by land area and the largest by population, with 13,169 people . Isola di San Michele, the historic cemetery island, is associate ...

' of the Italian city 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 ...

. It is one of the oldest churches in the city and has undergone numerous changes since its foundation. The present building is the result of a major reconstruction project which was undertaken in 1575. The church is notable particularly for the Cornaro Chapel, an important example of Early Renaissance architecture, added by

Mauro Codussi Mauro Codussi (1440–1504) was an Italian architect of the early-Renaissance, active mostly in Venice. The name is also rendered as ''Coducci''. He was one of the first to bring the classical style of the early renaissance to Venice to replace th ...

during the 1490s. The chapel is the burial place of several members of the powerful Cornaro family (). The church houses several works of art including pieces by Giambattista Tiepolo and

Paolo Veronese Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , ; ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as ''The Wedding at Cana (Veronese), The Wedding ...

History

In the 7th century

was not yet a city, but a collection of small communities scattered throughout the

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

. St Magnus (), the Bishop of

Oderzo Oderzo (; ) is a ''comune'', with a population of 20,003, in the province of Treviso, in the Italian region of Veneto. It lies in the heart of the Venetian plain, about to the northeast of Venice. Oderzo is crossed by the Monticano river, a tri ...

, came to the lagoon and founded eight churches.Giordano, ''Venice Described'', p. 85 According to a legend recounted by the historian Flaminio Cornaro, St Magnus had a vision of the

Twelve Apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...

who commanded him to build a church on a site where he saw twelve cranes. This location, eventually to be in the ' of Cannaregio, became the site of the church of San Apostoli. The church stands on the ' at the beginning of the ' (New Road). During the 1490s the ', built as a burial place for the wealthy Venetian Cornaro family, was added to the church.Biucchi, ''Venice: An Architectural Guide'', p. 2.22 It is considered one of the most important Early Renaissance chapels in Venice. It is unknown exactly who designed the chapel, although it is most often attributed to the architect

. At the same time a porch was added to the front of the church and a sacristy was built. These alterations were also overseen by Codussi. In the middle of the 16th century the church briefly housed the Catecumeni, a Venetian fraternity for those wishing to convert to Christianity, before they established a permanent home at San Gregorio in 1571. Shortly after this, in 1575, the church was completely rebuilt. Only parts of the earlier structure were retained, including some

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

s and the Cornaro Chapel. During the early 18th century, Andrea Tirali added detailing, including the onion dome, to the campanile which itself had been a late 17th-century addition.

Interior

The church retains its 16th century layout: a single nave supported by two rows of columns. One chapel has the funeral monument of Count Giuseppe Mangilli, designed by Luigi Trezza with bust by Angelo Pizzi. The main altarpiece is a ''Custodian Angel'' by

Bernardo Strozzi Bernardo Strozzi, named il Cappuccino and il Prete Genovese (c. 1581 – 2 August 1644), was an Italian Baroque painter and engraver. A canvas and fresco artist, his wide subject range included History painting, history, Allegory, allegorica ...

Cornaro Chapel

The chapel is the burial place of several members of the Cornaro family, including Giorgio Cornaro and his sister

Catherine Cornaro Catherine Cornaro (; or ; ; 25 November 1454 – 10 July 1510) was the last monarch of the Kingdom of Cyprus, also holding the titles of Queen of Jerusalem and Queen of Armenia. She became queen consort of Cyprus by marriage to James II of ...

the Queen of

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

(since removed to the church of San Salvadore elsewhere in Venice), The charitable organisation Save Venice funded the restoration of the chapel, including the relief carvings. The main altar of this chapel was the ''Last Communion of St Lucy'' (1747–48) by Tiepolo. Santi Apostoli (interno).jpg, Santi Apostoli (Venice) Font.jpg, Santi Apostoli (Venice) organo.jpg, Santi Apostoli (Venice) - Statue Stoup of St.Peter by Heinrich Meyring 1701.jpg, St Peter ( Heinrich Meyring) Santi Apostoli (Venice) - Statue Stoup of John the Baptist by Giacomo Piazzetta.jpg, John the Baptist (Giacomo Piazzetta)

Art

The church contains a number of paintings, including: *

, ''Gathering of Manna'', 1580–85.Nichols, ''Tintoretto'', p. 236 * Giovanni Contarini, ''Birth of the Virgin'', 1599 * Cesare da Conegliano, ''Last Supper'', 1583 * Fabio Canal, ''Communion of the Apostles and Exaltation of the Eucharist'', 17th century * Sebastiano Santi, ''Christ between the Apostles'', 1828 Comunione di santa Lucia - Giambattista Tiepolo.jpg, Last Communion of St Lucy ( Giambattista Tiepolo) Santi Apostoli (Venice) - La nascita della Vergine (1599) Giovanni Contarini.jpg, Birth of the Virgin, 1599 ( Giovanni Contarini) Santi Apostoli (Venice) - Cristo fra gli Apostoli Sebastiano Santi 1828.jpg, Christ between the Apostles, 1828 ( Sebastiano Santi) Santi Apostoli (Venice) - La vergine col Bambino, san Giuseppe, san Giovanni Battista e sant'Antonio da Padova (1755) Gaspare Diziani.jpg, The Virgin and Child, St Joseph, St John the Baptist and St Anthony of Padua ( Gaspare Diziani) Santi Apostoli (Venice) - Santa Caterina d'Alessandria, Sant'Antonio Abate, San Girolamo e San Giovanni Nepomuceno Domenico Maggiotto.jpg, St Catherine of Alexandria, St Anthony Abbot, St Jerome and St John of Nepomuk (Domenico Maggiotto) ; Ceiling paintings by Fabio Canale Santi Apostoli Ceiling by Fabio Canale.jpg, Communion of the Apostles and Exaltation of the Eucharist Santi Apostoli (Venice) - Ceilling - St Matthew and the Angel.jpg, St Matthew Santi Apostoli (Venice) - Ceilling - Paintings of Saint Mark.jpg, St Mark Santi Apostoli (Venice) - Ceilling - Painting of Saint Luke.jpg, St Luke Santi Apostoli (Venice) - Ceilling - St john and the eagle.jpg, St John

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * * Italian * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Apostoli Roman Catholic churches in Venice Renaissance architecture in Venice 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy