Each of Venice’s sestiere has a showstopper church, and San Zanipolo is indisputably Castello’s.
San Zanipolo houses the usual treasure trove of Venetian religious art, but what distinguishes it from all the others is that it doubles as a memorial for Venice's rulers and heroes. Twenty-five doges are interred within its cavernous interior, their monuments as over-the-top as you’d expect.
Architecture
San Zanipolo was built for the Dominicans at around the same time as the great Franciscan I Frari church was being raised in San Polo, bookending the city with two massive Italian-Gothic red-brick basilicas. It doesn't promise much from the outside, with the rough brick above the main portal a hint of a marble facade that was never completed. However, step inside and you're immediately overwhelmed by the vastness of the space, which is large enough to have accommodated virtually the entire population of Castello in the 14th century when building commenced. Your eyes are then drawn past the simple brick walls and the 10 massive columns supporting the roof (cleverly reinforced with a series of crossbeams, necessary due to Venice's swampy ground) to a set of delicate Gothic windows illuminating the altar.
Theft, Fire & What Remains
Napoleon booted out the Dominicans in 1797 and stole some of their best artwork, including Veronese's famous Feast at the House of Levi (now hanging in the Gallerie dell'Accademia). The friars returned in 1810 and continue to run the parish to this day, though their former friary is now part of Venice's city hospital. Further masterpieces were lost in an 1867 fire (thought to be the work of anti-Catholic arsonists) that consumed works by Tintoretto, Titian and Bellini.
Despite that, plenty of extraordinary art remains, including paintings by many of Venice's greats and the sculptures gracing the dozens of funerary monuments. Zanipolo was the site of all the doges' funerals from the mid-15th century onwards, and their lavish tombs provide an overview of the stylistic development of Venetian art.
Circling the Church
Many of the most elaborate monumental sepulchres are towards the back of the basilica. Starting from the right, look for the 15th-century monument to Pietro Mocenigo by Pietro Lombardo on the rear wall, an elaborate multi-level structure with a central sarcophagus supported by figures representing the three ages of man.
Progressing up the nave, the second altar on the right contains Giovanni Bellini's strikingly vivid Saint Vincent Ferrer Altarpiece (1464), featuring the Dominican saint flanked by muscular depictions of St Christopher and St Sebastian – the artist was buried in this church. Further along this aisle, in its own chapel, is an ancient Byzantine icon known as Madonna della Pace (Our Lady of Peace), a popular object of devotion during the World Wars.
Turn into the right transept where a vibrant vision awaits – an extraordinary and extremely rare set of 15th-century stained-glass windows produced in Murano to drawings by Bartolomeo Vivarini.
There's plenty to see in the sanctuary, including some of the oldest tombs, such as the Gothic monument to Michele Morosini.
Skip over to the remarkable Cappella del Rosario, where a conveniently placed mirror allows you to peruse Paolo Veronese's ceiling paintings without straining your neck. There's another Veronese tucked behind the altar.
Back in the nave, stop to admire the tender San Giuseppe (1640) by Guido Reni, showing St Joseph and the baby Jesus exchanging adoring looks.
