Chiesa di San Giacomo

The Church of San Giacomo faces Piazza San Giacomo, the former Mercatonuovo in Udine. Founded in 1401 for the Confraternity of the Furriers, it combines an Istrian-stone Renaissance façade bearing the city’s first public clock with a Baroque interior decorated by Pietro Venier in 1711.

Why it matters

The church helped define the square laid out as the new market in the Campo di giustizia, outside Udine’s early walls. The furriers’ confraternity established its church there under the title of Saint James. The building’s history encompasses the confraternity, Renaissance architecture, Baroque redecoration and its continuing role as a parish church.

What to notice

The white Istrian-stone façade was begun in 1525 to a design by Bernardino Bortolini da Morcote and completed after an interruption by Benedetto degli Asturi. Its clock, with a mechanism by Paolo di Villacco, was inaugurated in March 1542 as Udine’s first public clock. Above the entrance is a Virgin and Child attributed to Giorgio da Carona. Inside, Pietro Venier’s 1711 vault frescoes depict episodes from the life of Saint James. The nearby Cappella delle Anime, built from 1745 to 1748 to Simone Pariotti’s design, has statues by Gaetano Susali. The Chapel of the Suffrage contains Pietro Rotari’s Madonna del Suffragio and statues by Antonio Corradini.

Context and history

A foundation document dated 3 May 1401 authorised the church in Mercatonuovo, replacing the furriers’ earlier meeting place at San Pietro Martire. The confraternity commissioned a wooden altarpiece from Stefano di Settecastelli in 1461; its present location is not established. In 1708 the furriers’ confraternity merged with that of the Corpo di Cristo, forming the parish of San Giacomo. Luca Andrioli directed the 1710 conversion of the Gothic interior to Baroque form. The 1890 organ, designed by Vittorio Franz and built by Beniamino Zanin, was restored and blessed again in July 2025.