Chiesa di San Zaccaria

San Zaccaria brings together layers of Venetian religious and artistic history, from an early medieval crypt and Gothic chapel to Renaissance works by Antonio Vivarini, Giovanni d'Alemagna and Giovanni Bellini.

Why it matters

The church and former Benedictine convent preserve works from several periods. The crypt, probably dating to the early tenth century, lies beneath the complex, while the Chapel of San Tarasio contains three polyptychs signed and dated 1443 by Antonio Vivarini and Giovanni d'Alemagna. Andrea del Castagno's vault frescoes, signed in 1442, combine Florentine and Venetian artistic traditions. The church also holds Bellini's 1505 altarpiece.

What to notice

The Chapel of San Tarasio preserves its gilded polyptychs and Castagno's frescoes. In the Chapel of Sant'Atanasio, works include Tintoretto's Nativity of the Virgin and paintings by Palma il Giovane. Bellini's sacra conversazione, dated 1505, depicts the Virgin with saints and an angel playing music. An ostrich egg once hung above the throne as a symbol of the Virgin's purity.

Context and history

The Benedictine nunnery was an important institution in medieval Venice. Its church accumulated chapels and artworks before the present nave was rebuilt in the fifteenth century. The crypt and Chapel of San Tarasio preserve parts of the earlier complex. Restoration of the Vivarini and d'Alemagna polyptychs began in 2013 and was completed in 2022; the complex continues to function as a parish church.