Chiesa della Beata Vergine della Salute

At the edge of Piazza delle Erbe, Belluno's church of the Beata Vergine della Salute began in 1628 as the private chapel of the Monte di Pietà. Its interior contains carvings by Andrea Brustolon and painted Passion scenes; the palace façade retains the Monte's stone emblems and Venetian coats of arms.

Why it matters

The Franciscan-inspired Monte di Pietà was founded in December 1502 to lend money to the poor at modest rates. Its headquarters stood on what is now the market square. In the 1620s, the institution obtained permission from the Venetian authorities to build an altar; the resulting chapel has served the city since the seventeenth century and is now in the care of the Capuchin friars. Its small interior includes work by Andrea Brustolon, Belluno's leading Baroque woodcarver.

What to notice

The church contains a carved wooden altarpiece and wooden angels attributed by the municipal portal to Andrea Brustolon. Oil paintings of the Passion and Death of Christ fill the lunettes and semi-lunettes around the vault; they are attributed to Leonardo Ridolfi. The church also preserves a venerated wooden relic. Under the portico, the palace façade combines worked stone from Castellavazzo with the Monte's stone Pietà emblem, the winged lion of Saint Mark and coats of arms of Venetian rectors. Nearby, the fountain bears a statue of Saint Lucano, an ancient protector of the city.

Context and history

The Monte di Pietà grew from the preaching of the Servite friar Elia da Brescia. Its palace began in 1501 and was completed in 1531 on the market square, after the institution moved from its first quarters in the Battuti confraternity's house. The building included a fortified strongroom with an iron-bound door and internal frescoes, fragments of which survive. In 1627 the governors requested Venetian authorisation to build an altar; the church followed in 1628 as the Monte's private chapel. The Capuchins, present in Belluno since the sixteenth century, now have its custodianship.