Chiesa-Pinacoteca della SS.ma Trinità

The Church-Picture Gallery of the Most Holy Trinity in Chioggia combines a Baroque Greek-cross building by Andrea Tirali with a cycle of late-Mannerist paintings.

Why it matters

The church was associated with the Confraternity of the Battuti del Santissimo Crocifisso, known locally as the Rossi for their red habits. Founded in 1528, the confraternity combined religious life with charitable work, including care for plague victims and support for captives. When its earlier church became unsafe, Tirali designed the present building, constructed between 1703 and 1707. The deconsecrated complex now houses the diocesan picture gallery.

What to notice

The plan combines a square base, circular dome and former lantern. Twenty-four large canvases painted in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries cover the ceiling; artists include Paolo Piazza, Alvise Benfatti, Palma il Giovane and Andrea Vicentino. Two entrance canvases by Pietro Damini and Vicentino came from the demolished church of San Nicolò. Sculptures of confraternity members on the facade recall the Battuti's devotional discipline.

Context and history

The complex began as a wooden oratory in 1528 and was replaced in masonry in the 1550s. It was enlarged early in the seventeenth century, and the ceiling was raised in 1691. After the building was declared unsafe, Tirali rebuilt it between 1703 and 1707. The confraternity weakened after Venetian reforms and was suppressed during the French period, dissolving shortly before the Second World War. Restoration completed in 2008, and the diocese now uses the church as a gallery for its collection of religious art.