Church of Santa Maria Assunta - The Jesuits

Church in Venice

Chiesa Dei Gesuiti (North Exposure) — CC BY-SA 4.0 / Didier Descouens

The church of Santa Maria Assunta, known as I Gesuiti, is a religious building in Venice, northern Italy. It is located in the sestiere of Cannaregio, in Campo dei Gesuiti, not far from the Fondamenta Nuove.

The spectacularly ornate church built by local architect Domenico Rossi was given instructions to dazzle the people of Venice. The brick exterior is conventional while the interior is not, with its tassled, bunched, overlowing drapery of green and white marble.

Bernini’s altar in St Peter’s in Rome was the model for the baldachin over the altar, by Fra Giuseppe Pozzo. The statues above the baldachin are by Giuseppe Torretti, as are the rococo archangels at the corners of the crossing. Titian’s ‘Martyrdom of St Lawrence’ (1558-59), over the first altar on the left side, came from an earlier church on this site, and was one of the first successful night scenes ever to be painted. The earliest mosaic which dates back to the 12th century, is the Madonna and Child rising in the eastern apse above the Apostles, standing on a field of Torcello poppies.

The Church of Santa Maria Assunta - The Jesuits appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Venice!

This website uses affiliate links which may earn a commission at no additional cost to you!