Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo
Venice
Known as San Zanipolo, this basilica is one of the largest churches in Venice, 102 metres long. It holds the tombs of many doges and is called the Pantheon of the Serenissima.
A church born from a dream
According to tradition, in 1234 Doge Jacopo Tiepolo dreamed of a marsh full of flowers. The next day he arranged to give that place to some friars, religious men who live together and preach.
The Gothic church was finished in 1368 and consecrated in 1430. It is 102 metres long and the largest in the city.
The Pantheon of the Serenissima
Inside there are dozens of large funeral monuments. Many are dedicated to doges, from the 1200s to the 1700s: five centuries of the Republic's history. That is why the church is called the Pantheon of the Serenissima, the name of the Venetian Republic.
Two brothers who were painters, among the most famous in Venice, also rest here.
The commander and the Scuola Grande
Bartolomeo Colleoni left the Republic a large sum and asked for a statue in his honour. Venice did not want statues in its main square, so it placed it in this campo.
Next to the church stands the Scuola Grande, home of a confraternity, a charitable brotherhood. On either side of the doorway, two marble reliefs look like deep galleries, but they are almost flat.
