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Tradition
has it that this church was founded in 639AD
by St Magnus, Bishop of Oderzo -one of the
earliest of eight churches raised in the
lagoon in the 7th century. In the 12th century
it was rebuilt on a Greek cross plan, a
conformation which underlies the remodelling
begun in 1492 by the leading architect of
early Renaissance Venice, Mauro Codussi,
who left it unfinished at his death.
The west façade overlooking the canal
dates from 1542, that over the campo from
1604; both are benefactions of the Cappello
family. The former, reflecting the new Sansovinian
taste, celebrates the services rendered
to the Venetian State by Admiral Vincenzo
Cappello. The inscription above his statue
by Domenico Grazioli mentions the award
of insignia to him by Henry VII of England,
which he visited as captain of the Venetian
fleet.
Though the roof was renewed in 1976, the
disfigurement of the Istrian stone façades
by black incrustations remained; the damage
was compounded by the movement of the gable
stonework owing to the rotting of the metal
cramps. No sooner had Venice in Peril completed
the canal façade in 1995-96 than
the north façade, built of poorer
stone, was revealed to be structurally unsound
for the same reasons; the Fund is now working
on this second façade, and has taken
the opportunity to initiate a comparative
study of Istrian stone-cleaning methods.
Preliminary drawings and analyses have been
carried out by participants in the ICCROM/UNESCO
course on stonework conservation.
DIRECTION OF WORKS: Superintendency for
the Environmental and Architectural Heritage
CONSERVATORS: Consorzio Marciano |
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