This Roman Catholic church was ordered to be built by the Senate of Venice in October of 1630, as a votive offering because of the the plague that had spread over the whole city, killing almost a third of the Population.
It was designed by the artist called Baldassare Longhena. Competition was held to choose the architect who would design the church, and he was the winner of the competition.
In a memorandum he wrote:
"Firstly, it is a virgin work, never before seen, curious, worthy and beautiful, made in the form of a round monument that has never been seen, nor ever before invented, neither altogether, nor in part, in other churches in this most serene city, just as my competitor (il Fracao) has done for his own advantage, being poor in invention."
The work was finished in 1681, a year after the architect had died, becoming the cities one of the most beloved monuments, and inspiring many paintings and artworks
The photo by: Murray Foubister / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)
