Description of the attraction
The Church of Il Redentore, dedicated to Christ the Savior, was erected on the embankment of the island of Giudecca in Venice. Its construction was initiated by the Doge Sebastian the Great with the support of the Council of Ten, and the outstanding architect of his time, Andrea Palladio, worked on the project. In 1577, the first stone was laid in the foundation of the church, and the construction itself was completed in 1592. It was immediately decided to consecrate the temple in honor of Christ the Savior - in gratitude to the higher powers for ridding Venice of the terrible plague epidemic, which in 1575-76 claimed about 50 thousand lives. In honor of the same event, the Festa del Redentore is celebrated annually in Venice.
Although the Venice Senate wanted the new church to be square in plan, Palladio designed a one-nave temple with three chapels on each side. Its location on the embankment of the Canal della Giudecca gave the architect the opportunity to create the facade of the church in the image of the Athenian Parthenon and place it on a wide base. 15 steps led to the entrance to the temple, which reminded of the Jerusalem Temple of the Holy Sepulcher, and, in addition, according to the idea of Palladio, symbolized the "gradual ascent of the faithful." At the urgent request of Pope Gregory XIII, immediately after the consecration, Il Redentore was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Capuchin order, and some of the monks settled in a monastery attached to the church.
Today the temple of Il Redentore is considered one of the masterpieces of creativity of the great Andrea Palladio. It is a huge snow-white building topped with a dome with a statue of Christ the Savior. On the façade, a central triangular pediment hangs over the lower, larger one, and this resembles the façade of another creation by Palladio - the Church of San Francesco della Vigna in the Venetian district of Castello. The total height of the temple of Il Redentore is four-fifths of the width, and the width of the central part of the church is five-sixths of its height. Such geometric proportions were characteristic of Palladio.
It is believed that some oriental elements are present in the external appearance of the church, in particular, two bell towers are vaguely similar to minarets. The interior of the temple is amazing - white stucco molding, gray marble and a central nave crowned with a dome create a feeling of majesty and harmony at the same time. On the walls you can see paintings by Francesco Bassano, Carlo Saraceni, Rocco Marconi, Paolo Veronese and Tintoretto. And in the sacristy there is a collection of wax heads of Franciscan monks, made in 1710.
