Founded in the 9th century, San Giacomo dall'Orio is one of the oldest churches in Venice. Its present form, a Latin Cross with a central nave, two aisles and a transept.
The church is the result of a rebuilding project initiated in 1225 and of subsequent modifications carried out in the 15th and 16th century. The great charm of this church lies in a sombre and archaic exterior enclosing an ingeniously articulated interior, which is dominated by the warm presence of wooden beams and wooden ceiling. The 1225 re-building work incorporated within the structure Byzantine pieces that had been brought back from the Levant after the IV Crusade - these include the fine green marble column with Ionic capital praised by John Ruskin and Gabriele d'Annunzio. Recent restoration work has revealed all the beauty of the early-15th-century "keel" roof; and within the church you can see a number of masterpieces of Venetian painting - such as Lorenzo Lotto's main altarpiece Virgin and Child with Saints (1546), which is one of the few works by the artist that can still be found in Venice itself. In the Sacristy there is some of Jacopo Palma il Giovane's best work, including the very Titianesque Altarpiece with Father da Ponte (1580-81); while the New Sacristy contains a panelled ceiling decorated with works by Paolo Veronese.
San Giacomo dall'Orio Map
San Giacomo dall'Orio Pictures
