The church of Santa Croce degli Armeni is an Armenian-Catholic religious building in the city of Venice, located in the San Marco district, not far from Piazza San Marco.
The church is located inside the buildings that housed the ancient Armenian hospice, which was the main seat of life for the Armenian community of Venice. It is probable that a chapel or small church had been built since the Armenians settled in this building, around the 13th century. However, the first official mention of the church dates back to 1434. Over the centuries, it underwent various expansions and restorations. The first of these dates back to 1469, followed by further interventions between 1510 and 1520. During the seventeenth century the church closed temporarily, and in the second half of the century the community obtained permission from the Procurators of San Marco to completely rebuild it. The works, carried out under the control of the Proto (technician-architect) of the Procurators, proceeded slowly, probably due to the difficulty in finding the necessary resources. The contribution of the rich Armenian merchant Gregorio di Girach Mirman and his son will then be decisive, who donated large sums for the conclusion of the work. In 1688 the church was consecrated, with the dedication to the Holy Cross. Other restoration works date back to the twentieth century, with the reopening for worship in 1982. Today the church is officiated with the Armenian rite by the Mekhitarists of San Lazzaro.
The structure of the church is imperceptible from the outside: it is
a small building set in the buildings that belong to the Sotoportego
degli Armeni. The external elements that signal its presence are reduced
to the entrance and a small belfry surmounted by a spire.
Internal
The interior, in Baroque style, is preceded by a small
vestibule and consists of a contained space with a square plan and has a
dome in the center with a slender lantern.
On the main altar you
can admire the altarpiece Invention of the Cross, by Andrea Celesti. On
the left altar, the Assumption, also by Andrea Celesti (1691).