The church of San Giovanni Battista in Bragora is a Catholic place of
worship in the city of Venice, located in the Castello district.
The church overlooks the square of the same name also named after the
Venetian patriots Bandiera and Moro.
Its foundation dates back to 829. Legend says that San Magno, bishop
of Oderzo, who fled from Opitergium due to the invasion of the Lombards
(639), had in a dream from God himself the order to build eight
churches, two of which are dedicated to San Giovanni Battista and one to
San Zaccaria.
The first written document that speaks of a church
in this area dates back to 1090: it is a notarial deed signed by the
priest Andrea Martinaci, parish priest of the church itself.
It
was rebuilt in the 10th century under the doge of Pietro III Candiano to
house some presumed relics of St. John the Baptist, to whom it is
entitled, and again in 1178.
When Pietro Barbo, succeeding Pius
II, became pope with the name of Paul II in 1464, the church was
restructured according to a late Gothic model, in the form we know
today. The works lasted thirty years, from 1475 to 1505, at the end of
which it was reconsecrated, as shown on the façade, on the architrave of
the entrance door, under the lunette.
As regards the appellative
Bragora, various hypotheses have been formulated, none of which is
confirmed by historical sources. The first wants it to derive from the
Greek agora, or square; another from the Venetian brago, "slime"; the
most probable bring it closer to the archaic terms bragola, "market
square", or bragolar "to fish".
The current form is the result of the last renovation, due to the
architect Sebastiano Mariani da Lugano, dated between 1475 and 1505,
who, while maintaining the basilica layout, created a brick facade with
the usual local late Gothic forms, with the tripartition corresponding
to the aisles; the wooden trussed ceiling is interesting.
Inside
was erected the chapel dedicated to St. John the Almoner (1481), which
houses the precious relics of the saint since 1249, in a gilded chest,
then replaced in 1326 with another more ornate and decent one (Corner,
1758).
A collection of alms, carried out in the first months of
1494, allows a partial reconstruction of the late fifteenth-century
decorative apparatus, 1493-1494, now lost with the exception of the
pediment of the urn with the relief image of the saint, placed on the
left wall of the chapel and Christ Blessing by Alvise Vivarini, now on
the wall of the left aisle. Also by the master Alvise Vivarini, the
Madonna and Child, 1485, and between them Christ and Veronica of the
Venetian school of the sixteenth century.
The whole, in gilded
and polychrome wood, had a rather rich and complex structure. The
carving work had been entrusted to two distinct masters: Alessandro da
Caravaggio was responsible for the structure of the monument with the
altar and the urn, Leonardo Tedesco for the relief with the figure of
the saint, gilded and painted by Leonardo Boldrini. The altar supported
the wooden case containing the body of the saint; the whole was
completed by an antependium and a predella.
The works of Jacopo
Palma il Giovane are worth seeing: the Washing of the Feet (about 1595);
by Giambattista Cima da Conegliano: the Baptism of Christ (1492-1494);
the altarpiece, which is among the oldest in Venetian churches.
The high altar dates back to 1685, is the work of Girolamo Livioni and
houses two large statues of San Giovanni the Almoner and San Giovanni
Battista, by Enrico Merengo (Heinrich Meyring).
To the right of
the presbytery stands a small chapel, once patronage of the Giustinian
family, then of the Morosinis. Next to this, the sacristy, which houses
works by Alvise Vivarini, Christ Risen, and by Giambattista Cima da
Conegliano, Saint Helena and Constantine on either side of the cross
(1501-1503).
Other important works by Bartolomeo Vivarini, the
triptych Sant'Andrea fra i Santi Martino e Girolamo (1478).
A separate story for the bell tower which underwent various
renovations and collapses. The first structure dates back to the 9th
century, and underwent a major renovation between 1475 and 1498, only to
be demolished in 1567 due to the precarious conditions it was in.
Rebuilt in 1568, it appeared long-limbed with a tall, thin cusp. On
April 25, 1708 lightning struck it, damaging it and requiring a
restructuring. In 1826 it was demolished definitively, being replaced by
the current one, lower and with a sail structure.
Many illustrious Venetians were born in the parish of San Giovanni in
Bragora.
In this church, the future Pope Paul II, Pietro Barbo,
and the red priest Antonio Vivaldi (who, to be precise, had already been
baptized by his midwife at the time of his birth: on March 4, 1678, were
baptized in this church exorcisms and imparted the anointings with which
the baptism was ratified).
The sculptor Alessandro Vittoria died
there on 20 May 1608, while Giorgio Massari died there on 6 December
1766, where he still lies. Even the playwright Giacinto Gallina was born
here on July 31, 1852, and died only 45 years later.