The church of San Maurizio di Venezia (also known as the Church of Saints Maurizio and his companions martyrs and of Sant'Adriano) is located in the San Marco district, in the square of the same name.
Founded in 699 under the title of San Lazzaro, it was rebuilt with
the new title, and already with the prerogative of parish church, in
1105 after the fire that had completely destroyed it. The old factory
was rebuilt in the 16th century and consecrated in 1590. On this
occasion the orientation was changed with the apse facing east, turning
the façade towards the campo.
Shortly before the old bell tower
had been demolished to make way for the new construction of the
Bellavite palace, the owners of the new home compensated the parish with
an annual contribution to the church.
Subsequently, in 1806, it
was demolished and immediately after from 1807 it was rebuilt,
exemplifying the plan of San Geminiano del Sansovino destined to be
destroyed. The exact attribution of the initial project is debated as
many attribute it to the patrician amateur architect Pietro Antonio
Zaguri, certainly interested in the direction of the works, but soon
replaced by Giannantonio Selva in collaboration with Antonio Diedo (the
latter was responsible for the facade finished after Selva's death) and
the Sansovinian trace of the interior is hardly recognizable. The church
was reopened as a branch of the parish of Santo Stefano in 1817 and
rededicated in 1818.
Among the various small schools that
belonged to the parish, it is worth mentioning the Scuola degli Albanesi
whose building, finished in 1489, stands next to the church.
Now
the deconsecrated church is home to the Music Museum.
The facade of the church is gabled, in neoclassical style, adorned
with a bas-relief in the tympanum and two other rectangular bas-reliefs
by Bartolomeo Ferrari and Luigi Zandomeneghi.
The interior
follows a Greek cross plan, with a central dome surrounded by four blind
domes on the arms. Of the original furnishings, only the altars remain,
presumably designed by Selva, the main one with the small neoclassical
ciborium and adoring angels is valuable among these.
Worth noting
is the sacristy, with eighteenth-century style furniture, furnishings,
stuccoes and paintings.