The church of San Giobbe is a Catholic place of worship in Venice. It is located in the Cannaregio district overlooking the square of the same name, known as Sant'Agiopo in Venice, on the left bank of the Cannaregio canal at the height of the Tre Archi bridge. The church is part of the Chorus Venezia association.
Foundation and Early History (14th Century)
The origins of San
Giobbe trace back to 1378, when Venetian priest and nobleman Giovanni
Contarini established a charitable hospice for the poor on his property
in Cannaregio, accompanied by a small oratory dedicated to Saint Job,
the biblical prophet known for enduring suffering and often invoked as a
patron against poverty and disease. This foundation reflected the era's
emphasis on Christian charity amid Venice's social challenges. After
Contarini's death, his daughter Lucia completed the project, and the
site was entrusted to the Friars Minor Observant (a branch of the
Franciscan order), who expanded it into a Gothic-style church and
convent. The oratory served as a focal point for devotion, particularly
during times of hardship, aligning with Venice's tradition of building
religious structures in response to crises like plagues.
In the early
15th century, the church gained prominence through the preaching of
Saint Bernardino of Siena, a Franciscan friar whose sermons in Venice
around 1423–1443 emphasized piety and reform. Bernardino's influence led
to the decision to replace the modest oratory with a grander structure,
marking the transition from Gothic to Renaissance styles. This period
also saw the church's role in community welfare, as the adjacent hospice
continued to aid the impoverished.
Construction and Architectural
Development (15th Century)
Construction of the current church began
in 1450 under architect Antonio Gambello, who laid the foundations in a
Renaissance style, making San Giobbe one of five votive churches erected
in Venice following a plague outbreak. Work paused after initial
progress, resuming in 1470 under the direction of Pietro Lombardo, a
prominent Lombard sculptor and architect. Lombardo completed the
building, designing key elements such as the triumphal arch in the
presbytery (adorned with sculptures of the Annunciation), the main
portal, and much of the interior decoration, including the cupola with
depictions of the Four Evangelists. Tuscan influences are evident,
particularly in the Martini Chapel (built 1471–1476 for the wealthy
Martini family of silk merchants), which features a glazed terracotta
dome attributed to Luca della Robbia, depicting the Eternal Father
surrounded by the Four Evangelists in majolica.
The chapel, dedicated
to Saint John the Baptist, exemplifies early Renaissance ornamentation
in Venice.
The church was consecrated on April 19, 1493, with a dual
dedication to Saints Job and Bernardino, honoring the latter's role in
its development. This reconstruction was funded significantly by Doge
Cristoforo Moro, a humanist and patron who donated 10,000 ducats in 1471
(shortly before his death) and was buried in the church under a grave
slab in the presbytery floor. Moro's support underscored the
intertwining of political patronage and religious architecture in
Renaissance Venice. The structure's flat right wall and overall design
reflect practical adaptations to the site's constraints, while the
18th-century organ (likely by Gaetano Callido) and panelled sacristy
ceiling (painted with Prophets and Saints from the Old Testament around
1500) represent later additions.
Key Figures and Patrons
Giovanni Contarini: Founder of the 1378 hospice and oratory; his
charitable vision laid the groundwork.
Lucia Contarini: Completed her
father's project, ensuring the site's continuity.
Saint Bernardino of
Siena: His preaching inspired the church's expansion and dual
dedication.
Doge Cristoforo Moro: Major financial backer (1471
donation); buried in the church, symbolizing state-church ties.
Antonio Gambello and Pietro Lombardo: Architects responsible for the
Renaissance rebuild.
Luca della Robbia: Creator of the Martini
Chapel's terracotta dome.
Other patrons included the Martini family
and later figures like French ambassador René de Voyer de Paulmy
d'Argenson (tomb sculpted by Claude Perreau and Thomas Blanchet in the
17th century).
These individuals highlight San Giobbe's evolution
from a humble charitable site to a monument of Renaissance patronage.
Notable Artworks and Their Significance
San Giobbe was enriched
with masterpieces during the 15th and 16th centuries, many by leading
Venetian artists. The Contarini Chapel (corresponding to the original
14th-century oratory) houses Girolamo Savoldo's Nativity of Christ (c.
1540), a luminous depiction emphasizing divine light. The sacristy
features Antonio Vivarini's triptych The Annunciation with Saints
Anthony of Padua and Archangel Michael (c. 1440–1484), showcasing early
Renaissance naturalism.
The church's most famous artwork, Giovanni
Bellini's San Giobbe Altarpiece (c. 1487, originally for the altar of
Saint Job), now in the Gallerie dell'Accademia, is a monumental sacra
conversazione depicting the Virgin Mary enthroned with the Christ Child,
flanked by saints including Job, Sebastian, Francis, John the Baptist,
Dominic, and Louis of Toulouse.
Painted amid the 1485 plague, it
features plague saints like Job and Sebastian petitioning the Virgin,
blending devotional intercession with Eucharistic themes. The
altarpiece's illusionistic architecture (golden semi-dome, columns)
creates a seamless extension of the church space, inviting viewer
participation—Saint Francis gestures outward, and music-making angels
evoke harmony. Its significance extends to Venetian state ideology,
symbolizing the Republic's divine protection and harmony (the "Myth of
Venice"), influenced by Byzantine and Roman traditions. As a funerary
ensemble, it likely included the donor's tomb, emphasizing personal
salvation.
Other relocated works include Vittore Carpaccio's
Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (1510) and Marco Basaiti's pieces,
now also at the Accademia. Remaining artworks include those by Bonifacio
de' Pitati, Andrea Previtali, Paris Bordone, and Antonio Vivarini,
contributing to the church's reputation as a Renaissance art treasury.
Historical Events and Cultural Importance
San Giobbe's history is
tied to Venice's plague responses: founded amid social welfare needs,
rebuilt after outbreaks, and featuring art invoking protection (e.g.,
Bellini's altarpiece during the 1485 epidemic). It served as a
Franciscan hub, reflecting the Observant friars' emphasis on poverty and
devotion. Culturally, it pioneered Renaissance architecture in Venice,
influencing later structures, and embodied the city's blend of faith,
art, and politics—visuals propagated state myths of virtue and
endurance. The church's role in healing narratives persists, as seen in
analyses of its art offering spiritual comfort during crises.
Current Status
Today, San Giobbe is part of the Chorus Association
for Venetian churches, open to visitors for its architectural and
artistic heritage. While some masterpieces are in museums, it retains
significant works and remains an active parish church, preserving its
Renaissance legacy amid Venice's historic fabric.
The convent originally extended up to the Rio della Crea and had,
since 1500, land cultivated with vineyards.
By decree dated 23
April 1810, the Franciscan assets were confiscated by the Royal State
property and from 28 October 1810 the area became the seat of the
Imperial Royal Botanical Garden of Venice for use by the Imperial Royal
Liceo Convitto di Santa Caterina entrusted to the chemist professor
Francesco Duprè . Much of the convent was demolished in 1812. In 1815
the garden was entrusted to the Bavarian gardener Giuseppe Ruchinger.
1887 was the turning point for this area adjacent to the former
convent because, at the request of the Italian Government, the botanical
garden was sold to the Berliner Maschinenbau for the construction of a
torpedo factory which operated only until 1901. It was a feat industrial
of strategic importance so much so that on May 3, 1887, the first stone
of the torpedo factory was laid by the royal family of Italy: Umberto I
of Savoy and his wife Margherita of Savoy.
From 1902 the area of
the former torpedo factory was purchased by an electricity company of
the future Cellina Sade group. Throughout the 20th century, with
modifications and adaptations, the complex remained operational with
production activities (a thermoelectric plant) and distribution of
electricity (coming from the Malnisio Montereale Valcellina plant) and
from the specialist technical units of the Sade group (as recalled by
the inscription in marble above the entrance obtained from the wall in
the small square facing the church) and by Enel with its Measurements
and Testing Service.
The two architects Antonio Gambello and Lorenzo di Gian Francesco
were the authors of this structure. The bell tower was finished in 1464
with the belfry opened by elegant Gothic mullioned windows in Istrian
stone.
To embellish the interior, the great sculptor Pietro
Lombardo was called.
His is also the entrance portal full of
Christian allegories that reproduce the apotheosis of the Franciscan
spirit. From the jambs you can see decorations that, starting from the
bottom, change from thorny tufts to flowers and fruits, surrounded by
feeding animals. All Christian allegories: up to the eagle, the biblical
symbol of rebirth and resurrection. Inside the lunette is the bas-relief
with Saints Francis and Job receiving glories and sufferings from
heaven. On the top of the arch that encloses it and on the sides of the
arch were the statues of three sublime saints of the Franciscan order:
San Bernardino of Siena, San Ludovico of Tolosa (known as Sant'Alvise in
Venice) and Sant'Antonio of Padua.
Inside a single nave, an
asymmetry can be seen: the left wall is full of chapels while the right
side is linear with four altars. This is because on the right side the
church rested on the pre-existing convent.
The altars are, in
order:
Altar of the Foscari family, with the painting San Pietro
d'Alcantara and other saints by Antonio Zucchi, 1750
Altar dedicated
to Saint Job, with the painting by Lattanzio Querena Theophany of Saint
Job, 1822
Altar of the Sanudo family by Bonifacio de' Pitati Virgin
and Child in glory with other saints, 1543
Altar of the Confraternity
of gondoliers and boatmen of the Marghera ferry, with the work of Paris
Bordon Saints Andrew, Peter and Nicholas of Bari, 1565
There are
five chapels:
chapel of San Luca, or by Pietro Grimani, with a work
by Tullio Lombardo: San Luca between two angels;
chapel of Giovanni
Martini, Tuscan family, the ceiling entirely covered with ceramic
decorations with four roundels of the Evangelists at the corners and the
Redeemer among the angels in the center is the work of the della Robbias
chapel of the Cendon family, presents a Via Crucis by Antonio Zucchi;
chapel of the Foscari family, presents a painting from 1696 depicting
St. Anthony of Padua;
sepulchral chapel of the Novara merchant
Bernardino Testa 1548, also known as San Diego due to the devotional
school present 1610
Several Venetian patricians are buried in
this church: on the sides of the presbytery Francesco Marin, 1502, and
on the right Pietro Corner, 1586; at the foot of the altar dedicated to
San Bernardino of Siena, we also find the tomb of Cardinal Marco Antonio
Da Mula, 1570, work of the workshop of Alessandro Vittoria. In front of
the altar, in the middle of the main chapel, under a seal, the doge
Cristoforo Moro (1390-1471) is buried, who in his will expressed the
desire that the church itself be called, from that moment on, San Giobbe
and San Bernardino in devotion to the Sienese saint.
After the
second altar there is a funeral monument dedicated to René de Voyer de
Paulmy d'Argenson, ambassador of Louis XIV of France in Venice.
The presbytery is preceded by a triumphal arch, surrounded by statues of
the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin of the Annunciation. It is
perfectly square in shape and four columns can be seen on the sides.
Overlooking the whole is a semi-dome with the statues of the four
evangelists, attributed to Pietro Lombardo.
The sacristy houses
the oil on panel painting by Andrea Previtali Madonna and Child with
Saints John the Baptist and Catherine of Alexandria executed in 1504.