The Church of S.Pietro in Castello, in Venice
- Palladian Routes
- Sep 21, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: Feb 7
My first project in Venice, and at the time my first church facade.
It wasn't a coincidence.
In the Christian circles of Vicenza everyone knew of my closeness to circles smelling of heresy.
Many of my clients did not hide, or barely hid, the sharing of new ideas coming from beyond the Alps through our business channels.
In Venice everything started again, thanks to Marcantonio and Daniele Barbaro, patriarch of Aquileia "in condominium with the Grimani" (but that's another story), my new protectors and sponsors after the passing of the late Giangiorgio.
It was the patriarchal cathedral of Venice, the one on the Island of San Pietro, the first opportunity to design that happy combination of plans that I had in mind for some time and which will be realized by my students only after my death.
That church became, remaining there until 1807, the cathedral of Venice, the one in which the patriarch resided, until Napoleon moved it to the Basilica of San Marco.
Therefore, here, every year, the rite of the meeting was celebrated between the Doge, who went there to visit him, and the Patriarch with his entire entourage.
Clearly the Doge had to be received upon his arrival by boat, finding the right balance so as not to humiliate the figure of the Patriarch.
And so, a Solomonic, not to say Venetian, compromise solution was found, establishing halfway, where a white stone still shines among the gray pavement, the point where the two met, meeting halfway, the political and spirituality of the State.
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The Church of S.Pietro in Castello is only one of the many reflections of the historical, cultural and artistic heritage that lives and breathes within our Palladian Lands of Beauty.If you wish to truly step inside, here below you’ll find the passage that continues your exploration
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Article updated in 2026
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