Description

Essentials about Il Redentore in brief

Church lovers should also take a look at the rather lesser-known church Il Redentore (The Redeemer) during a visit to Venice. It stands on the island of Giudecca in the south of Venice, from where you enjoy a magnificent view across the canal to Piazza San Marco. Il Redentore, along with Santa Maria della Salute, is one of Venice’s two votive churches, donated by the Venetian city government in gratitude for saving the city from the plague. At the same time, it is also the convent church of the attached Capuchin monastery. However, Il Redentore is best known for the Redentore Festival, which takes place every year at the beginning of July.

The history of Il Redentore

On September 4, 1576, the Senate of Venice vowed to build a church in honor of the Savior if the city was delivered from the plague, which killed about 50,000 people, a quarter of Venice’s population at the time. In the same year Andrea Palladio, the most important upper Italian architect of the Renaissance, who at that time was engaged in the construction of the nearby church of San Giorgio Maggiore, drew up the building plans.

In May 1577, the foundation stone for Il Redentore was laid, and by the summer of that year, the plague had disappeared from Venice. After Palladio’s death in 1580, the construction of the church continued under Antonio da Ponte. In 1592 Il Redentore was finally consecrated.

The façade of Il Redentore

The ascent to Il Redentore is via a 15-step flight of steps, the width of which corresponds to that of the nave and the central dome of the church. The facade of the church is a superimposition of ancient temple fronts, infinitely more complex than the facade of the church of San Giorgio Maggiore, built at a similar time by Palladio. At the end of the 17th century, several sculptures were added to Il Redentore, commissioned by the Capuchins, depicting the Savior with the cross on the dome and Saints Mark and Francis and angels on the pediments.

The interior of Il Redentore

The interior of Il Redentore is a combination of central and longitudinal, which was considered the perfect solution of a church building in the 16th century. The church is an elongated hall with three chapels on each long side. The crossing, which is vaulted by the large dome, is closed by three conches of equal size in plan. This creates the impression of a central building in the crossing with an extended western arm, the nave. The eastern conch is formed by a colonnade that closes the high altar space and at the same time opens the space to the following monks’ choir.

The Festa del Redentore

Every year, on the 3rd Sunday in July, the Festa del Redentore (Festival of the Redeemer) is celebrated in memory of the plague epidemic of 1576. The festival opens with a one-hour fireworks display at midnight on Saturday night. The professionally staged fireworks display is extremely popular among Venetians and tourists alike. For the Festa del Redentore, a special pontoon bridge is built, which makes it possible to cross the Canale della Giudecca from the main island of Venice to the island of Giudecca on dry feet. The Patriarch of Venice also crosses this bridge in a solemn procession to Il Redentore on Giudecca. Another popular part of the Festa del Redentore are the regattas with typical Venetian boats.

Website

de.turismovenezia.it/Chiesa-del-Redentore

Opening hours

Admission fees

Regular: €3

Reduced: €1.50

Address

Getting there

By public transport:

Vaporetto lines 2, 4.1, 4.2, 8 and N: Stop Redentore

By car:

Inaccessible.