On October 22nd 1630, during the terrible plague that struck Venice, the Doge Nicolò Contarini publicly declared that a church would be built in the name of Health (salute) as a vow to end the scourge. A year later, in 1631, the plague was wiped out and the Basilica della Salute was opened in 1687.
Eleven plans for the church were presented and the one designed by Baldassare Longhena was chosen. The design included a huge façade that reminds one of the Palladium, with a wonderful huge door in the center. The façade was lifted with a number of steps to give the church an even greater sense of grandeur. The interior is incredibly charming due to the severe majesty of its size. It has the central area on an octagonal plan. On the sides, there are a corresponding number of arches divided up by columns. There are a number of works of art inside the church too: Pentecost, San Rocco and San Sebastiano, David and Goliath and Cain and Abel by Tiziano; The Marriage of Canaan by Tintoretto and Jonah and Samson by Palma il Giovane.
Eleven plans for the church were presented and the one designed by Baldassare Longhena was chosen. The design included a huge façade that reminds one of the Palladium, with a wonderful huge door in the center. The façade was lifted with a number of steps to give the church an even greater sense of grandeur. The interior is incredibly charming due to the severe majesty of its size. It has the central area on an octagonal plan. On the sides, there are a corresponding number of arches divided up by columns. There are a number of works of art inside the church too: Pentecost, San Rocco and San Sebastiano, David and Goliath and Cain and Abel by Tiziano; The Marriage of Canaan by Tintoretto and Jonah and Samson by Palma il Giovane.
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