GIUDECCA

© Christian Riedel - FOTOLIA

Giudecca is a long narrow island shaped like a fishbone located immediately to the south of Venice. It may have been named after the Jews ("guidei") who settled there during the Middle Ages or the condemned nobles (“giudicati”) who were banished there during the ninth century. 

Giudecca has been culturally distinct from Venice for much of its history and many of its inhabitants still prefer to think of themselves as Giudecchini rather than Venetians.

The island once hosted seven monasteries which provided sanctuary to fugitives, including Michelangelo, who stayed on Giudecca after being banished from Florence in 1529.

Giudecca later became popular with many Venetian merchants who kept country retreats on the island.

During the 18th century, a large number of landscaped gardens were planted on the island. Many were hired out for parties which were sometimes so scandalous that the island developed a reputation for drunkenness and orgies.

Giudecca was heavily industrialised in the late 19^th century when its gardens, and all but two of its monasteries, were replaced by narrow streets, back-to-back housing and numerous factories which manufactured a wide range of goods from pianos to fireworks.

Most of these factories have now closed and large parts of Giudecca are shabby and run-down.

Photo by Necrothesp, 15 May 2004. Image published under GNU Free Documentation Licence, Version 1.2.

Giudecca is famous for the grand Palladian churches which dominate the skyline of its northern shore.

The grandest of these churches is the Most Holy Redeemer which was constructed in thanksgiving for  the island's deliverance from the plague which killed approximately one-third of Venice's inhabitants in 1576.

A statue of the Redeemer crowns the huge dome of this church while the main feature of its façade is the arrangement of triangular pediments which  reinforces its classical symmetry. This typically Palladian device was copied throughout Europe during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

The Franciscan friars who commissioned the church requested an inspirational but modest structure; however, the only concession they extracted from Palladio was the substitution of white Istrian stone for marble.

The principal entrance to the church is by a grand stairway overlooked by life-size statues of Saint Mark and Saint Francis. The interior is faced with grey brick and stucco; its long single nave is crossed directly under the cupola.

On the third Sunday in July, a pontoon bridges the narrow stretch of water between Venice's Zattere waterfront and the island of Giudecca so that a religious procession may cross to the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer in commemoration of the city's redemption from the plague.

 Photo by Roger Howard. Image published under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License

Giudecca possesses another spectacular Palladian creation, the Santa Maria della Presentazione, which is also known as the spinster's church (zitelle) since its convent once trained single women in the art of lacemaking.

Giudecca's third church, the Santa Eufenia,  is essentially a medieval creation in the Veneto-Byzantine style; the Doric porch was added in 1597 and the interior was extensively redecorated during the 18^th century. 

The Santa Eufenia possesses two exquisite 15^th century paintings by Bartomoleo Vivarini: the altarpiece depicting San Rocco, and the Angel, Virgin and Child above the altar.

The Rio del Ponte Lungo, which dissects Giudecca's eastern side, provides a useful short-cut between Venice and the Lido. Anyone who stays on the Lido, and takes the vaporetto to the Piazza San Marco will probably travel through Giudecca.

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