Church of San Sebastiano
The facade of the San Sebastiano by Scarpagnino
The church of San
Sebastiano is located in the Dorsoduro district on the banks of the Rio
di San Sebastiano, approximately one hundred metres from its junction
with the Canale della Giudecca.
The site was formerly occupied by a hospice established in 1393 by Fra'
Angelo, a Corsican friar belonging to the Order of San Girolamo.
An oratory was added to the hospice in 1396. The oratory was enlarged
and transformed into a church between 1455 and 1468.
This church was dedicated to the martyr Saint Sebastian who was the
captain of Emperor Diocletian's bodyguard. Saint Sebastian was sentenced
to death in 287 AD after he became a Christian and refused to abandon
his faith.
Saint Sebastian is commonly depicted tied to a tree and shot through
with arrows.
The architect Antonio Abbondi, better known as Scarpagnino, was
commissioned to redesign the church in 1506. He added a classical facade
which adheres to the strict mathematical principles of early renaissance
architecture.
He also altered the axis so that the church could be entered from the
bridge over the Rio di San Sebastiano which now faces the principal
entrance. The alterations were not completed until 1548.
The church, laid out in the form of a Latin cross, possesses a single
nave which is preceded by an atrium and choir.
The atrium and choir of
the San Sebastiano GNU Free Documentation License, version 1.2 or later
The San Sebastiano is
notable as the former parish church of Paolo Cagliari, otherwise known
as Veronese, who decorated it with 55 paintings between 1555 and his
death in 1588.
The church possesses the most extensive collection of Veronese paintings
ever assembled in a single location. For this reason it has been placed
under the custodianship of CHORUS, a Venetian foundation dedicated to
the conservation and maintenance of exceptional religious monuments.
The ceilings of the sacristy and the nave, chancel, organ panels and
high altar are decorated with richly coloured frescos depicting the
Coronation of the Virgin and the Four Evangelists.
Several friezes also narrate the story of Esther, the Persian Queen who
saved the Jews from persecution. The right wall of the apse is covered
by a fresco illustrating the Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, and the nave
doors depict the Presentation to the Temple.
The Coronation of the Virgin by Veronese, San Sebastiano, Venice
The San Sebastiano is not
an art gallery. The paintings are not disparate works conceived in
isolation, but were planned as one homogeneous display. The artist
cleverly uses the architectural features of the church to create a
harmonious unity.
Veronese is buried in the church. His tomb, which bears his
coat-of-arms, is located near the entrance to the sacristy beneath a
marble effigy of the painter carved by Matteo Cornero.
The church also contains a 16th century altarpiece by Titian depicting
Saint Nicholas, and a spectacular monument to Bishop Livio Podacattaro
by Jacopo Sansovino.
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