Santa Maria della Salute
Santa Maria della Salute is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided Venice audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~45 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type religious
- Suggested visit ~45 min
- Venice Venice guide
About Santa Maria della Salute
The great Baroque church that commands the entrance of the Grand Canal was built as an ex-voto offering to the Virgin Mary following the devastating plague of 1630–31, which killed one-third of Venice's population, and rests on 1.2 million wooden piles.
Santa Maria della Salute, Our Lady of Good Health, is the great octagonal Baroque church that anchors the southern tip of the Grand Canal's entrance at the Punta della Dogana. It was commissioned by the Venetian Senate in 1631 as an ex-voto, a gift of thanksgiving, to the Virgin Mary for delivering the city from a plague that had killed 95,000 Venetians, about one-third of the city's population, over the previous year.
The architect, the young Baldassare Longhena, proposed an audacious design: a massive octagonal domed church with a smaller domed chancel attached behind, all raised on an extraordinary foundation of 1,156,650 wooden piles driven into the lagoon floor. The construction took 56 years and was not completed until 1687, five years after Longhena's death. The great volute scrolls (known as orecchioni, or 'big ears') that support the drum of the dome are one of the most distinctive elements of the Venetian skyline.
Each year on 21 November, the Feast of the Salute, Venetians walk across a temporary pontoon bridge to the church to give thanks.
Did you know? Santa Maria della Salute was built on a foundation of 1,156,650 wooden piles driven into the lagoon floor, larch and alder that petrify rather than rot in waterlogged conditions. The piles were driven and topped with stone before a single wall was built.
How long should you spend at Santa Maria della Salute?
Plan about ~45 min at Santa Maria della Salute. That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is Santa Maria della Salute worth visiting?
Santa Maria della Salute is one of the 42 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in Venice, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in Venice
Hear the story of Santa Maria della Salute
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