Chiesa dei Gesuiti Historical Timeline

Origins

A church stood on this site as early as 1148, financed according to tradition either by a citizen named Pietro or, per the account of Doge Andrea Dandolo, by Cleto Gussoni. By 1154 it had been converted into a hospital for the poor and sick.

Turning points

The Jesuit order, expelled from Venice during a bitter dispute with the Republic between 1606 and 1657, returned once relations were repaired, and purchased the entire site -- church, hospital, and convent -- for 50,000 ducats. Finding the existing buildings unsuited to their needs, they demolished the old church in 1715 and began building an entirely new one.

Influential people

The new church was designed by the architect Domenico Rossi, working within strict guidelines the Jesuits followed under the Council of Trent, and financed by the Manin family, the same Friulian noble house that would later produce Venice's last Doge. It was consecrated in 1728 and completed the following year.

Cultural evolution

Inside, Rossi's design was given an extraordinary decorative treatment: the walls appear to be hung with green-and-white damask curtains, but every fold, tassel, and seam is carved and inlaid marble, a trompe l'oeil so convincing that it remains one of the most talked-about interiors in the city.

Present-day significance

The church still functions as an active parish, holding Titian's Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence and Tintoretto's Assumption of Mary alongside Francesco Fontebasso's 1734 ceiling paintings and twenty works by Palma the Younger in the sacristy.