San Zaccaria di Venezia
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The Chiesa di San Zaccaria (St Zacharias) is a church in Venice, dedicated to the father of John the Baptist, whose body it supposedly contains. It is a large edifice, located in the quiet Campo San Zaccaria, just off the waterfront to the south east of St. Mark's basilica.
The present church was built in a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance styles between 1444 and 1515. Antonio Gambello was the principal architect, but the facade was completed by Mauro Codussi. The first church on the site was founded by Doge Giustiniano Particiaco in the 9th century and eight doges are buried in the still extant crypt. The original Romanesque church was rebuilt in the 1170s (when the present campanile was built) and was replaced by a Gothic church in the 14th century. The church was attached to a Benedictine monastery, which was visited by the doge annually at Easter in a ceremony which included presentation of the cornu (ducal cap). This tradition was begun after the monks donated land for the extension of the Piazza San Marco in the 12th century.
The interior of the church has an apse surrounded by an ambulatory lit by tall Gothic windows, a typical feature of Northern European church architecture which is unique in Venice. The walls of the aisles are entirely covered with paintings by Tintoretto, Angelo Trevisiani, Giuseppe Salviati, Giovanni Bellini, Antonio Balestra, Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, Palma the Elder and Van Dyck. The artist Alessandro Vittoria is buried in the church, his tomb marked by a self-portrait bust.
