Chiesa di San Giovanni Elemosinario

San Polo & Santa Croce


Hunkering modestly behind T-shirt kiosks is this soaring brick church, built by Scarpagnino after a disastrous fire in 1514 destroyed much of the Rialto area. Cross the threshold to witness flashes of Renaissance genius: Titian's tender St John the Almsgiver (1545) altarpiece and gloriously restored dome frescoes of frolicking angels by Pordenone.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby San Polo & Santa Croce attractions

1. Il Gobbo

0.03 MILES

Rubbed for luck for centuries, this 1541 statue is now protected by an iron railing. Il Gobbo (The Hunchback) served as a podium for official…

2. Fabbriche Nuove

0.05 MILES

Flanking the Grand Canal, this porticoed complex was designed by Jacopo Sansovino in the mid-16th century.

3. Chiesa di San Giacomo di Rialto

0.05 MILES

Steps away from the Rialto Bridge, the most distinctive feature of 12th-century St James' Church is the 15th-century clock set into the facade facing the…

4. Rialto Market

0.07 MILES

Venice’s main market has been whetting appetites for seven centuries, with fruit and vegetable stands abutting the rather more pungent Pescaria. To see it…

5. Pescaria

0.08 MILES

Slinging fresh fish daily for 700 years and still going strong, Venetian fishmongers are more vital to local cuisine than any single chef. Glistening fish…

6. Ponte di Rialto

0.08 MILES

A superb feat of engineering, Antonio da Ponte’s 1592 Istrian stone span took three years and 250,000 gold ducats to construct. Adorned with stone reliefs…

7. Chiesa di San Bartolomeo

0.13 MILES

German traders only had to walk a block from the trading floor of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi to pray for an upswing in the market for their goods. Through…