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Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo

About

Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, often called San Zanipolo in Venetian dialect, is one of the city’s largest and most imposing churches, a monumental symbol of the Dominican order’s influence in Venice. Built between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, the basilica showcases the grandeur of Venetian Gothic architecture with its vast nave, soaring columns, and serene play of light. For centuries it served as the pantheon of the Doges, housing the elaborate tombs of more than twenty Venetian rulers, each reflecting the Republic’s artistic and political power. Inside, visitors encounter masterpieces by Giovanni Bellini, Lotto, and Veronese, alongside dramatic funerary monuments that narrate Venice’s history in marble. The basilica stands beside the equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni, adding to the majesty of its square. Santi Giovanni e Paolo remains a place where art, faith, and civic memory converge in one of Venice’s most atmospheric settings.

Venice Italy
Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo
Location

Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, known locally as San Zanipolo, is located at Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice's Castello sestiere. This vast Gothic church dominates the large square, serving as the pantheon for 25 doges, with its brick facade facing the equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni by Verrocchio. Nearby stand the Scuola Grande di San Marco, now part of the civic hospital, and vaporetto stops at Ospedale on lines 41, 42, 51, and 52, plus easy walks to Rialto Bridge, the Grand Canal, and Basilica di San Marco.​

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