Venice: Santa Maria della Salute (detail), about 1740
Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) (Italian, Venice 1697–1768 Venice)
Oil on canvas
A bird’s eye view is to a degree imaginary, even if the scene is real, and this view is taken from high above the Grand Canal and the landing stage at Santa Maria della Salute. The panorama embraces the entrance to the canal in the direction of the “bacino”, with, at the right, the façade and dome of the church, one of the most splendid sights that Venice affords. The Salute church was designed by Baldassare Longhena (1598–1682) and built beginning in 1631, in thanksgiving for the deliverance of the city from the virulent plague of the previous year. Beyond is the façade of the Seminario Patriarcale and further along …
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