29.12.2014 Views

The Rough Guide to Venice and the Veneto

The Rough Guide to Venice and the Veneto

The Rough Guide to Venice and the Veneto

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

dorsoduro Eastern Dorsoduro<br />

|<br />

Santa Maria della Salute<br />

Salute is visible at <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r end, but this preview doesn’t quite prepare you for <strong>the</strong><br />

mountain of white s<strong>to</strong>ne that confronts you when you emerge from <strong>the</strong> tunnel.<br />

In 1630–31 <strong>Venice</strong> was devastated by a plague that exterminated nearly 95,000 of<br />

<strong>the</strong> lagoon’s population – one person in three. In Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 1630 <strong>the</strong> Senate decreed<br />

that a new church would be dedicated <strong>to</strong> Mary if <strong>the</strong> city were saved, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> result<br />

was <strong>the</strong> Salute (daily 9am–noon & 3–6.30pm; closes 5.30pm in winter) – salute<br />

meaning “health” <strong>and</strong> “salvation” – or Santa Maria della Salute, <strong>to</strong> use its full title.<br />

101

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!