Tradition counts it among the first churches of Venice. What stands today is a seventeenth-century rebuilding that was never finished: of three planned fronts, only the one on the canal was built.
At a glance
The church of San Raffaele Arcangelo, known to Venetians as the Anzolo Rafael, stands in one of the oldest inhabited parts of the city, in western Dorsoduro. Tradition holds that it was one of eight churches founded by Saint Magnus, bishop of Oderzo, in the seventh century. The building you see was rebuilt in the seventeenth century by Francesco Contin, an architect from Lugano, on the Greek-cross plan of the church before it.
Key facts
- Tradition: one of eight churches founded by Saint Magnus of Oderzo, seventh century
- Rebuilt: 1618–1639, by Francesco Contin of Lugano
- Plan: Greek cross, taken from the earlier church
- Facade: only the one facing the rio was built, in 1735, of three planned
- Organ loft: five panels with the story of Tobias, attributed to Gianantonio Guardi or his brother Francesco
- GPS: 45.43244, 12.31899 · Open in Google Maps
History
A church on this site is documented as destroyed by fire in 899 and rebuilt, and again burned and rebuilt in 1106 and 1149. By the early seventeenth century the building was unsafe, and it was rebuilt from the ground between 1618 and 1639 by Francesco Contin. The project was never completed. Of the three facades planned, only the one on the Rio dell’Angelo Raffaele was built, in 1735, and the decoration of the interior went on until the 1740s.
The church takes its name from the archangel Raphael, who in the Book of Tobit guides the young Tobias on his journey. That story is the theme of its most celebrated works: five panels painted on the parapet of the organ loft, attributed to Gianantonio Guardi or to his brother Francesco.
What you see
Seen from the campo, the church is a pale, plastered block with arched windows, and a tall square tower at the corner carrying a clock face and a cupola covered in lead. The main front faces the canal and is oblique to it; most people go in by the side door, which sits better on the walking route through the district.
Nearby
- Chiesa di San Sebastiano — a hundred metres west, Veronese’s church
- San Nicolò dei Mendicoli — one of the oldest churches in the city, a few minutes further west
Sources
- Touring Club Italiano, S. Raffaele Arcangelo: the tradition of Saint Magnus, the 1618–1639 rebuilding by Contin, the single facade of 1735, the Guardi panels
- Chiesa dell’Angelo Raffaele, Italian Wikipedia: the fires of 899, 1106 and 1149, the Greek-cross plan, the side entrance
Find it on the map
See this place and what’s around it →📷 Become a Cultural Heritage Online photographer
Share your photos of places: they stay published under your name as the author. The more they're seen, the more you get noticed — and soon a contest will reward the most appreciated photos.
Log in or sign up free to add a photoIs this page about you?
This page is read by travellers and heritage enthusiasts who find it on Google. Tell us how you are connected to this place and we will take it from there.