A plain brick front on a campo a few steps behind the Riva degli Schiavoni. Antonio Vivaldi was born in this parish, and the city’s plaque on the wall says he was baptised here.
At a glance
San Giovanni Battista in Bragora is the parish church of a small campo in Castello, between the Riva degli Schiavoni and the Arsenale. The church you see is a late-Gothic rebuilding completed in 1505, with a brick front whose three parts follow the three aisles inside. It is best known for two things: Cima da Conegliano’s Baptism of Christ over the high altar, and the baptism of Antonio Vivaldi.
Key facts
- Tradition: founded by Saint Magnus of Oderzo; first written record of a church here in 1090
- Present church: rebuilt 1475–1505 in late-Gothic forms, attributed to Sebastiano Mariani da Lugano
- High altar: Cima da Conegliano, Baptism of Christ, 1492–1494
- Vivaldi: born in the parish on 4 March 1678 and baptised in this church, as the plaque records
- Bell tower: the present low one replaced the old tower, demolished in 1826
- GPS: 45.43434, 12.34699 · Open in Google Maps
History
Tradition makes this one of the eight churches Saint Magnus of Oderzo founded in the first years of the city; the first written record of a church here is a notarial deed of 1090. The building was rebuilt several times, and took its present form in a campaign that lasted thirty years, from 1475 to 1505, at the end of which it was reconsecrated. The name Bragora has never been explained with certainty: the proposals run from the Greek agora to old Venetian words for a market square or for fishing.
Many Venetians were baptised here. The future Pope Paul II, Pietro Barbo, was one. Antonio Vivaldi, born in the parish on 4 March 1678, was another: the Italian Wikipedia notes that the midwife had already baptised him at birth, and that the rites that completed the baptism were performed in this church. The plaque on the wall keeps it simple: venne battezzato in questa chiesa.
What you see
A tall brick front in three parts with curved tops, the centre one higher, a round window and a doorway in white stone; the sides of the campo are closed by ordinary houses. Inside, the Italian Wikipedia records a wooden trussed ceiling and, besides Cima’s Baptism, works by Alvise and Bartolomeo Vivarini and Palma il Giovane.
Nearby
- Venice Arsenal — eighty metres to the east
- Venice Naval Historical Museum — along the Riva, toward San Biagio
Gallery
Sources
- The plaque on the church (photographed by Stefano Vigolo in 2014: see the gallery): ANTONIO VIVALDI DETTO IL PRETE ROSSO MUSICISTA SOMMO NATO IN PARROCCHIA IL 4 MARZO 1678 VENNE BATTEZZATO IN QUESTA CHIESA
- Chiesa di San Giovanni in Bragora, Italian Wikipedia: the tradition of Saint Magnus, the deed of 1090, the rebuilding of 1475–1505, Cima’s altarpiece, the bell tower, Pietro Barbo, the details of Vivaldi’s baptism
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