Venice says Thanks!
Imagine this: a pandemic strikes. Waves of deadly contagion decimate the community. After months of hopes and false alarms, the outbreak finally subsides.
Sound familiar? Actually, I’m talking about Venice, ravaged by over seventy plague epidemics from the 1300s to 1600s.
After the contagion and deaths end, survivors must decide how to cope. Some lament their losses, others celebrate the return to a new normal life, yet others may find ways to prosper from adversity.
What can we learn from Venice’s story?
During or after five distinct episodes of the Plague, Venice’s leaders or private citizens commissioned a new church, either pleading with God to stop an epidemic or thanking God for ending it.
While I don’t advocate bargaining with God, I’m intrigued with the concept of creating something physical to remember significant events. Centuries after these churches were built, they bring to mind the suffering endured by so many, as well as the joy when tragic events ceased, and offer inspiration and beauty to generations of visitors.
Currently, we can’t visit those churches, but we’ll share a view and brief mention of each (from oldest to newest). Enjoy your tour!
By Didier Descouens – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26195762
In 1468, an older building was converted into a church dedicated to Saint Sebastian, who survived martyrdom by the wounds of arrows, but was later clubbed to death. He was one of the chief patrons against plague and pestilence in Europe.
San Giobbe Church, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The Church of San Giobbe was named for the Old Testament Saint Job, due to his many sufferings and hoped-for efficacy against the plague. Construction began in 1450 under architect Antonio Gambello and, after a pause of twenty years, was completed by Pietro Lombardo, with funding from Doge (Leader) Cristoforo Moro. It was finally consecrated in 1493.
Saint Rocco was renowned for being cured miraculously of a plague bubo that he acquired while attending plague patients. In 1485, Venetians stole his body from Montpelier, France, and brought it to the Church of the Brotherhood in Venice. The guild that built the church was overjoyed because they attended to the sick and plague-stricken.
In 1577, at the end of two years of deadly plague, Venice’s Senate and the Doge ordered the construction of a grand new church, Chiesa del Redentore (Redeemer), designed by the Veneto’s premier architect, Andrea Palladio, to thank God for sparing the fortunate two-thirds of its population.
In 1630, Plague struck Venice again. The Doge and the Patriarch vowed to build a church, Santa Maria della Salute, in honor of the Virgin Mary, and asked for her help to end the plague. Within a week, the epidemic was over. Architect Baldassarre Longhena won a competition and designed the church.
To learn more about Venice’s “votive/plague” churches, see:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1900794/
Readers, when the current pandemic finally ends, what will you do to move forward?