Basilica of Good Health
by Maria Coulson
Title
Basilica of Good Health
Artist
Maria Coulson
Medium
Photograph
Description
Santa Maria della Salute (Saint Mary of Health), commonly known simply as the Salute, is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica located in the Dorsoduro sestiere of the Italian city of Venice. It stands on a narrow finger of land between the Grand Canal and the Bacino di San Marco making the church visible when entering the Piazza San Marco from the water.
In 1630, Venice experienced an unusually devastating outbreak of the plague. As a votive offering for the city's deliverance from the pestilence, the Republic of Venice vowed to build and dedicate a church to Our Lady of Health). The church was designed in the then fashionable baroque style by Baldassare Longhena, Construction began in 1631. Most of the objects of art housed in the church bear references to the Black Death.
Proceeds from the sale of this photograph goes to help orphaned and abandoned children in Colombia South America.
Uploaded
May 2nd, 2014
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