San Giovanni e Paolo church

Celebrating Saint John and Paul in Venice

 Saint John and Paul church in Venice, or basilica di San Giovanni e Paolo, is the main Domenican church of Venice.
The terrain was given by the doge Domenico Tiepolo to Dominican friars in 1246, after he had dreamed of a flock of white doves flying over it. It was completed only in 1430; it is also known as the pantheon of doges, as twenty-five of them have been buried there.
In San Giovanni e Paolo church a curious relic is guarded: a urn containing the skin of Venetian hero Marcantonio Bragadin, a general who had fought against Turks and was captured and flayed by them. A luckier general, Bartolomeo Colleoni, has his statue - the only equestrian statue in Venice - just outside the church.

The basilica is located on Campo San Giovanni e Paolo, in Castello neighbourhood. Opening times: 7.30-12-30 and 15.30-19.30.