Santa Maria Formosa church
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A church for a vision
Santa Maria Formosa church was allegedly built by bishop Saint Magnus in the early times of the foundation of Venice, legend says after he had a vision of Saint Mary as a beautiful woman ordering him to build her church. Formosa meant beautiful in Latin (still spoken by religious and cultivated people in Saint Magnus age), so this meaning is probably to prefer to its Italian translation: "formosa" as "buxom".
A curious particular to remark on Santa Maria Formosa church is the monster face sculpted on the door of the bell tower, believed to protect it agains sevils.
Santa Maria Formosa stays in the centre of its homonym square, between Saint Mark and campo San Giovanni e Paolo.
