The plague in Venice

In 1830 the plague hit again Venice. The terrible epidemic killed around 47.000 people, a third of the population of that time. As it happened before for the Redentore, the disease contributed to art and architecture: this is the case of the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, generally known as the Salute. In 1630 the Doge Nicolò Contarini, turning to the Virgin, promised to build a church in her honour if the plague stopped. The following year the plague defeated and the Serenissima kept its promise: the Basilica was erected on the opposite side of the Canal Grande from Piazza San Marco, near the Punta della Dogana.
The commission of the basilica went to an unknown young, only 26 years old, architect Baldassarre Longhena. He proposed a huge octagonal church that harmoniously mixed aspects of the Venetian Byzantine style with magnificent domes inspired by Piazza San Pietro in Rome. Nowadays the church is considered the highest masterpiece of the Venetian Baroque. It is built on a platform made of 100.000 wooden piles. It is constructed of Istrian stone and bricks covered with marble dust named marmorino.
The interior is extraordinary like the exterior. It is full of symbols that refer to the Virgin. The huge dome represents her crown, the vast interior her womb, the eight sides the eight points on her symbolic star. As promised centuries ago, every year a pontoon bridge from Piazza San Marco is prepared to permits Venetian to reach the church for praying while Godolieri take their oars to be blessed.