From afar the Baroque top of the facade of the (Jesuit) church of the Gesuiti stands out as something special. The facade was paid for by the powerful Manin family. The family had a palazzo on the Grand Canal. One member of the Manin family would become famous for presiding over the fall of the Venetian Republic some 75 years after this church was built. Ludovico Manin was the last Doge of Venice. It was his ignominious duty to hand over the reigns of power to Napoleon. By tradition the Jesuits had always sought rich and powerful patrons to sponsor the building of their often lavish churches. Gesuiti was about their triumph. The previous church of the Crossbearers dating from the 12th Century was torn down in 1715 to make way for this building. Some of its monuments were reconstructed inside Gesuiti.
|