The Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, or Basilica of St. Mary of Salvation, is one of the largest churches of Venice, Italy. The Basilica, commonly known as the Salute, stands at the junction between the Grand Canal and the Bacino di San Marco on the Venetian Lagoon, off the Adriatic Sea. The Salute, which has the status of a minor basilica, is part of the parish of the Gesuati.
In October 1630, the Senate decreed that if Venice were delivered from the currently raging plague that had killed about a third of city’s population, then a new church would be built and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Baldassare Longhena, then only 26 years old, was selected to design the new church. The Salute was finally completed in 1681, the year before Longhena's death.
The Salute is a vast, octagonal building built on a platform made of 100,000 wooden piles. It is made of Istrian stone and marmorino, which are bricks covered with marble dust. The Salute is full of Marian symbolism such as the great dome, which represents her crown; the cavernous interior, which represents her womb; and the eight sides, which represent the eight points on her symbolic star.
Works of various master artists adorn the Basilica. The altarpiece of the Baroque high altar, designed by Longhena, is a Byzantine Madonna and Child of the 12th or 13th century. Tintoretto contributed Marriage at Cana in the great sacristy, which also features a self-portrait.
The most represented artist is Titian, who painted St. Mark enthroned with SS Cosmas, Damian, Sebastian and Roch, the altarpiece of the great sacristy, as well as ceiling paintings of David and Goliath, Abraham and Isaac and Cain and Abel. Titian also contributed the eight tondi of the Doctors of the Church and the Evangelists, all located in the great sacristy, and Pentecost, which is situated in the nave.
During the Feast of the Presentation of the Virgin, which is held on November 21 of every year, the city's officials hold a procession from San Marco to the Salute as a thanksgiving for the Venetian people’s deliverance from the plague. The procession involves crossing the Grand Canal on a specially constructed pontoon bridge, or floating bridge. The Festa della Madonna della Salute is still a major event in Venice.
