Chiesa di San Simeone profeta, Romanesque church in Santa Croce, Italy
The Chiesa di San Simeone Profeta is a stone church in Venice's Santa Croce district with a neoclassical facade and raised interior floor. The building has a simple exterior that reflects its religious purpose and local architectural traditions.
The church originated in 967 through the efforts of three patrician families and was rebuilt in stone after a fire in 1150. This reconstruction shaped the building you see today.
The name "Grande" distinguishes it from the nearby Santi Simeone e Giuda, which was smaller before its 18th-century rebuilding; after that reconstruction the "Little" church became larger than the "Great" one, yet both names stayed. Inside, look for the 1317 inscription above the recumbent statue traditionally held to be Blessed Simeon, attributed to Marco Romano.
The church stands in the Santa Croce sestiere, with a portico along its left wall and the bell tower to the left of the facade. The floor was raised in the 17th century, so the entrance level differs from the original one found in the 1839 restoration. The facade dates from 1861.
The raised floor was not a design choice: during the 1630 plague an imprudent parish priest buried a plague victim inside the church, and the city authorities ordered a new floor laid over the old one. Traces of the original floor were found during restoration work in 1839.
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