Church of Saint Roch, Renaissance church in San Polo district, Venice, Italy

The Church of Saint Roch faces Campo San Rocco in the San Polo district. Its two-tiered stone facade, built 1765–1769 by Bernardino Maccarucci, has four niches with statues of Venetian saints, a central relief of Saint Roch healing plague victims by Giovanni Morlaiter, and Saint Roch crowning the attic. Inside, a single hall under a vault pierced by large windows holds Tintoretto paintings and Pordenone frescoes in the apse.

The Scuola Grande di San Rocco built the church after deciding in 1489 to settle near the Frari; it was inaugurated in 1494, though the dome was finished only in 1507. Giovanni Scalfarotto radically rebuilt the interior between 1726 and 1732, keeping the old apses and the small dome over the presbytery. Bernardino Maccaruzzi erected the present façade between 1765 and 1769 after a second competition, and the Renaissance portal was remounted on the left side.

The church is dedicated to Saint Roch, whose relics were moved here from Voghera and rest inside; in 1576 he was declared a patron saint of Venice. Every 16 August the Doge made a pilgrimage to the church on his feast day. The Scuola Grande di San Rocco next door, founded in the 15th century to aid citizens during plague, still bears his name.

The church stands in Campo San Rocco in the San Polo district, with its main entrance facing the square and the Scuola Grande opposite. The Renaissance portal and rose window from the earlier building now open onto the left side of the church. The interior is a single hall under a vault pierced by large thermal windows, so the Tintoretto canvases on the nave walls are lit from above.

The relics of Saint Roch were moved here from Voghera, not from Montpellier as tradition held. In 1576 the city declared him a patron saint of Venice, and each 16 August the Doge walked in pilgrimage to this church. The marble Glory of Saint Roch by Giovanni Marchiori is kept inside; the relief above the main door is a bronze copy.