San Domenico church, Romanesque church on Isola di San Domenico, Chioggia, Italy
San Domenico is a church on a small island in north-eastern Chioggia, reachable by a bridge over the Canale di San Domenico. The present building, rebuilt from 1745 to 1762 to a design by Pietro Pelli, has a single nave with side chapels. Its 14th-century square bell tower, restored between 1497 and 1503 by Giorgio di Menagio, is 29 metres high and holds three bells named Maria Rosaria, Maria Crocefissa and Maria Domenicana.
A Dominican convent and a Romanesque church dedicated to Saint Dominic were completed on this island in 1291, after the order received the land from the Benedictines in 1287. Both were damaged in the War of Chioggia (1378–1381). The church was rebuilt to a design by Pietro Pelli between 1745 and 1762, and the convent was later used as a barracks.
The church houses a masterwork by Vittore Carpaccio from 1520, the final signed painting of his career. This artwork reflects the spiritual importance this place held for the local community.
The church sits on the small Isola di San Domenico, the north-eastern tip of Chioggia, reached by a bridge over the Canale di San Domenico. The bell tower is 29 metres high, and the interior measures 55 metres long, 25 wide and 21 high. The 1911 cholera documents found in the parish archive in 2011 record the church's closure from 18 July to 17 November that year.
The venerated 14th-century crucifix, carved from a single willow trunk with a red fir cross, was said to have been fished from the water near the island after a shipwreck. Chioggia's fishermen painted miniature copies on their boats. In 1814 part of the facade had to be demolished to carry it out in procession.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,349 contributors worldwide.