Santa Sofia, Venice

About

Santa Sofia is a church located in the sestiere (neighborhood) of Cannaregio in Venice, Italy. It should be distinguished from the palazzo Ca' d'Oro on the Grand Canal is also called the Palazzo Santa Sofia. A wooden church of Sant Sofia in Venice is documented in chronicles from 886 The church dates to initial patronage in the 11th century by the patrician family of the Gussoni.

Construction began in 1020. It appears to have survived the great fire of 1105 in Venice. Major reconstruction took place from 1507 to 1534.

The architect of a late-1600s reconstruction was Antonio Gaspari. With the construction of the Strada Nova in Venice in the 1800s, the church's length was diminished. Under Napoleonic rule, the rites in the church were suppressed.

The church was converted into a warehouse, and the contents were dispersed. Fontana recounts how in 1836 the church was " redeem(ed) from the Israelites into whose hands it had fallen, and cleared of the debris. " In 1836, the church was re-consecrated for Roman Catholic services.

Presently, the ground floor of the facade and bell tower of the church are screened behind a screen of buildings. The interior is less decorated than in the past. Originally...