Church of San Zaccaria
Two architects, two centuries, one facade that switched styles halfway up — and somehow works.
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Built between 1458 and 1515, the church shows the exact moment Venice moved from Gothic to Renaissance. Antonio Gambello started it in Gothic; Mauro Codussi took over and pushed the upper facade into early Renaissance arched windows and columns. Below it all, doge remains lie in the crypt, and the body of Saint Zechariah rests under the second altar on the right — a 9th-century gift from a Byzantine emperor.
What to look for
- The facade itself: Gambello's Gothic stonework in the lower half gives way to Codussi's Renaissance arched windows above — the join is visible and deliberate
- The second altar on the right, where the remains of Saint Zechariah have been kept since the early 9th century
- The crypt, where several doges of Venice are buried
In Campo San Zaccaria, a short walk southeast of Piazza San Marco along the waterfront — easy to pair with the Riva degli Schiavoni.
Church of San Zaccaria is one of 38 sights worth the detour in Venice, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Venice pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Venice
- St Mark's BasilicaThe Doge's private chapel turned war-trophy hall — every marble slab and bronze horse was taken from somewhere else.
- Doge's PalaceGovernment offices, a jail, and the Doge's private rooms — all under one Venetian Gothic roof on the lagoon edge.
- Grand CanalVenice's main street is water — a 3.8 km reverse-S where noble families spent fortunes trying to outshine each other in stone and marble.
- Piazza San MarcoNapoleon called it "the drawing room of Europe" — then stripped it of its four horses and shipped them to Paris.
- Rialto BridgePredicted to collapse before it opened, this single-span stone arch has carried Venice's Grand Canal traffic since 1591.
- Bridge of SighsLord Byron named it in the 19th century — condemned men crossing in 1600 took their last look at Venice through stone-barred windows before the cells closed behind them.