San Giorgio Maggiore
San Giorgio Maggiore
The Island & the Church of
San Giorgio Maggiore
This church stands on a small island that shares its name.
From its campanile, visitors enjoy superb views of St Mark’s Campanile, the Doge’s Palace, and Santa Maria della Salute.
The church interior is frequently used for temporary exhibitions of contemporary art — Ai Weiwei has exhibited here twice.
What else there is to discover inside the church, you’ll find in the text below.
My Rating:
The Positives:
A lovely half-day trip to the island, especially if you combine a visit to the Church with the Cini Foundation. The view from the Campanile is breathtaking!
The Negatives:
You have to take a boat... But - as we think - this is also positive. ;)
Last Modified: 21.04.2026 | Céline
San Giorgio Maggiore
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The details
at a glance
San Giorgio Maggiore
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What is there
to see?
This relatively small island (490 × 320 metres; 9.98 hectares) is home to around eleven permanent residents — all men, much like on the cemetery island — who look after the site.
The island’s main landmark is the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, together with its campanile, which visitors can ascend for panoramic views.
You will also find the Giorgio Cini Foundation, which encompasses the Vatican Chapels, the labyrinth, and several exhibition spaces used for regular cultural events. Affiliated with the foundation are the Stanze del Vetro (a glass museum with rotating exhibitions) and Le Stanze della Fotografia, an international centre dedicated to photographic research and appreciation. We cover the Cini Foundation in a separate article, but wanted to mention it here for orientation.
As you can see, you can easily spend several hours on the island.
Church of San Giorgio Maggiore
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Two works by Tintoretto
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Campanile & Viewpoint
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A bit of history
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The Church of
San Giorgio Maggiore
Approaching San Giorgio Maggiore is an experience in itself: the broad forecourt, the elegant campanile and the striking façade give the church an undeniably majestic presence.
The Façade
The façade is articulated by four colossal half-columns on high plinths, reflecting the church’s three-aisled interior. These support a classical pediment crowned by a figure of the Risen Christ, flanked by two angels.
Below, on the lower rooflines, stand statues of Saint Mark (left) and Saint Benedict of Nursia (right). The niches between the columns house the church’s patrons, Saint Stephen and Saint George, while the aedicules contain busts of the two doges buried here: Tribuno Memmo (left) and Sebastiano Ziani (right), created by Giulio Angolo del Moro.
The Interior
The church follows a cruciform basilica plan, with a dome over the crossing and a white barrel-vaulted nave. Unlike many Venetian churches, San Giorgio Maggiore is strikingly restrained: the walls are simple, in white and grey render, with decoration limited mainly to the reddish geometric floor tiles.
Take time to admire the exquisite wooden choir stalls, crafted by Gasparo Gatti between 1594 and 1598 for the monastic choir — a highlight of the interior’s otherwise understated design.
Two Works by
Tintoretto
San Giorgio Maggiore holds an impressive group of paintings by Tintoretto, who was closely associated with the Benedictine community. Five of his works are displayed here:
- The Last Supper – Jacopo Tintoretto (Presbytery)
- The Israelites in the Wilderness – Jacopo Tintoretto (Presbytery)
- The Entombment of Christ – Jacopo Tintoretto (Cappella dei Morti)
- The Risen Christ and Saint Andrew with the Morosini Family – Jacopo & Domenico Tintoretto (above the Morosini Altar, left of the sanctuary)
- The Gathering of Manna – Jacopo Tintoretto
The two monumental works flanking the presbytery — The Last Supper and The Israelites in the Wilderness — both allude to the Eucharist.
The Israelites in the Wilderness depicts exhausted, starving men and women slumped on the ground. It illustrates the Old Testament moment when God sends quails and manna to the Israelites fleeing Egypt. In the lower right corner stand Aaron and Moses. Manna, described in the Bible as “bread from heaven”, is shown falling miraculously from above.
Opposite, The Last Supper (1592–94) provides a striking counterpoint. Unlike the traditional frontal arrangement — think of Leonardo’s famous version — Tintoretto adopts an almost aerial viewpoint. The table is pushed to the left, yet Christ remains the spiritual centre. In the foreground, unusually, a woman clears used dishes into a basket while speaking to a man holding out a bowl. This domestic detail brings an unexpected immediacy to the scene.
The painting’s drama is heightened by its brilliant, almost explosive lighting: a lamp overhead bursts into radiance, suggesting the presence of angels, while Christ’s halo glows intensely. Even the woman’s shoulders in the foreground are illuminated with an extraordinary brightness.
Fun Facts
Fun Fact 1:
In 1560, Palladio also built the refectory, the monastery’s dining hall. For this space, Veronese painted The Wedding at Cana in 1563. Unfortunately for Venice, the painting was seized by Napoleon and today hangs in the Louvre.
Fun Fact 2:
Claude Monet visited Venice only once, in 1908, yet created a small series of five paintings of the island and its church. All were completed later in Paris, capturing beautifully the warm, luminous light of the Venetian dusk.
A Wonderful View of Venice
The Campanile
The original bell tower dated back to 1467, but collapsed in 1774 — a fate it shares with St Mark’s Campanile, which also came down centuries later.
The tower was rebuilt in 1791 in a Neoclassical style, harmonising its appearance with its counterpart on St Mark’s Square.
Today, you no longer have to climb ramps as in earlier times: a lift takes visitors straight to the top. The panorama is magnificent. You can see St Mark’s Campanile, the Doge’s Palace, Santa Maria della Salute, and much of the island itself, including the labyrinth, the gardens, and the area where the Vatican Chapels are located.
San Giorgio Maggiore
A bit of History
The church dates back to 982 and was part of a Benedictine monastery. Today, the basilica belongs to the parish of San Zaccaria.
Over the centuries, the monastery gained prominence and housed many relics, including those of Saint Stephen, considered the first Christian martyr, and the tomb of Saint Mark the Evangelist. At one point, it also contained the relics of Saint Lucy, now preserved in the Chiesa dei Santi Geremia e Lucia.
Only two doges are buried here, whereas San Zaccaria holds many more.
During Napoleon’s occupation and the French rule, the monks were forced to flee, and both the church and monastery were plundered and gradually fell into disrepair.
Restoration began in 1951 under the Cini family, who transformed the site into a cultural and research centre.
Official website of the Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore (IT): www.abbaziasangiorgio.it/
Text and image rights: © Céline Mülich, 2023–2026
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