Sant’Alvise

Sant'Alvise tickets: which one to buy

Sant'Alvise stands in a remote corner of Cannaregio, in the north of Venice, on a quiet canal near the lagoon, and it is one of the Chorus churches, so it is ticketed, with a single ticket or the Chorus Pass, which covers around a dozen of the most important churches in the city and is good value if you plan to see several. The church is far from the crowds around San Marco and the Rialto, and it rewards visitors who make the effort to walk there, about twenty minutes from the railway station, or who take the vaporetto to the Sant'Alvise stop.

The nearby Madonna dell'Orto church, with paintings and the tomb of Tintoretto, is also a Chorus church and makes a natural pair. The area has quiet bars and restaurants frequented by Venetians. Opening hours are limited, so check before walking out. The Chorus Pass is sold at all member churches and online, and it is valid for a year.

Visiting Sant'Alvise: what to see

The church and convent were founded in 1388 by Antonia Venier, a Venetian noblewoman who, according to tradition, had a vision of Saint Louis of Toulouse, Alvise in Venetian, asking for a church. The building is Gothic, with a plain brick facade and a statue of the saint above the door. Inside, the church was redecorated in the seventeenth century, with a painted trompe l'oeil ceiling creating an illusion of architecture opening to the sky. At the back of the nave, a hanging choir with grilles allowed the nuns to follow services unseen. The church's greatest treasures are three large paintings by Giambattista Tiepolo: the Road to Calvary, a dramatic composition showing Christ falling under the cross, and the smaller Crowning with Thorns and Flagellation.

There are also small panel paintings formerly attributed to Carpaccio, in a naive style. The wooden ceiling, painted with columns and balustrades, was created by Pietro Antonio Torri and Pietro Ricchi. The nuns' choir, raised on columns at the entrance end, forms a gallery supported by slender pillars. Frescoes and altars along the walls include works by Venetian painters of the seventeenth century. The Tiepolo Road to Calvary is displayed on the right wall of the nave. The church floor is marked with gravestones of the nuns and benefactors.

Sant'Alvise opening hours and the best time to go

Sant'Alvise is open on weekdays and Saturday, with limited hours, and closed on Sundays for visits. Venice is crowded from spring to autumn, but Cannaregio's northern edge remains quiet. The best times to visit are in the morning or late afternoon, when the light over the lagoon is beautiful. Acqua alta can flood parts of the city in autumn and winter. The Fondamenta della Misericordia, a canal-side street with bars, is lively in the evening. Allow about thirty minutes for the church, and combine it with Madonna dell'Orto and a walk along the canals of Cannaregio. The ghetto of Venice, the oldest in the world, is about fifteen minutes' walk and holds synagogues and a museum.