Chiesa del Redentore

Palladio's votive church on Giudecca, built in 1577 after the plague, with an annual folk festival.

Il Redentore – the Church of the Redeemer – is one of Andrea Palladio's most celebrated works, standing on the island of Giudecca in Venice. The Republic of Venice commissioned it in 1577 as a votive offering after the plague killed roughly a third of the city's population. To this day, the Festa del Redentore is celebrated every third Sunday of July: a pontoon bridge connects Giudecca to the Piazzetta, and thousands of Venetians cross it on foot. The white facade with its classical portico is considered a masterpiece of Venetian classicism.