Chiesa dell'Abbazia della Misericordia

Venetian church complex in Cannaregio with origins in the 10th century, once including a hospice and a lay confraternity.

The Abbey of Misericordia is a Venetian church complex in the northern Cannaregio sestiere with origins in the 10th century. Originally called Santa Maria di Val Verde, it comprised a church, a hospice for poor women, and one of Venice's lay confraternities — the Scuola, founded in 1310. The legendary founding year of 939 is historically disputed; the Moro family held patronage rights. After 1828 the church was restored, then changed hands several times and served different purposes over the centuries. Today the complex sits quietly on the Fondamenta de l'Abazia, north of the Sacca della Misericordia — off the beaten path in the northernmost reaches of Cannaregio.