Church, Convent and Library of San Francesco della Vigna

The current church, built for the Franciscans, was begun by Jacopo Sansovino in 1534 and completed in 1554. Ten years later (1564) the construction of the grandiose facade was entrusted to Andrea Palladio.

It constitutes one of the major architectures of the Venetian Renaissance.

The parish of San Francesco della Vigna (established in 1810 following the merger with the nearby S. Giustina, S. Tèrnita and S. Antonino) owes its name to the fact that originally the place where it stands was planted with vineyards, the largest and most fruitful of all Venice (belonging to the Ziani family).

Near these vineyards stood a small and modest church dedicated to St. Mark because, according to a tradition of the time, this was precisely the place where the evangelist had lodged during a storm and an angel appeared shortly after, greeting him with words Pax tibi Marce Evangelista meus (motto of the Serenissima) and prophesying the future foundation of Venice.