Sant'Alvise

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Church of Sant'Alvise
Campo Sant'Alvise, Cannaregio
Venice, September 2013

“The barco (nuns’ choir) at the back of the church dates from the 15th Century, although the wrought-iron grill is an 18th Century addition. The nuns entered this raised gallery from the convent next door and remained unseen behind the grill for the service. A similar grill low in the right-hand wall allowed them to come down and take the sacrament. The decoration of the rest of the single-nave church dates from the 17th Century - most overwhelming, and a bit incongruous, are the vertiginous trompe l'oeil ceiling frescos by Antonio Torri and Pietro Ricchi. Ruskin hated these works, blaming Veronese for inspiring such later and lesser artists with his superior ceilings.” (Sant'Alvise, The Churches of Venice)