Santa Maria del Rosario/Gesuati, Venice

While Mommy and the children were resting before lunch, I snuck off to the Gesuati church just around the corner from our hotel.

The church is Santa Maria del Rosario, or St. Mary of the Rosary. The church was founded by an order called the poveri Gesuati, not the Jesuits, as one might guess. When they were disbanded in 1668 (as opposed to the Jesuits, who were temporarily suppressed in the 18th century) the Dominicans were given charge of the church. They re-themed the church in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, so a portrait of St. Dominic was added, as was several paintings related to the Rosary. The interior is quite beautiful featuring great works from the 18th century Venetian masters.

One of my favorites from the Gallerie dell'Accademia, Tiepolo, painted the ceiling and one of the side altars.

Institution of the Rosary by Tiepolo, 18th c.

Apparition of the Virgin to St. Dominic, Tiepolo, 18th c.

The Glory of St. Dominic, Tiepolo, 18th c.

The Virgin Appears to Sts. Rose of Lima, Catherine of Siena, and Agnes of Montepulciano

Gian Maria Morlaiter provided many wonderful statues inside the church.

Aaron

St. Paul

St. Peter

Moses

Melchizedek

Morlaiter collaborated with Giambattista Piazzetta for this altar with Piazzetta's painting of Saint Dominic and Morlaiter's angels sculpted around him.

St. Dominic in his other glory!

Antonio Bosa carved a nice altar to Our Lady of the Rosary in the 19th century.

Madonna of the Rosary

The main altar and sanctuary were full of light and joy. Also it was flanked by the most amazing candlesticks.

Main altar of Gesuati Church

What a candlestick!

After returning to the hotel, I kept an eye on the kids while mommy went to get some lunch from the local grocery. She came back and we went down to the courtyard of our hotel and dined in the shade. It was a fun meal except for when Lucy tried to drink from our water bottle and didn't detach properly. Her shirt and shorts got wet. She demanded dry clothes. Since she and mommy were already mostly done with lunch, they went up to our room. Jacob and I finished up. We enjoyed watching birds and planes fly overhead, then packed up our stuff and went up for nap time. Well, the others napped while I went for other adventures in Venice.