Known as “San Giacometto” for its small dimensions, the church overlooks the Rialto market with its pride, its typical meridian on the main façade, the rib vault bell tower and the original Gothic portico - the only one in Venice – embellished with gorgeous capitals.
According to the venetian tradition, this church was built in 421 by a carpenter called Candioto or Eutinopo who asked the Saint for help to stop a terrible fire in the adjacent commercial area. However recent studies have demonstrated that the church was built in the 11th century and for this reason it is one of the most ancient church of Venice that was never damaged by the following reshuffle during the 16th and 17th centuries. Its foundation is probably linked to the origin of the Rialto market in 1097. As a proof is the enrollment of the 12th century on the external apse, scolding merchants to honesty and loyalty.
Its interior is a rectangle with a cross and a central dome scheme, which will be reintroduced in the architecture on ‘400 and ‘500. In the exterior the bell tower, the big clock and the gotic arcade stand out.
Useful information:
Address: Campo San Giacomo di Rialto, 1 San Polo cap 30125 - Venezia
Opening time: from Monday to Saturday, from 9 to 17
Price: free entrance
Contacts:
Phone:+39 041 2750462
Fax:+39 041 2750494
How to get there: ferry boat stop"Rialto" or "S.Silvestro"
