| Palladio's white cupolas and apses seem incompatible with fresco decoration, it almost appears that he would have preferred sculptures rather than paintings in his churches. Above the grand inner portal rises the monument to the Doge Leonardo Donà. There are some statues in niches along the sides; those on the top, in stucco, represent the four Evangelists, while those at the bottom by Giambattista DeFlorio, made of wood and painted white, represent the four Doctors of the Church. In the right aisle, on the same entrance wall, is the tomb of Lorenzo Venier, a general celebrated for his victory over the Turks. On the left hand side, in a niche, is the statue of San Mauro by Giambattista Albanese. All of the altars designed after 1591 have a severe classical style. The pediments rest alternately on fluted and smooth pink marble columns, the first of which enclose the altar pieces, the others, sculptures. The "Nativity" by Jacopo Bassano is found above the first altar on the right; a 15th c. wooden crucifix adorns the second. The altarpiece on the third altar represents the martyrdom of Sts. Cosma and Damian and is a work of Tintoretto's studio. In the right wing of the transept, on the main altar, we see a canvas by Domenico Tintoretto depicting Sts. Benedict, Gregory, Mauro, Placido, and other Benedictine saints. The altar to the right of the main one was erected by the Bollani family and is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. The altarpiece is a charming and noteworthy work executed in 1708 by Sebastian Ricci of Belluno in the style of Veronese. |
