Album: By Country | By Date Italy | January 2001 < Prev Image | Venice in the Rain | Next Image >
Travelogue: By Country | By Date Italy | January 2001  

 

Basilica of the Salute. In 1630 the plague broke out. In October, doge Nicolo Cantarini promised the Madonna that if the plague stopped, he would build her a magnificent church. (Why she would want another one in a city filled with churches dedicated to her is unexplained.) Shortly afterward the plague died down. On April 1, 1631 the doge laid the foundation stone. He died the next day.

© Monica & Mark Hughes 2000-02