The Sacristy of the Basilica della Salute in Venice

Every year on 21 November since 1631 Venetians visit the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute, in front of St Mark's.

It is a true pilgrimage, because the church was built by the famous architect Longhena to thank the Virgin Mary at the end of a terrible plague. Hence, on that day the inhabitants of Venice and beyond, cross a bridge built especially for the occasion to light a candle, say a prayer or just walk between the stalls of sweets that are set up around the church.

On this occasion, you can also access the area behind the main altar and visit the Sacristy, which is closed to the public for the rest of the year. Here, you can admire some of the works by Titian such as, ‘St Mark enthroned with Saints Cosmas, Damian, Sebastian and Roch' (1511-12) together with his later work on the ceiling: ‘Cain and Abel', ‘the sacrifice of Abraham and Isaac', ‘David and Goliath'.

You can also see the large canvas by Tintoretto ‘The Wedding at Cana' (1561) and works by other major artists as Alexander Varotari known as ‘Il Padovanino', Pietro Liberi, Giuseppe Porta known as ‘Il Salviati' and Jacopo Palma il Giovane.