Museum and Crypt of San Zaccaria

Through a marble portal attributed to Alessandro Vittoria, you enter the choir hall or Chapel of Saint Athanasius. Once an altarpiece located behind the choir of the nuns of the old church, stands out Jacopo Tintoretto’s “Nativity of the Virgin.” Remarkable paintings by Palma the Younger can also be found.

Once the presbytery of the Gothic church, the Chapel of Saint Tarasius is both the culmination of decorative possibilities offered by Venetian flamboyant Gothic and an example of the early Renaissance style with Florentine influences.

Three large polyptychs, richly carved and painted, are signed and dated 1443 by Antonio Vivarini and Giovanni d’Alemagna, while the precious wooden frame, lavishly gilded and adorned with pinnacles, is the work of Ludovico da Forlì. Andrea del Castagno and Francesco da Faenza sign and date the frescoes in the vault’s lunettes and the arch below to 1442.

The only surviving part of the oldest church is the crypt located beneath the Chapel of Saint Tarasius: probably dating back to the early 10th century, it is of modest size and is divided into three small aisles by columns with simple capitals. The crypt, which can be visited, is flooded for a good part of the year due to the tides.