There are more than one hundred Venice churches in the lagoon city, with over 80 of them within the historic center of Venice (comprising of the main islands of the municipality).
Nearly twenty other Christian church buildings are scattered on the other islands within the lagoon.
Almost all of these Venetian churches are Catholic.
However, there are also church buildings dedicated to the Orthodox religion (such as San Giorgio dei Greci), Armenian Catholic religion (Santa Croce degli Armeni), and Anglican (Church of St. George).
Venice also has two monasteries, San Francesco del Deserto (Catholic Franciscan Order) and San Lazzaro degli Armeni (Armenian Catholic). In addition, the Jewish ghetto of Venice had, at one time, nine synagogues, of which five are still in operation.
The most famous church in Venice is, of course, Basilica of Saint Mark, located within Piazza San Marco (from where it receives its name), in the center of the city.
PHOTO: Saint Mark’s Basilica.
The Basilica is the main church of the city, the city’s cathedral, and the seat of the Patriarch.
Until the fall of the Venetian Republic, the basilica was the official and private church of the adjacent Palazzo Ducale, the Doge’s Palace.
Below, you can find maps to all of the churches in the main districts of Venice, San Marco, Castello, San Polo, Santa Croce, Dorsoduro, Cannaregio, as well as Giudecca.
MAP: Churches in the district of San Marco.
MAP: Churches in the district of Castello.
MAP: Churches in the district of San Polo.
MAP: Churches in the district of Santa Croce.
MAP: Churches in the district of Dorsoduro.
MAP: Churches in the district of Cannaregio.
MAP: Churches in the district of Giudecca.
If you can read Italian, one good book about the Venetian churches and mysteries related to them, is called “Guida insolita ai misteri, ai segreti, alle leggende e alle curiosità delle chiese di Venezia”.
The book was written by Marcello Brusegan and published in 2004.