Holy Water Font - Santa Maria della Salute - Venezia, Italy
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denben
N 45° 25.852 E 012° 20.084
33T E 291517 N 5034271
One of two Baroque holy water fonts located near the center front door of the basilica of Santa Maria della Salute in the Dorsoduro sestiere of Venezia, Italy.
Waymark Code: WMWYZK
Location: Veneto, Italy
Date Posted: 11/01/2017
Views: 4
The Greek marble water basins are set on marble bases that are richly decorated with ornate putti carved to resemble the keystone decorations of an elaborate portal. A bronze statue surmounts each font, one of Saint Mark and the other of Saint John the Baptist (our photos).
In his role as Venice’s beloved patron saint, Mark is depicted as a handsome and bearded young man, but without his winged lion. He holds the book of his Gospel in his left hand. John the Baptist is a fitting adornment for a holy water basin, as the fonts serve as a reminder to the faithful that baptism is the initiation to Christianity. He is dressed in goatskin, with a lamb at his feet, the symbol of Christ. John holds a cup in his right hand and is in the act of pouring holy water.
Santa Maria della Salute (English: Saint Mary of Health), commonly known simply as the Salute, is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica. It stands on the narrow finger of Punta della Dogana, between the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal, at the Bacino di San Marco, making the church visible when entering the Piazza San Marco from the water. The Salute is part of the parish of the Gesuati and is the most recent of the so-called plague churches.
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