Madonna dell'Orto viewed across the canal
Madonna dell'Orto is a church and a parish that most Venice tourists never see. Built in the mid 15th century, this church is famous for the work of Tintoretto, who lived and worked just a few blocks away on the Fondamenta dei Mori.
Hugh Honour, art historian and author of The Companion Guide to Venice, describes Tintoretto's connection to the church: This was Tintoretto's parish church--he is buried with his family in the chapel to the right of the high altar--and it is rich in his works. On either side of the high altar there are vast paintings of The Worship of the Golden Calf and The Last Judgment, each about fifty feet high. Tintoretto, his fingers itching to fill the empty spaces on these chancel walls, is said to have asked no recompense other than the cost of the materials."
