SANSOVINO, Jacopo
(b. 1486, Firenze, d. 1570, Venezia)

San Martino: Façade

1546-53
Photo
Fondamenta dei Penini, Venice

The current church dates from a rebuilding of 1546, funded by Antonio Contarini, to a design by Sansovino begun in 1553, and finished around 1619. The façade was restored in 1897, but the architects retained Sansovino's doorway, to the right of which is a bocca di leone, a lion's mouth, for posting anonymous accusations of one's fellow citizens' sinfulness.




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