La Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore, another of Palladio's magnificent Venetian churches, was started in 1577, as a thanksgiving for deliverance from a two year plague which reduced the population of Venice by anything up to 50,000 inhabitants.

Its rather austere, immaculate white marble Classical facade makes you realise what annoyed Ruskin and others about Renaissance architecture.  Although the main features of overlapping gables, just as at San Giorgio just along the waterfront, express externally the internal structure and layout, additional wings are placed above the outer gables to conceal the structural brick buttresses behind.  This "dishonesty" of marble facade concealing an inherently different structure, apart from being a bit "fur coat and no knickers", also makes for a somewhat bland profile, particularly compared with San Giorgio when both are viewed from across the lagoon.  Having said that, both Il Redentore and San Giorgio are the key focal points of the stunning panorama from San Marco out into the lagoon, particularly so when picked out by the golden light of the setting sun.

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