The ‘Tintoretto church’ was originally dedicated to St Christopher, the patron saint of the gondoliers (who ran the ferry service to the islands from a nearby jetty). However, a cult developed around a large, unfinished and supposedly miraculous statue of the Madonna and Child that stood in a nearby garden. In 1377, the sculpture was transferred into the church and the church’s name was changed to the Madonna dell’Orto – of the Garden.
The numerous works by Tintoretto have made the Madonna dell’Orto famous. Two colossal paintings dominate the side walls of the chancel. On the left is ‘The Israelites at Mount Sinai’. Opposite is a gruesome ‘Last Judgement’.
When the Tintorettos get too much for you, take a look at Cima da Conegliano’s masterpiece ‘Saints John the Baptist, Mark, Jerome and Paul’ (1494-95) over the first altar on the right. The second chapel on the left contains, on the left-hand wall, a painting by Titian, and in a room beneath the bell tower, a small treasury contains reliquaries and other precious objects.