Santa Maria dei Miracoli is surely one of the world's most beautiful churches. It's a perfectly proportioned Renaissance jewel box, covered in white, gray, and pink marble inside and out, and it's one of my favorite places in Venice.
The church was built in the late 15th century to provide a suitable place of honor for a lovely image of the Virgin and Child that had hung in a nearby courtyard. The wealthy often displayed such paintings of Mary in dark courtyards and alleys surrounding their homes and offices for practical as well as religious reasons.
The hope was that no one would dare commit robbery (or answer nature's call) under the gaze of the Virgin. You can still see many of these images on buildings and tucked away in niches on street corners in Venice and other cities in Italy.
This particular image of the Virgin was considered miraculous--one of the miracles was the revival of an unfortunate man who had been submerged in the murky waters of the Grand Canal for some 30 minutes. Anyway, the faithful began to leave offerings beginning around 1470, and eventually there was more than enough money to build a church for the holy painting.
Santa Maria dei Miracoli is located in the Cannaregio neighborhood, a short walk from the Rialto. I always stop in when I am in Venice, and I love to show it on our tours (see Living La Dolce Vita for information on the next trip to Milan, Lake Como, and Venice).
For now, you might enjoy this virtual tour on the Save Venice website: Santa Maria dei Miracoli. The Save Venice Foundation raised money for a complete restoration of this church that took ten years and was completed in 1998.
