The Church of San Giacomo di Rialto in the Sixteenth Century: Architecture and Founding Myth of the City
abstract
The essay discusses the chief architectural transformations affecting the church of San Giacomo in the sixteenth century, before the radical transformation that began in 1598. In this period, the church space became one of the models for Venetian Renaissance architecture, its meaning connected and intertwined with the founding myth of the city and with the reconstruction of the Rialto area. It presents a case of “spatial memory” that enriched itself over time, gaining layers of meaning. Starting from the fire of 1514, its development must be contextualized in the events of the reconstruction of the Rialto market, first, and the Rialto bridge, later.
Keywords: Urban History • Venetian early modern architecture • San Giacomo di Rialto