Church Salute

One of the iconic places in Venice (often referred to as La Salute) was built shortly after Venice was struck by the plague. The construction of the church was meant to save the city from the Black Death, and many works of art adorning the interior somehow relate to the disease. The very name of the church refers to this, as in Italian, Salute means Health.
It is located in a narrow area called Punta della Dogana, between the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal, diagonally across from St. Mark's Square. The Church of Salute is part of the parish of Gesuati and is the newest of the so-called plague churches.
The Church of Salute is a huge, octagonal building with two domes and two picturesque bells located at the back. The church is built on a platform made of 1,000,000 wooden piles. It is constructed from Istrian stone and brick covered with marble dust.
While the exterior of the church and its location catch the observer's eye, the inner structure is remarkable in itself. The octagonal church resembles Byzantine patterns, such as the Basilica of San Vitale. The church is full of symbolism related to the Virgin Mary. The large dome represents her crown, and the eight sides of the church represent the eight points of her symbolic star.