Façade of the Church of the Jesuits, 1715 – 1729
Church of the Jesuits, Venice

The Church of the Jesuits was built by the Crociferi in the 12th century. In 1657 the nearby monastery and the Church were acquired by the Jesuit order, and the latter was rebuilt between 1715-1729. The façade was built by Gian Battista Fattoretto after a design by Domenico Rossi, with money given by the Manin family. The façade is divided into two orders and is surmounted by a pediment where the Assumption of the Virgin and Angels by Giuseppe Torretto is represented. Statues of the twelve Apostles, by various sculptors of the 17th and 18th centuries, are situated on plinths, columns, and niches. After many years of neglect, the façade needed both surface and structural restoration. Most of the surface damage was due to years of important environmental pollution: both the marble and Istrian stone had blackened and showed signs of initial disintegration. The project was divided into two phases: phase one, completed in 2000, determined the extent of the work required and included preliminary chemical and physical analyses and a photogrammetric survey of the entire façade. Phase two consisted of the actual cleaning and consolidation of the façade.