San Giacomo dell'Orio

San Giacomo dell'Orio Review

It was named after a laurel tree (orio), and today trees give character to this square. Add benches and a fountain (with a drinking bowl for dogs), and the pleasant, oddly shaped campo becomes a welcoming place for friendly conversation and neighborhood kids at play. Legend has it the Chiesa di San Giacomo dell'Orio was founded in the 9th century on an island still populated by wolves. The current church dates from 1225; its short unmatched Byzantine columns survived renovation during the Renaissance, and the church never lost the feel of an ancient temple sheltering beneath its 15th-century ship's-keel roof. In the sanctuary, large marble crosses are surrounded by a group of small medieval Madonnas. The altarpiece is Madonna with Child and Saints (1546) by Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556), and the sacristies contain works by Palma il Giovane (circa 1544-1628).