San Lorenzo

Map. 

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The church of San Lorenzo was reputedly founded in the 6th or 7th century. In the 9th century a Benedictine nunnery was established here under Doge Angelo Partecipazio. Over time, the nunnery became extremely wealthy. 

Destroyed by fire in 1105, the church was rebuilt and restored several times before it acquired its present form in the late 16th century (when the monastic complex was also rebuilt). In 1602 the church was finally completed, albeit minus its stone façade, by the architect Simon Sorella. 
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The vast interior comprises a single, roughly square, space divided in half by a great three-bay screen, one half for the congregation and one half for the nuns. The centre is dominated by a monumental free-standing High Altar.

The church was badly damaged during the Great War and has never been repaired. 

Marco Polo (1254-1324) was buried in San Lorenzo, but his sarcophagus seems to have been lost during a restoration the church. 

San Lorenzo

Interior of San Lorenzo