JJ13_come eravamo e come siamo_Jesolo_chiese_foto storiche_piazza_trieste_e_chiesa_1957

Periods, between history and traditions

By Giovanni Cagnassi

One, almost, in every square. From the village to the Lido, Jesolo’s churches are a landmark for the area’s Christian community. During the summer, when thousands of tourists join them from all over the world to spend their vacation, there is no shortage of believers attending the celebrations either.

In fact, the locality boasts the beauty of numerous places of worship, which fill up not only with compatriots but also with citizens from Germany, Austria, Eastern countries and all over Europe.

The Church of St. John the Baptist, or also St. John the Baptist Cathedral, is Jesolo’s oldest parish. Its history is a history waiting to be discovered, which still dates back to ancient Equilim, or the city’s ancestor. It was the island where people took refuge following the barbarian invasions, fleeing from the hinterland and the Opitergino area.

The once-present monastery was built in the early 12th century at the behest of Doge Ordelafo Falier. The church, whose dimensions are about 20 x 45 meters with a Latin cross plan, is made entirely of brick. It is a place all to be visited, boasting numerous aspects to be explored. The design is inspired by the city’s ancient cathedral, the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, built in the 9th century on the site of the Ancient Walls. This was the cathedral of the diocese of Equilium: one of the most important in the Venetian Lagoon, second only to the Venetian Basilica of San Marco.

The interior is divided into three naves separated by stone columns and brick pillars. It contains the ancient baptismal font and the beauty of five altars: the high altar, the altar of the Blessed Sacrament, the altar of St. Anthony of Padua, the altar of the Virgin and the altar of St. Joseph. The apse basin is frescoed with the scene of the Baptism of Jesus. The imposing bell tower boasts a concert of 6 diatonic scale bells, cast by De Poli of Vittorio Veneto in 1961.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, on the other hand, was built in the 1950s in the setting of Trieste Square in the center of Lido. After World War II, in fact, as the population in the country increased, it was necessary to build a large new church. The project was entrusted to architect Ernesto Damiani and began in 1950 to accommodate the first worshippers only a year later.

But the places of worship in the city do not end there. There is in fact the Church of Saints Liberal and Mauro, near Piazza Milano, also on the Lido, while in the Pineta area we find that of St. Teresa, on Via Belgio. In summer, the one on Levantina Street, the San Domenico and Carlo Oratory, is also active, while there is also a landmark at the city hospital.

In Trento Square there is the “Sacred Heart of Jesus” church, and in Vespucci Street, near Nember Square, we find Maria “Capitana da Mar,” among the last ones made in Jesolo: it was spring 2014.

Continuing our journey, we cannot miss the hamlets with the church of Sant’Antonio Abate in Ca’ Pirami, San Giuseppe, in Cortellazzo, the church of Cristo Re, in the locality of Salsi, the church of San Giuseppe in Ca’ Fornera and Santa Maria Assunta in Passarella di sotto, a hamlet on the border with San Donà di Piave.

Places of worship and prayer very much linked to the farming and fishing worlds, which in the past were a source of livelihood for the people of these areas before the advent of tourism. The churches of Jesolo, even today as then, continue to represent a religious tradition that is present and anchored in the local community.

Come eravamo:

Piazza Trieste - Piazza Matteotti - Piazza Trento

Come siamo:

Passarella - Ca' Pirami - Piazza Matteotti - Via Cristo Re - Ca' Fornera - Cortellazzo - Santa Teresa - Piazza Milano - Via Levantina - Piazza Trieste - Piazza Trento - Piazza Nember

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