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Santa Maria dei Miracoli

church, Venice, Italy

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Santa Maria dei Miracoli is a church in Venice, Italy, built in the 15th century. It was constructed in response to a venerated image of the Madonna and Child that was believed to perform miracles, drawing pilgrims. The church features a distinctive polychromatic facade adorned with marble and porphyry, creating an illusion of greater size through blind arches and a false colonnade. Inside, a raised balcony allowed nuns to observe services unseen, and a single nave leads to a chancel with pulpits. The interior walls are decorated with marble, and the painted wooden ceiling is divided into 50 panels depicting saints and prophets.1

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