One of the architectural marvels of Venice
Il Redentore, the Church of the Santissimo Redentore (Church of the Most Holy Redeemer) located on the island of Giudecca in Venice. This church is one of the most important Renaissance buildings in Venice and was designed by the master architect Andrea Palladio, who also designed San Giorgio Maggiore. The church was built as a votive church in thanksgiving for Venice’s deliverance from a devastating outbreak of the plague that struck between 1575 and 1576. This plague killed approximately 46,000 people, which represented between 25 and 30 percent of Venice’s entire population.
 
The Senate of the Republic of Venice commissioned the church in 1577, not a religious order. The cornerstone was laid on May 3, 1577, by Patriarch Giovanni Trevisan. Palladio died in 1580 before the church was completed, and the work was finished by Antonio da Ponte, who carefully followed Palladio’s original design. The church was extraordinarily expensive, the original budget was set at 10,000 ducats, but the final cost exceeded 60,000 ducats. Even the Capuchin friars complained that the church was too luxurious for their simple tastes and way of life.
 
Interesting facts...
There is a lost garden behind the church. The monastery garden had been lost for 500 years and just reopened a couple of years ago.