Cathedral of St Maria and Donato

The Basilica of Santa Maria and Donato deserves a visit for its impressive examples of lagoon Romanesque art.

Murano History - Spirituality and Tradition

Murano is a colorful island in the Venetian lagoon that is famous for its highly refined blown glass. The many kilns made Venice famous, and the workshops were moved to this island from the city itself to avoid fire risks, which gave Murano the nickname of 'island of fire'. Murano is still the center of Italy's artisanal glass blowing industry.

Along of the canal that slice through Murano is the historic basilica, that started as a chapel dedicated to Mary in the 7th century but was later enlarged and rendered more important by the interment of San Donato, whose remains were brought here by the Venetian Doge in 1125. The saint was accompanied by a set of large bones, said to be those of the dragon that he is said to have slain. Clearly a new and grander church would be needed for the occasion so the humble chapel was rebuilt and renamed, becoming the Basilica of Saint Mary and Saint Donato.

Architecture and Art

The church is one of the oldest in the Venetian lagoon, and its exterior is a beautiful work of brickwork. The design has the apse facing the waterfront to show off its hexagonal shape, highlighted by a loggia and arcades with arches and columns. The recessed arches and niches are set off by patterned brick decoration, and colored stones, along with inset pieces of ancient inscriptions and reliefs taken from other sites. The overall effect is beautiful.

Inside, the floor is completely paved with Byzantine mosaics, a masterpiece of art in itself, with carefully inlaid and arranged stones to make geometrical patterns and portray animals and scenes.

The mortal remains of St Donato are in a golden urn, which is located on the imposing shrine of the apse. A less important position is given to the bones of the dragon which are displayed behind the altar as a curious relic. Studies on the famous bones revealed that they didn't actually belong to a dragon nor a dangerous reptile, but to a whale. Oh well, the legend lives on and is more colorful than the later scientific proof.

The Bottazzo di Sant'Alban - Another Legend

There is another colorful legend held in this church, that of the cask of St. Alban. The story goes that on the neighboring island of Burano, famous for its lace, the fishermen of old found a stone casket in the water at the shoreline. With great effort they hauled it ashore and pried open the lid, to find inside the bones of three men. A crudely incised tablet said that two of the men were Albano, Bishop and Orso, Deacon, martyred for their faith in Christ. The third was assumed to be the body of St. Domenico, that was martyred with them. The three were named as protectors of Burano, and the small wine cask that was with them was placed in the church as a relic. It is said that the cask was miraculously filled with wine that never ran out. In a case of sibling rivalry, jealousy or selfishness, men from Murano stole away the cask and placed it above the third column of the left nave. A plaque says it took place in 1543. To the dismay of Murano and the satisfaction of Burano, the cask ran dry, never to fill again.