San Stae is a Baroque church located in the Santa Croce sestiere. A colossal facade richly decorated with statues and sculptures faces the Grand Canal, making this venue a charming and typically Venetian-looking one. This church – an important place of worship for Catholics – was initially designed in the 11th century and later reconstructed by architect Domenico Rossi in the 17th century.

Within the sestiere of Santa Croce, the Church of San Stae – a Venetian abbreviation for Saint Eustachius – is without any doubt one of the highlights of the area together with Ca’ Pesaro. Many important artists decorated this lavish building, among them sculptors as Giuseppe Torretto, Antonio Tarsia, Antonio Corradini, and Pietro Baratta.

Do not miss the decorations inside: 18th-century painter Sebastiano Ricci decorated the ceilings with two majestic paintings. As in many other churches in the city, two Doges (the main authority figure of Venice) are buried in San Stae: Alvise Mocenigo, who commissioned the redesigning of the church, is buried at the center, while Marco Foscarini is entombed in the family’s chapel.