La Maddalena

Venice, Italy

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

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La Maddalena is a Neoclassical church in the Cannaregio sestiere of Venice, entirely rebuilt in 1780 under the direction of architects Tommaso Temanza and Gian Antonio Selva. The structure features a distinctive circular plan inspired by Rome's Pantheon, constructed in brick. Its most striking external element is the portal, adorned with masonic symbols that likely reflect the Balbo family's historical connection to the Knights Templar. The interior departs from the circular exterior with an hexagonal plan, incorporating four side chapels and a presbytery. A 15th-century basrelief depicting the Madonna with Child survives outside the apse, a remnant of the church's much longer history on the site, which dates back to at least 1222.