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I tried three different times to visit the Church of Saint George of the Greeks (Chiesa di San Giorgio dei Greci, Ἅγιος Γεώργιος τῶν Ἑλλήνων) but it was closed each time.
History
The Church of Saint George of the Greeks, located in the Castello district of the UNESCO World Heritage city of Venice, Italy, has been the centerpiece of the city’s Greek minority since 1539. Greeks have lived in Venice since at least the 13th century.
Greek Orthodox churches had been forbidden in Venice, leaving Greeks to worship in Catholic churches. With the influx of Greeks after the Fall of Constantinople, the community quickly became more powerful and were granted the right to settle permanently in Castello in 1456. In 1536, the Republic of Venice finally allowed the Greeks to build their own church, which was designed by Sante Lombardo and completed in 1577.
The Church
The Church of Saint George of the Greeks contains a mosaic of Christ above the main entrance with three smaller mosaics above. A mosaic of Saint George is on the side door on the courtyard.
The church contains three Byzantine icons brought to Venice from Constantinople before 1453 by Anna Notaras, the daughter of Loukas Notaras, who was the last megas doux of the Byzantine Empire. As I mentioned earlier, it was closed so we weren’t able to enter and see them.
The bell tower was constructed between 1587 and 1603 and leans slightly towards the canal. It was designed by Bernardo Ongarin.
If you walk around the complex along Calle dei Greci, you can see the rear of the church.
Archdiocese
On the courtyard next to the church are the offices of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Malta.
There are a few plaques on the building. One of them commemorates the 500th anniversary of the founding of the Greek community in 1498.
Flanginian College
The yellow building to the left of the church was the Flanginian College (Collegio Flanginiano), a Greek educational institute founded in 1664 by Tommaso Flanghinis, a wealthy Greek lawyer and merchant. It was designed by Baldassare Longhena.
The Flanginian College operated until 1905 and is now the home of the Hellenic Institute (Instituto Ellenico), which is dedicated to the history of Hellenism in Venice and the local Greek Orthodox community. The institute also contains a foundation for Byzantine and post-Byzantine studies as well as a museum of iconography.
Brotherhood of Saint Nicholas
Between the Flanginian College and the Church of Saint George of the Greeks is the Brotherhood of Saint Nicholas (Scoletta di San Nicolò), also designed by Longhena. The building functioned as the Brotherhood of Saint Nicholas of the Greeks (Scuola di San Nicolò dei Greci), a charitable Greek brotherhood founded in 1498 by the Greek community and shut down by Napoleon in 1806 along with all confraternities (scuole) in Venice. The first floor of the building operated as the Hospital for Needy Greeks from 1678 until the early 20th century. It now houses the Icon Museum (Museo delle Icone), which is open daily.
Scenery
Aside from the complex itself, there are some lovely views from the bridge leading to it, the Bridge of the Greeks (Ponte dei Greci).
