1-270-047 - Peter Thompson/Heritage Images

Church of Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, Italy. In 1630 the Venetian Senate decreed that if the city was delivered from an outbreak of the plague gripping it at the time, a new church would be built and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The result was this Baroque church designed by Baldassare Longhena. Generally referred to as 'La Salute', it stands on the opposite side of Venice's Grand Canal from St Mark's Square, at the point where the canal empties into the lagoon. The church was truly Longhena's life's work, taking 51 years to complete before being inaugurated in 1681, the year before his death. The low building to the left of the church is the Dogana, the city's customs house.