Basilica Santa Maria della Salute

This guide to the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute in Venice traces a vow the city made during the plague of 1630, when tens of thousands died and the Senate turned to the Virgin Mary for deliverance. You'll hear about the young architect Baldassare Longhena, who beat ten rivals with an unlikely design and won the Senate's approval by a narrow vote. The guide follows the decades-long construction and the promise Venetians still keep every November on a bridge of boats.