Chiesa di Sant’Eufemia

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Four female saints were venerated in the original AD 890 church here, but Saints Dorothy, Tecla and Erasma weren’t as popular as early Christian martyr Euphemia. She was thrown to hungry lions in Chalcedon (present-day Turkey), but after biting off her hand, the lions refused to eat her holy virgin flesh – a hungry bear had fewer scruples. The simple Veneto-Byzantine structure you see today dates from 1371. Frescoes and fine stucco decorate the ceiling of the baroque interior.

Look for the vibrant 1480 painting by Vivirani on the first altar to the right, showing a ringletted St Roch – resplendent in a white pleated mini and blue tights – displaying his muscular plague-scarred thigh to an angel.

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