Santa Maria e San Donato

The Church of Santa Maria e San Donato is a religious edifice located in Murano. It is known for its twelfth century Byzantine mosaic pavement and is said to contain the relics of Saint Donatus of Arezzo as well as large bones behind the altar said to be the bones of a dragon slain by the saint. The church is one of the oldest in the Venetian lagoon. It was originally built in the 7th century and is known to have been rebuilt in the 9th century and in 1040 AD, although it is possible that there have been more rebuildings in later times. The church and its bell tower are built of dark red-brown brick, without plastering. The bell tower stands separately. The relics of San Donato are located in a marble sarcophagus.