St Zacharias

Vittoria’s final will of 1608 included the marble statuette of St John the Baptist as a bequest to the nuns of San Zaccaria. It was transferred there shortly after his death, together with an autograph terracotta statuette of Zacharias. He asked in his will that the pair be placed on either side of the Altar of St Zacharias. It remains unclear whether the nuns ever placed either statuette on the Altar of St Zacharias, nor is it yet known at what date they were placed on the holy-water stoups (the Baptist on the right-hand stoop, Zacharias on the left-hand stoop). Sadly, today, one is not able to see the Baptist, as he is shrouded in cloth, after an act of vandalism resulted in his right arm being snapped off.