Its origins are very ancient (1043-1053), despite the original Romanesque structure having undergone many modifications over the centuries.
Not only known for the beautiful single-nave church, whose choir boasts 17th-century reliefs on the life of San Nicolò, for the works signed Palma the Elder and Palma the Younger, the elegant 16th-century cloister, and the Baroque bell tower, the convent is famous because since 1101, after an adventurous theft in the Holy Land and a millennial dispute with the people of Bari, it has preserved the relics of San Nicolò, bishop of Myra and patron saint of sailors.
Right in the waters in front of it, the Marriage of the Sea was once celebrated on the day of the Sensa (Ascension). A ceremony full of symbolism, during which the Doge would throw a ring into the sea saying: “We wed thee, O sea, as a sign of true and perpetual dominion”.
