The Founding

In 1511, the Greek mercenaries of Venice, the "stradioti", submit a new request to the Council of Ten, asking permission to buy land on which to build a church dedicated to the patron saint of warriors, St George. They pointed out that in order to serve the Galinotate as effectively as possible, they had settled there with their families and that the temple which had been granted to them up to that time was inadequate in comparison with their increased numbers.

TThe final approval comes from the Doge of Venice Leonardo Loredan in 1514. Subsequently, the Greeks succeeded in obtaining from Pope Leo I two papal bulls in their favour, by which they obtained permission to build the church and use a cemetery. By a third bull, by Pope Clement VII, in 1526 they achieved full independence from the Latin Patriarchate of Venice.

Sigils from Pope Leo the X and Pope Clemens the XIII regarding the granting of privileges to Greeks

The construction of the church of St George began in 1539, in a central point of the city - later known as campo dei greci - and was completed in 1573 with the contribution of donations from members of the brotherhood and other Greek merchants and shipowners arriving in the port of Venice. This church was the centre of both the worship and social life of the Greek community in Venice.