Founded in the 9th century, San Giacomo dall'Orio is one of the oldest churches in Venice. Its present form - a Latin Cross with a central nave, two aisles and a transept - is the result of a rebuilding project initiated in 1225 and of subsequent modifications carried out in the 15th and 16th century. The great charm of this church lies in a sombre and archaic exterior enclosing an ingeniously articulated interior, which is dominated by the warm presence of wooden beams and wooden ceiling. The 1225 re-building work incorporated within the structure Byzantine pieces that had been brought back from the Levant after the IV Crusade - these include the fine green marble column with Ionic capital praised by John Ruskin and Gabriele d'Annunzio. Within the church you can see a number of masterpieces of Venetian painting - such as Lorenzo Lotto's main altarpiece Virgin and Child with Saints (1546), which is one of the few works by the artist that can still be found in Venice itself.