The Baroque high altar arrangement; designed by Longhena; shelters an iconic Byzantine Madonna and Child of the 12th or 13th century; known as Panagia Mesopantitissa in Greek ('Madonna the mediator' or 'Madonna the negotiator') and came from Candia in 1669 after the fall of the city to the Ottomans. The statuary group at the high altar; depicting The Queen of Heaven expelling the Plague (1670) is a theatrical Baroque masterpiece by the Flemish sculptor Josse de Corte. - Basilica Santa Maria della Salute is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica located at Punta della Dogana in the Dorsoduro sestiere (district).Construction: 1630-1687. Architect: Baldassarre Longhena.Style baroque.Built in order to celebrate the end of the plague which killed thousands of Venetians.Venice (Venise; Venedig ). Italy. 2020.