Santa Maria della Salute (or Church of the Salute or simply La Salute) is a basilica in Venice built in the area of ??Punta della Dogana, from where it stands out in the panorama of the St. Mark's Basin and the Grand Canal. Designed by Baldassare Longhena with attention to the models of Palladio, it is one of the best expressions of Venetian Baroque architecture. Its construction represents an ex voto to the Madonna by the Venetians for the liberation from the Plague that between 1630 and 1631 decimated the population. The cult became so rooted in Venice that the Virgin Mary was added to the list of patron saints of the city of Venice. In May 1921, Pope Benedict XV elevated it to the rank of minor basilica.