Venice. The Frari’s Basilica. Sacristy. The Altar of Relics. Upon passing through the ancient double door in wrought iron, the visitor finds himself in a spacious environment, as spacious as a church. The Altar of Relics was erected to adorn the tabernacle which contained the ampulla with the Blood of Christ. It was completed in 1711. The three bas-reliefs are in Carrara marble, carved by the Venetian Francesco Penso alias Cabianca (1665-1737). The dramatic and animated postures if the characters, which crowd the scenes of the Crucifixion, the Deposition end the Entombment are remarkable. At the top of the golden canopy an angel holds the sudarium with the outline of the face of Christ, while two angels, on the either side, in the past held the pendant lamps. These wooden statues are the work of the great sculptor fom Belluno Andrea Brustolon (1662-1732). In the central part, beneath the canopy, numerous reliquaries can be seen.