Vortex

The Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute stood at the entrance to the Grand Canal. If you approached from the sea, it was one of the first things you saw, along with St. Mark's Basilica.

The Bible's Old Testament recorded that after Noah came a Semitic man named Abraham, who had a son at the age of ninety-nine. One day, Jehovah suddenly descended and commanded him to kill his son Isaac as a sacrifice. Unaware that he himself was the offering, Isaac followed his father up the mountain. Abraham made all the preparations, and just as he placed his son upon the altar and was about to strike, an angel flew down and seized his hand, forbidding him from killing the boy. It told him this had merely been Jehovah's test and that a sheep would be used as the sacrifice instead.

People's devotion to God had reached the point of disregarding everything else. Venice was at war with the Ottoman Empire and urgently needed military funds, while reconstruction after the plague was also underway. At a time when money was so desperately needed, they still allocated funds to build a church. How was that any different from the Qing Dynasty diverting military expenses to build the Summer Palace?

Any rational person knew this was irrational. The money should have been spent where it was needed more. But building a church for the Virgin after the plague was a promise, a covenant, and the Venetians believed it had to be fulfilled.

No matter what, the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute had to be completed, just as Abraham had nearly killed the son he had struggled so hard to obtain in order to prove his devotion to God.

God had played a joke on Abraham. He did not truly want