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San Bartolomeo
Giovanni Scalfarotto
1723
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Tucked away down busy and somewhat noxious alleys
near the Rialto bridge.History
Tradition says a small church dedicated to St Demetrius, the martyr of
Thessalonica, was built here in
840. In 1170 the church was rebuilt and re-dedicated to San Bartolomeo,
being used from the 13th Century onwards by German merchants from the
nearby Fondego dei Tedeschi, which is now the main post office. The church
is said to have been used as a civil service school in the 15th Century. A rebuilding of 1723 by Giovanni Scalfarotto is the church we see today. It was closed and deconsecrated in
the 1980s following decades of neglect, and reopened as an art gallery.
After a recent restoration it is now used for concerts
which are, it is said, not the best and contains a museum of musical
instruments which is also said to not be worth a visit.
The church
The carving of the grotesque face over the main entrance at the base of
the campanile (right) may be a reference to the suffering of St
Bartholomew, whose martyrdom involved being whipped and skinned alive.
Art highlights
All the art (including paintings by Palma il Giovane and sculpture by
Heinrich Meyring) was removed when the church was deconsecrated, apart
from the sculptures by Meyring on the altar and the choir loft at the rear
of the church. A fresco over the altar also remains - Saint Bartholomew in
Glory by Morleiter.
Lost art
Dürer painted the Madonna of the Rosary (see right) now in Prague,
for this church in 1506, as it was then the church used by the German
community. Commissioned by merchant Christopher Fugger, who is buried in
the church, it shows the
influence on Dürer of Venetian painting generally, and Giovanni Bellini in
particular.
Organ panels by Sebastiano del Piombo, showing Saints Sinibaldo, Alvise,
Sebastiano and Bartolomeo, are in the Accademia following much-needed
restoration by Venice in Peril for the Genius of Venice exhibition
at the Royal Academy in London in 1983.
(S. Sinibaldo (Sebald) is the patron saint of
Nuremberg, where he lived as a hermit. One of his miracles was using
icicles as fuel on the fire of a poor man who had given him shelter but who had no
wood.)
Ruskin said
I did not go to look at the works of Sabastian del Piombo which it
contains, fully crediting M. Lazari's statement, that they have been "Barbaramente
sfigurati da mani imperite, che pretendevano ristaurarli."
(barbarously disfigured by inexpert hands, which
claimed to be restoring them) Otherwise the
church is of no importance.
Campanile
50 m (162 ft) manual bells
Dates from building of 1170, but rebuilt following damage during the
earthquake of 1688 by Giovanni Scalfarotto
1747-54 with an octagonal drum and onion dome.
Opening Times
For concerts...
...but the
website for San Salvador says
Tue/Thur/Sat 10.00 - 12.00 am
Wed/Fri 7.00 - 9.00 pm (only for prayer and worship)
Vaporetto Rialto
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San Basso
Giuseppe Benoni/Baldassare
Longhena 1665-1675
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History
Facing the side entrance to the Basilica San Marco, the original church on
this site was built in 1076. The church was rebuilt after the fire of
1105, which destroyed 23 churches in total. It was again damaged by fire in
1661, when the altar decorations caught fire, and rebuilt in 1665. This
last church,
the current building, was probably designed by Giuseppe Benoni
with the facade (left) added 10
years later by Baldassare Longhena, but never finished - its
upper part was never built. A small campanile was built but later
demolished. Closed by the French in 1810, the church was later used to
house works of art belonging to San Marco, and as an antique shop, but now hosts
exhibitions and Vivaldi concerts. It needs a good clean.
Local colour
The Piazetta dei Leoncini, which the church faces onto, also contains
the Palazzo Patriarchale. Begun in 1837 this was the last (so far) major
new building in the Piazza San Marco area. In the monumental neoclassical
style, it roughly but noticeably echoes the the facade of San Basso
The church in art
The Piazzetta di San Basso by Michele Marieschi (church facade
to the right) (see left).
The church is also visible in the background of Daniele Manin and Niccolò Tommaseo
freed from prison and carried in triumph to Piazza San Marco by
Napoleone Nani in the Querini-Stampalia
Vaporetto San Zaccaria |
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San Beneto
1619-1695
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More famous for sharing a campo with the Fortuny Museum than anything
else.
History
Tradition says the church was founded in the second half of the 11th
Century, but some sources say 1005, or even earlier. It was later given to the monastery of
San Michele Arcangelo di Brandolo by Giovanni and Domenico Falier and
given parish church status by Pope Gregory IX in 1229 . The structure became dangerous and so the current building,
which dates from 1619-1695, was built at the expense of the
patriarch Giovanni Tiepolo.
Art highlights
Said to contain works by Carlo Maratta, Jacopo Guarana, Sebastiano Mazzoni
(two painting of St Benedict), Antonio Fumiani, Giambattista
Tiepolo (St Francis of Paola, said to be 'rather faded and
over-cleaned') and Gaspare Diziani. Also the 'boldly painted' St
Sebastian having his wounds washed by holy women by Bernardo Strozzi,
a Genoese priest.Campanile 20m
(65ft) manual bells
The original campanile, with a sugar-loaf spire and four pinnacles, can be
seen on the Barbari map. It collapsed on the 26th November 1540. It was
replaced in 1619 by the current one, which has an octagonal drum and onion
dome.
Opening times
Currently closed.
Vaporetto S. Angelo |
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San Fantin
Scarpagnino/Sansovino
1507-1564.
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It faces La Fenice
History
Said to have been founded in the 9th Century but the earliest documentary
evidence dates from 1134. Rebuilt 15th Century in nave-and-two-aisles form
clearly visible on Barbari map. This church was demolished in 1506 and a new
one begun the following year. This was to a design by Scarpagnino, who
worked on the building until his death in 1549. Jacopo Sansovino took over
(with help from Alessandro Vittoria), designing the domed
apse, and the building was completed in 1564.
This was the guild church of the Scaleteri (vendors of biscuits and
sweets) whose patron saint is San Fantin.
The church
A plain exterior of Istrian stone. The exterior view of Sansovino's apse
was blocked by some 'poor houses' which were cleared away in 1931, as a
tribute to Luigi Marangoni, Procurator of San Marco, and paid for by a group
of his friends.
The interior
Some Lombardesque funerary monuments and paintings by the likes of Corona
and Peranda, and several by Palma il Giovane. Also a 15th-century Tuscan
polychrome wood crucifix the restoration of which was paid for by Venice
in Peril in 2002. This crucifix was the one that was carried in front of condemned
prisoners from the dungeons to the place of execution between the two
columns on the Piazzetta.
Ruskin said
Said to contain a John Bellini, otherwise of no importance.
Opening times
Vaporetto Santa Maria del Giglio
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San Gallo
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A regular site for Biennale
exhibits
History
Built in 1582 as the chapel of an almshouse, it acquired its present form
in 1703.
Art highlights
The painting above the altar has been attributed to Tintoretto, but most
authorities are sceptical.
A visit
One of the sites of the 2007 Art Biennale, housing an installation
by Bill Viola called
Ocean Without a Shore. I
visited in October but as it's a video thing nothing of the church inside
could be seen due to the darkness, which was a shame. Still, I can report
that the
video installation was just as tedious as they usually are. Played host to
something called 'Georgia' during the 2008 Architecture Biennale, but was
closed when I took the photo (right).
Vaporetto San
Marco
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San Luca
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History
Originally built before 1072 by the Dandolo and Puzzamano families, the
present church dates from a rebuilding in the 16th century. The
collapse of part of the façade in 1827 created an urgent need for more rebuilding in
1832, by Sebastiano Santi. There was further major work in 1881.
The church
Tucked away just North of Campo Manin, opposite a
long-disused cinema, it's orangey pink on the outside and not entirely
fascinating on the inside. There is a worse-for-wear Veronese over the
high altar and a Palma il
Giovane, of course. The church's main claim to fame now is the fact that Pietro Aretino
(who lived nearby on the Riva del Carbon) was buried here in 1556, but his tomb
got covered over during the 19th Century restoration. Also the last
resting place of Ludovico Dolce, a 16th Century writer very famous in his own
time, and a German painter called Carlo Loth who died in 1698.
Campanile 22m (72ft) manual bells
Original erected in 1072, damaged by fire in 1105 with the top rebuilt
in 1462. Reinforced with girders in 1966.The church in art
San Luca turns up oddly often in the sketchbooks of Turner, possibly
because it's on one the common canal routes from the San Marco area (where
he usually stayed) to the Grand Canal. The church is to the right of centre in
the watercolour sketch left, from the London Tate Gallery's collection.
Opening times
Vaporetto S. Angelo
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San Marco
1063
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You know the place.
An apology
My idea of fun on a trip to Venice is to suddenly come upon a deserted
campo with an obscure
church that's usually closed with its doors open. At the
other end of the scale is a trip to San Marco, involving as it does long
queues, the opposite of solitude and an all-round pretty unspiritual
experience. Also I'm not a big fan of mosaics. So, as there are more than
a few places where you'll find loads of stuff about the Basilica, I'm not
going to bother, if that's alright with you.
Opening times
Monday to Saturday: 9.45-5.30 (-4.30 October-April)
Sunday 2.00-4.00
Vaporetto Vallaresso (San Marco)
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San Maurizio
Pietro Zaguri/Giannantonio Selva/Antonio
Diedo 1806
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History
Tradition says the original church was built in the 9th century, but the
earliest recorded mention is dated 1088. Rebuilt after a fire in 1105 and
in 1590. The present neoclassical church dates
from a rebuilding of 1795-1806, to the designs of patrician Pietro Zaguri,
by
Giannantonio Selva - the façade and altars being by Selva. The work was finished after Selva's death by Antonio Diedo and the
church consecrated in 1828. This rebuilding was carried out so that the
church could thereby replace the demolished church of San Geminiano, with Zaguri's
designs supposedly taking their inspiration from that church and from
Codussi.
The church having been deconsecrated, the interior has been stripped and the church is now full of old violins in display
cases - this is now a Vivaldi-related baroque music museum, but is still quite a
pleasing square space and worth a visit. The shop in the foyer is also a good source for obscure baroque
CDs that you might not find back home.
Campanile
The De Barbari map shows a tower from after the 1105 fire, on the
opposite side of the calle, topped with a cone-shaped spire and four
pinnacles. Demolished to make way for the house of oil and flour
merchant Dionino Bellavite, who from 1564 onwards paid a fee 'for the
demolished campanile'. Roman-style bell tower built in 1795.
(The leaning campanile in my photo belongs to Santo Stefano.)
Opening times
9.30-8.30
Vaporetto
Accademia
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San Moise
Alessandro Tremignon/Heinrich (Enrico) Meyring 1668
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Ruskin said 'one of the basest examples of the basest schools of the
Renaissance'. The rest of us just say 'blimey!'
The church
The first church on this site was said to have been built of wood in
797 and dedicated to San Vittore. The second was built in 947 by Moisè Venier and
dedicated to his name saint (St Moses). This church was renovated
after the fire of 1105.
The current church was built in 1628 to designs by Alessandro Tremignon.
The reconstruction was paid for by the Fini family and it's Vincenzo Fini,
who was made Procurator of San Marco in 1687, whose bust sits atop the
central obelisk on the facade, propped up by angels, saints and a pair of
camels. In the order above you'll find four virtues, with sibyls at the
top. The whole theatrical thrust of the facade is to the glory of the Fini,
and represents the mercantile lives of the brothers. All the decoration is
by Flemish sculptor Heinrich Meyring (sometimes Italianised to Merengo)
who also carved the massive sculpture on the altar inside, seemingly out
of a rock. It shows God handing the tablets to Moses.
A visit
Baroque churches can
often be more than a little overwhelming in the
profusion of their decoration, but San Moise just makes your jaw drop.
And that it stands next to the modernist plainness of the Hotel
Bauer-Grünwald just exaggerates the effect even more. Meyring's altar
inside gives some idea where Walt Disney got the idea of dioramas from.
It has all the good taste of the exterior, but the rest of the interior
is somewhat less overpowering with some good art.
Ruskin said
The late-renaissance use of the facade to glorify generous benefactors
was said by our man to be a manifestation of insolent atheism.
Campanile 47m (153ft) electromechanical bells
14th Century with fired brick spire.
Opening times
Daily 3.30-7.00 officially, but it actually seems to be open most of the time.
Vaporetto Vallaresso
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San Salvador
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History
Traditionally said to have been first built in the 7th Century, by St
Magnus, to whom the Saviour (Salvatore) had appeared in a dream
and sent him a sign - a red cloud this time. This church is said to have
had an iron-grating floor with running water beneath. A
rebuilding of the 12th Century after a fire can be seen on De Barbari's
famous map of 1500. The present church was begun in 1507 to designs by
Giorgio Spavento, with Tullio Lombardo supervising. Jacopo Sansovino was
responsible for the completion of this work in 1530-34 and for the lovely
frescoed side entrance onto the Mercerie. The façade was rebuilt 1649-63
to a design by Giuseppe Sardi with sculptural decoration by Bernardo
Falcone. It has an Austrian cannonball embedded in the bottom left hand
corner, which is visible behind the woman's head in the photo (right).
The interior
The church has a lovely dark grey interior, which reminded me of some
favourite churches in Florence, although the triple-domed interior is
supposed to hark back to the Byzantine and to San Marco. Despite the darkish stone it's
a well-lit church - large but not huge
Art highlights
The great Titian Annunciation
(see below right)
sits on an altar by Sansovino, next to his tomb of Doge Francesco Venier,
it's one of the few late Titians in Venice.
The other great Titian is the Transfiguration over the high altar,
which hides a 14th Century silver reredos revealed only at Christmas,
Easter and at the feast of San Salvador on the 6th of August. Then there's The Supper at Emmaus
(see further below right)
a stiff piece of work which might be by Giovanni Bellini, or a pupil of Bellini called Benedetto Diana,
or it might be a copy of a Bellini by Carpaccio - it depends on which book you read. The church itself covers its options
by having both the famous artists' names scribbled in biro on masking tape stuck on the
plastic sign nearby, with question marks. There are also works by Paris Bordone,
Palma il Giovane (of course) and, on the inside of the organ doors, two
paintings by Franceso Vecellio, Titian's brother, who is also said to be
responsible for the frescoes in the side entrance. The sacristy, which I
missed, has more frescoes by him, discovered in the 1920s and swiftly
restored. In 2003.
A visit in 2009
It's a monumental and plain church, as well as being historically
important, with the words 'big' and 'dark' applying to. The late Titian
Annunciation is becoming a favourite of mine. And in case you're
wondering why Mary is lifting up her scarf and showing the angel her ear
it's because that was evidently the organ through which God...well, you
know. There's another Titian over the high altar but the truly bad
restoration job done on this one means that you'd probably never guess.
The remains of St Theodore, Venice's original patron saint, are in the
chapel to the right of the apse. And the right hand wall of the apse has a
large painting of something nasty happening to a naked chap. (The
labelling is a bit patchy in this church.) Many tombs and altars,
including an altar to the lunganeghi (sausage makers) with statues by
Vittoria of Saint Sebastian (with a metal arrow embedded in the
stone) and Saint Roch (with a very discreet sore on his leg). I
went to see if they'd changed the label on the painting that may be by
Bellini, Carpaccio or, more likely, neither of them. Last time there had
been some confused scribbling on some masking tape, this time there was no
label but the young woman attendant was saying it was definitely by
Carpaccio, to some rightly sceptical people who were enquiring. (And why
are the attendants in San Salvador always young women?)
Lost art
Two very early Bellinis, a Crucifixion and a Transfiguration,
both still looking very
indebted to Mantegna (and both in the Correr Museum) may have been
painted for San Salvador.
Campanile 23m (75ft) mechanical bells
De Barbari's map shows a chunky detached tower that was a 14th Century
renovation of the original. Restoration in 1881 saw the tower raised.
The shaky structure had its foundations broadened in 1903 and 1911.
The monastery
The attached monastery, with its restored cloisters (with the red banner
over the door in the photograph above right) is said to be Sansovino's
work too and is now the HQ of a phone company and open Tues-Sun 10am-6pm.
Ruskin said
In the interior of the church are some of the best examples of Renaissance
sculptural monuments in Venice. It is said to possess an important pala of
silver, of the thirteenth century, one of the objects in Venice which I
much regret having forgotten to examine; besides two Titians, a Bonifazio,
and a John Bellini. The latter ("The Supper at Emmaus") must, I think,
have been entirely repainted: it is not only unworthy of the master, but
unlike him; as far, at least, as I could see from below, for it is hung
high.
Opening times
Monday-Saturday: 9.00-12.00 and 3.00-6.00,
Sunday: 3.00-7.00
The afternoon hours are shorter (4-6 pm) in the summer (June-August).
website
Vaporetto Rialto
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San
Samuele
1685
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History
The original church was built in the 11th Century by the Boldù family,
and repaired after fires in 1105 and 1170. The current
building dating from a rebuilding of 1685. The statue of the Virgin over
the door dates from this rebuilding. In 1952 the façade was rebuilt and
the original, but much changed, porch was restored. At this time the
loggia on the upper storey was also opened up.Campanile
28m (91ft) manual bells
Byzantine in style, made of Istrian stone and dating from the 12th
Century. But reported to be in a very poor state of repair.
Local colour
Off of Campo San Samuele, to the right of the church, is Calle Malpiero,
where you can see the house in which Casanova was born. This whole area is
Casanova-ville. He played in the orchestra of the San Samuele Theatre (now
a school). The parents of Casanova got married in this church on 17
February 1724. He was baptised there. And in 1740, at the age of 15, he
gave his first two sermons in this church. The first was a great success
the offertory plate came back not just full of money but with some love
letters in it. But the second one was a disaster hed eaten and drunk
too much, and not prepared properly, and rather than do the brutta figura
he pretended to faint. And that was the end of his ecclesiastical career.
The church in art
Grand Canal at San Samuele, an impressionistic watercolour by John
Singer Sargent.
The parish in poetry
Contrada piccola, grande bordel;
Senza ponti, cattive campane,
Omini becchi e donne putane.
This old poem about the parish of San Samuele translates as...
Small as it is, its a great big brothel
Without bridges, its bells all jangly
The men are cuckolds and the women whores
Opening times
Deconsecrated and said now to be sadly just used for storage, possibly
by the International Centre for the
Study of the Arts and Costumes.
Vaporetto San Samuele
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San Vidal
1656-1714 Antonio Gaspari/ Andrea
Tirali.
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History
Founded in 1084 by Doge Vitale Falier who is
thought to have built it in honour of his name saint. Rebuilt after the
fire of 1105, and again from 1656
to a design by Antonio Gaspari, commissioned by the Morisoni family as a
memorial to Francesco Morosoni, who defeated the Turks at Morea and then
served as doge from 1688-1694. The façade then built through a bequest from Doge Carlo Contarini by Andrea Tirali,
who was clearly very influenced by the façade of San Giorgio Maggiore.
Long deconsecrated, the church spent some time as an exhibition hall for
the Catholic Union of Italian Artists and now hosts concerts. Restoration
work in 1902-3 and in 2000.
The church
Palladian-style facade (1706-14) by Tirali, and paid for by Doge
Carlo Contarini. Busts of Contarini
and his wife on the façade, and of Teodoro Tessari, the parish priest whose efforts lead to
the rebuilding.
Interior
A single nave with side altars. Deconsecrated and formerly used
as an art gallery, the church has the stripped-bare look that churches
acquire when cleaned out for the purposes of (Vivaldi) concerts and the
selling of CDs. But every cloud...at least it's now almost always open, so
you can get in to see the art highlight.
Art highlight
San Vidal on horseback, a late and handsome Carpaccio.
Also the Guardian Angel with St Anthony of Padua and St Gaetano
of Thiene by Giovanni Battista Piazzetta restored by Venice in Peril
for
the Glory of Venice exhibition at the Royal Academy in London in
1994.
Campanile
29m (94ft) electromechanical bells
Originally of 1084, rebuilt after the 1105 fire, like the chrurch. Further
restored after an earthquake in 1347, and again in 1680.
A door in its base (see far right) is surmounted in an almost
convincing fashion by a fragment
of a 12th Century cornice and a 15th Century relief roundel of St Gregory.
The church in art
Canaletto's Campo San Vidal and Santa Maria della Carita (The
Stonemason´s Yard) (see below) in the National Gallery in London is
said to depict masons working on the stonework for San Vidal's rebuilding.
Vaporetto
Accademia
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Photo by Graham Morrison
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San Zulian
Jacopo Sansovino/Alessandro
Vittoria 1553-1580
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History
Tradition says that San Giuliano (San Zulian in Venetian dialect) was
founded in 829, but the church is mentioned for the first time in a
document dating from the 11th Century, and some sources claim it was
rebuilt after the fire of 1105, at the expense of the Balbi family. By the
mid-15th Century this church is said to have been in a poor state.
The current church dates from a rebuilding
commissioned in 1553 by Tommaso Rangone, a physician and astrologer from
Ravenna who could not be accused of undue modesty. He made his fortune
from syphilis cures and wrote a book on how to live to 120 which was based on his
observations regarding the longevity of Venetians. (He lived to the age of
84, since you asked.) His obsession with longevity may explain his
ceaseless quest for immortality in paint and stone. He is depicted in
major roles in Tintoretto's paintings for the Scuola di San Marco (now in
the Accademia) for which he became Guardian Grande. He had also wanted to
be commemorated by an effigy on the façade of San Geminiano, the parish
church which used to face the Basilica across Piazza San Marco, but this
request was refused by the Signoria as too vainglorious.
Jacopo Sansovino was put in charge of this rebuilding, but while he was
building a new façade the roof collapsed and he had to start again from scratch.
Alessandro Vittoria collaborated with him towards the end, and the church
was finished and consecrated in 1580, ten years after Sansovino's death. Rangone kept the
architect's model and made arrangements for it to be carried in procession
during his funeral. He's buried in the chancel here. His marble coffin is
said to have been made in the shape of his body. It's also said that his
bones were transferred to the island of Sant'Ariano in 1822.
The church
That's a bronze statue of Rangone by Sansovino, made in 1554, in the arch
over the door (left). Rangone is depicted holding sarsaparilla and
guaiacum, two of the ingredients of his syphilis cure. The portico is set
back, rather than sticking out, because of space constraints. The façade
also features odd symbols and inscriptions in Latin, Greek and Hebrew
telling us what a great and generous man Rangone was. This is one of only
two freestanding churches in Venice (i.e. that can be walked all around). The other is
Angelo Raffaele. Much work was carried out here by Venice in
Peril in the early 1990s. This included cleaning and applying protective
substances to the façade and the statue of Rangone, which also
needed protecting from pigeons. Much work was done on the interior too.
The interior
A square aisleless nave almost totally, and oddly, free of the usual
architectural detailing, having just two Corinthian pilasters framing the
chancel.
A visit
Square and aisleless and very dark. The only substantial architectural
details are the Corinthian pilasters either side of the chancel, but
there's lots of gold and works by Palma il Giovane including, I have to
admit, quite a nice Assumption. Appreciation of the painted ceiling
is much improved by putting some coins in the light, but this is verily a
light of most stingy duration.
Art highlights
Saints by Vittoria and four paintings, including the cross-shaped
ceiling painting The Apotheosis of Saint Julian, by Palma il
Giovane. The
first altar on the right has a 1584 Pietà by Veronese, with saints
below by his assistants. Also a Last Supper formerly attributed to
Tintoretto but now said to be by the studio of Veronese.
Campanile
manual bells
De Barbari's map shows a tower, presumably built during the second
rebuilding, topped by a sugar-loaf spire and four pinnacles. The current
tower dates from the 1775 and is the only one in Venice that rests on
the roof of its church.
Opening times
Daily 8.30 - 7.00
Vaporetto San Zacceria
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Santa Croce degli Armeni
1682-88
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Key word: small
History
A house on the site was supposedly given to the Armenians around 1253
by Marco Ziani, the son of Doge Pietro, grateful
for the fortune he'd made in their country. An oratory was built in 1496 as Santa Croce di Cristo (the Sacred Cross
of Christ). This was rebuilt as a church in 1682-88 and renovated in 1703.
The
small Armenian population of Venice now attends services at the monastery
on the island of san Lazzaro degli Armeni and so this church is no longer
used.
The church
The discrete
entrance is off the Sotoportego dei Armeni. It has a small square interior with a central dome. The altar paintings
date from the period of the restoration.
Campanile 24m (78ft) manual bells
Hard to see, dating from 1682-88 too and with an onion dome.
Opening times
For mass on Sunday mornings.
Vaporetto Vallaresso (San Marco)
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Santa Maria del Giglio
Giuseppe Benoni/Giuseppe Sardi
1678-83
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Baroque like San Moise, but mercifully much less so.
History
The original Byzantine-basilica style church was said to have been founded
by the Slav Jubanico family, a name corrupted over time to Zobenigo. Hence the
church's other name Santa Maria Zobenigo. The church burnt down in 966 and
in 1105. This church survived until the present church, whose name translates as Our Lady of the
Lily, was built in 1680 by Giuseppe Benoni, with the facade and side
altars by Giuseppe Sardi. Similarly to the nearby Santo Stefano this
church has its side onto a broad campo with its façade facing a narrow calle.
Restored in 1833
The church
The façade is another of the irreligious self-glorifying displays that
Ruskin condemned, along with San Moise, as a 'manifestation of insolent
atheism'. Here it's Antonio Barbaro who left 30,000 ducats in his will
with precise instructions as to how Sardi was to celebrate his political
and military careers. The heavily populated facade has Barbaro's four
brothers, clothed according the public offices they held, on the lowest
level, with Barbaro himself on the next level up, over the door, all
sculpted by Giusto Le Court. Hoards of allegorical figures and putti keep him company.
Also some angels because this is, you know, a church after all. The plinths under the pairs of Corinthian columns
on this upper level show battle scenes, whilst the plinths under
the Ionic columns at ground level show plans of the cities of Antonio's
military triumphs: Zara, Candia (Crete), Padua, Rome, Corfu and Spalato
(Split).
Art
There are two unusually under-populated early Tintorettos of evangelists
on either side of the altar which were originally organ doors. The
contract for these doors survives and gives Tintoretto just sixteen days
to finish the job. It's dated 6 March 1557 - exactly 400 years before the
day I was born! There's also a
Virgin and children by
Rubens (much rarer in Venice - this is the only one). Although some guide books use words like
'alleged' and 'attributed'.
Campanile
Visible in the Canaletto painting (see below). Was leaning a
lot when it was demolished in 1774. Rebuilding began in 1805 but work
only reached 26 feet - this stump is now a gift shop. Barbari's famous map shows
a stump too, but here it's because it was being built, suggesting that an earlier tower had toppled too by 1500.
The church in art
Santa Maria Zobenigo by Canaletto (below) with the
demolished campanile then still intact.
Ruskin said
So incensed was he at their vainglorious and atheistic appropriation of
this church's façade that when he learnt, during his visit of 1851, that
the last members of the once-great Barbaro family, two old brothers,
were then living in the garret of the nearby family palazzo Ruskin wrote
to his father So they have been brought to their garrets justly.
Opening times
Monday to Saturday: 10.00 to 5.00
Sundays: closed
A Chorus Church
Vaporetto Santa Maria del Giglio
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Photo by Vicky Greig
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Santo Stefano
1294-1325/early 15th Century
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History
A convent church was founded here in 1294 by the Augustinian hermits
of Sant'Anna in Castello and named for Saints Augustine and Stephen, the
latter because Augustine himself had declared a devotion to Saint Peter.
The original building work was finished in 1325, with rebuilding in the
early 15th Century. Restoration in 1743. The church has had to be
reconsecrated six times because of, according to Jan Morris, 'repeated bloodshed within its walls'.
The first being when Girolamo Bonifazio wounded a monk called Fra
Francesco Basadonna on Whit Sunday 1348. Further such incidents occurred
in 1556, 1561, 1567, 1583 and 1594.
The church
The facade, with a fine carved doorway said to be
by Bartolomeo Bon (below left) faces onto a cramped calle, which does not make viewing it,
or photographing it, very easy. The interior is one of
Venice's most memorable and impressive. Divided into a nave and two
aisles, the walls are frescoed in a pleasing diamond and acanthus-leaf
pattern and above all is the richly-decorated ship's keel (carena di
nave) roof probably made in the Arsenale. The columns are alternating
red and white marble, with frescoed arches, and the floor pleasingly compliments the colour scheme.
Art
The sacristy is chock-full of paintings, with some characteristic late
Tintorettos, including an impressive and large Last supper, one of
many by him in Venice. In the
small cloister beyond you can get close to some sculpture by Pietro
Lombardo amongst others, including Canova's tombstone for Senator Giovanni
Falier (below left). Canova's first Venetian studio was in the
cloister of Santo Stefano.
Ruskin said
An interesting building of central Gothic, the best ecclesiastical
example of it in Venice. The west entrance is much later than any of the
rest, and is of the richest Renaissance Gothic, a little anterior to the
Porta della Carta, and first-rate of its kind. The manner of the
introduction of the figure of the angel at the top of the arch is full of
beauty. Note the extravagant crockets and cusp finials as signs of
decline.
Cloister
The cloister, off of Campo Sant'Angelo, houses the Ministero delle Finanze
and can be visited on weekday mornings. It's a large and handsome cloister (below left)
but the wires and air-conditioning units, amongst other impositions, show
it to be what you might call a working cloister. Some nice steps, corners
and bits of stonework though, so worth a visit.
Local colour
Campo Santo Stefano was used for bullfights until 1802, when the last
one held in Venice took place here.
Campanile
61m (198ft) electromechanical bells
Late Renaissance (1544) and leaning, with a newer top. On 7th August 1585
it was struck by lightning, collapsed onto nearby houses, and the bells
melted. Replacements came from England, where Catholic churches were
being stripped under Elizabeth I. Rebuilt in 17th and 18th Centuries The
base was reinforced between 1902 and 1906 due to subsidence and
consequent leaning. Still said to be unstable.
Opening times
Monday to Saturday 10.00-6.00; Sunday 3.00-6.00
Cloister: Monday to Friday
9.00-1.00
Vaporetto
Accademia
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Santi Rocco e Margarita
1488
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History
In 1485 the Scuola di San Rocco briefly moved to an oratory on this
site with the intention of building a church to house the relics of St
Roch, its patron saint, but soon moved to their present premises
near the Frari.
The oratory and some adjoining houses were given
to the Cistercian nuns from the derelict Monastery of Santa Margherita on Torcello who began construction of the church and convent in April 1488,
with contributions from the Augustinian friars of Santo Stefano and the Lezze family (Luca Lezze was Procuratore
di San Marco in 1464) The church was consecrated in 1547. In 1597 an altar
was built for the holy icon of the Madonna brought here from Lakonia in
southern Greece.
The monastery was suppressed in 1806, and the
church closed in 1810. After some years' use as a music venue both were
acquired in 1822 by the priest Pietro Ciliota, who founded a school for
girls. Two of the five altars were sold, and the
other furnishings dispersed. The
Istituto Ciliota now
(since restoration in 1999) also offers accommodation in the monastery.
The interior and lost art
A single nave with side altars. Amongst the lost art the painting above
the main altar was by Francesco Montemezzano, highly praised by Boschini,
who also lists two more altarpieces: an annunciation by Matteo Ingoli and
another by Girolamo Pilotti. A bas-relief showing the trinity and the
annunciation is now in the collection of the Patriarchs, whose website
suggests that some paintings remain in the church.
A visit
I went and stayed in the Istituto Ciliota in September 2009, and they
let me go and have a look inside the church. I found myself in a
functional little space with charm, some unspecial art, a stage and
projection screen at the back, and a TV and video player on the altar. I'd
heard that there had been some talk of turning it into a supermarket some
time back - not the most imaginative fate for what must have been a sweet
little church in its day. It's mentioned in the Freely guidebook but isn't to be found
(by me anyway) in Lorenzetti, usually the last word. Mysterious.
The church in books
In her book The Virgins of Venice Mary Laven, writing about the
lengths enclosure went to, tells us that Patriarch Vendramin told the nuns
of SS Rocco e Margarita to block up the holes ventilating their
toilets, lest they catch a glimpse of the street below whilst going about
their business.
Opening times
Accessible through the Istituto
Ciliota
Vaporetto
San Samuele
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Photo above by Brigitte Eckert
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