Scuola Grande dei Carmini

The Scuola Grande dei Carmini is a confraternity building in Venice, Italy. It is located in the sestiere of Dorsoduro, before Campo dei Carmini and Campo Santa Margherita, upon which its facade looks. It stands, separated by an alley, to the northeast of the church of Santa Maria dei Carmini.

History
It was the former home of the Venetian Scuola of the same name. The Scuola was founded in 1594 under Doge Pasquale Cicogna, and was the last of its kind to be recognized as a Scuola Grande in 1767 by the Council of Ten. Initially it was located in the Convent of the Church of Carmini, whose structure also faces the campo of the same name. The present scuola building was designed by Francesco Caustello and Baldassare Longhena. In 1807, the confraternity was suppressed by Napoleon's anticlerical decrees. The Austrians allowed the Scuola to reopen, and it continues activities today, though mostly cultural activities.

Exterior
The entrance facade and porch are of Baroque style, are facing south and overlook the southwestern tip of Campo Santa Margherita, while the west facade is parallel to the left of the nave of Carmini church. and visible from Campo dei Carmini.

The whiteness of the two facades is due to their Istrian stone surface and opposes the black thick wrought iron balustrades that close all the windows of the building.

Interior
The Scuola dei Carmini contains many works of great artistic value, due to their presence in their original location.

The Chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Inside the school, on the ground floor, there is a large chapel (Cappella della Madonna del Carmelo) with a single nave, baroque style, the ceiling is apparent woodwork is remarkable. The main altar is dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, protector of the brotherhood, the painting of the altarpiece, an oil on canvas of the Venetian painter Sante Piatti, represents it.

The piece is entirely decorated with grisaille paintings by Niccolò Bambini. On the left wall the circumcision of Jesus, surrounding the access to the staircase of Baldassare Longhena, Faith, Hope and Charity. On the right wall The rest of the holy family in Egypt and the Assumption of the Virgin.

From this room, to the right of the stairs you can access the sacristy, a small room covered by a barrel vault and embellished by the original wooden seats.

The stairs and the corridor
The grand staircase and the corridor with barrel vaults on a drawing of Baldassare Longhena, were made by his pupil Antonio Gaspari. The sculptures are the work of Alvise Bassi and were erected between 1728 and 1729. Three medallions in the last ramp show the theological virtues, the frescoes of Sante Piatti date from 1733.

The capitular hall
It is the largest of the rooms and contains famous frescoes (actually paintings on canvas in the ceiling) completed by Giambattista Tiepolo from 1739 to 1749. The stuccoes are by the Swiss decorator Abbondio Stazio (1740), gilded by Carpoforo Mazzeti from 1742 to 1743. In the hall there is an altar dedicated to the Virgin with a statue of the Madonna and Child offering the scapular; it dates from the 17th century and is by Bernardo Falconi.

Sala dell'Albergo
So called because we welcomed pilgrims and the poor. Nowadays, it is reserved for meetings of the Chancellery and members of Scuola. The wall coverings are carved walnut and the pavement is made of polychrome marbles.
 * The ceiling
 * The wooden ceiling was decorated by Francesco Lucchini and Alessandro Orlandi in 1740. In the center the 'Assumption' by Alessandro Varotari says the Padovanino (1588- 1648). This oil on canvas work was originally in the chapter house and was moved to make room for Tiepolo's paintings. All around the paintings of Giustino Menescardi after a drawing by Gaetono Zompini.

The rooms of the archive
The rooms of the archive contain ceiling and wall paintings by Giustino Menescardi with elaborate woodwork, specially caryatids by Giacomo Piazzetta father of the painter Giovanni Battista Piazzetta.; the iconography of the paintings was organized by Gaetano Zompini. Among Menescardi's paintings are Martyrdom of Brothers Maccabe and Abigail placates David's designs against her husband Nabal. The ceiling depicts a Virgin appears to Elias atop Mount Carmel.

In the antechamber a painting by Giovanni Battista Piazzetta Judithe and Holofernes from 1745. On the wall in front of the file cabinet is a large painting by Gaetano Zompini: Esther faints before Ahasuerus. On the wall facing the windows a two-part paintings by Giustino Menescardi:  The Martyrdom of the Maccabees and St. Salome . On the wall of the cabinet of the Archives two paintings.  Abigail soothes and disarms David indignant against his husband Nabal  by Giustino Menescardi and  Rebecca at the Well  by Gaetano Zompini.