User:Adebbas/Scuola Grande di San Marco

The Scuola Grande di San Marco is a historical building in Venice, Italy, that used to serve as a confraternity designed to give mutual aid to city dwellers. It also was a place where religious devotional ceremonies dedicated to one patron saint could take place outside the regular meetings of the church. The building itself was designed by many well-known Venetian architects including Pietro Lombardo, Mauro Codussi, and Bartolomeo Bon. Originally, it was home to one of the six major confraternities, the Scuole Grande of Venice, but today, it serves as one of the city's main hospitals. It faces the Campo San Giovanni e Paolo, one of the largest squares in the city, and can be identified by its curved archways and its large vestibule in the center of the building.

History:

During the 15th century gothic period, many scuole were built across the city of Venice. The scuole served as a religious confraternity of laypersons for Venice, and acted in many ways like a private guild. In general, there were two categories of scuole, the Scuole Piccole and the Scuole Grande. The Scuole Piccole were much more numerous and normally were home to fewer members than the six Scuole Grande which had 500-600 members. Some of the most famous members of the Scuole Grande di San Marco included famous Italian explorers like Giosafat Barbaro and Alvise da Mosto. The Scuole Grande were built as an extension of extremely religious efforts, and focused much more on devotional activities. On the other hand, Scuole Piccole were smaller and much more intimate confraternities, that served a wider range of functions such as devotional practices, meeting places for groups of people in Venice, and locations where poor or misfortunate city dwellers could receive aid. Regardless of the size of the scuole, each had a chosen patron saint, to which the building would be for.

After being established, the scuole in Venice, and particularly the Scuola Grande di San Marco, began to take a much wider political role, asserting themselves as a powerful voice for the cittadini, or the citizen middle class of the city. The Scuola Grande di San Marco emphasized the contributions of the citizen class, and professional workers and took incredible pride in their members and their role in the political sphere. While the scuole grande generally worked to promote interests of the cittadini, there was a large focus on the outward appearance of the scuole in general. Typically, the confraternity was financed by donations and subscriptions from their membership, which amounted to a substantial amount of wealth in which the members could enjoy. In particular, the desire for eternal salvation in the eyes of the church prompted many wealthy donors to make charitable gifts. This constant influx of wealth fostered a sense of competition between the various scuole grande in Venice.

Architecture: Originally, the edifice was built by the Confraternity of San Marco in 1260 to act as a meeting place for the officers. In 1485, however, it was destroyed by a large fire, and rebuilt in the following twenty years under a new design by Pietro Lombardo and Giovanni Buora, with a fund established by the members. The strongly civic character of the Scuole Grande meant that the meeting-houses resembled not so much churches as miniature versions of the Doge's Palace. The Scuole Grande di San Marco consisted of thee main areas: a large hall on the ground floor, a chapter meeting place for its many members on the first floor, and a large boardroom, or albergo. The Scuole Grande di San Marco has a clear distinction between these three rooms, highlighted by the great façade. The façade, a masterwork with delicately decorated niches and pilasters, and with white or polychrome marble statues, was later completed by Mauro Codussi. It represents a marriage between illusionistic scenography and real architecture. While decorated with the polished marble elements of Renaissance classicism, the proliferation of arches and niches adds a retrogressive Byzantine flavor, an architectural feature of many conservative Venetian styles. One of the most notable aspects of the façade is the use of trompe-l'œil archways and portals on the ground floor, all executed in different types of marble. Each of the two main doors is emphasized by a set of sculpted reliefs: a pair of lions guarding the main entrance and multiple scenes from St. Mark's life.

Paintings:

During the course of the century after the Scuole Grande di San Marco had been rebuilt, it became standard practice to for the first and second floors to be adorned with paintings of narrative imagery. These narratives celebrated the life and miracles of its patron, Saint Mark, and included a large canvas by Gentile Bellini and Giovanni Bellini. These canvases are filled with color and circumstantial detail that Gentile Bellini, Vittore Carpaccio, and other artists painted for the interior spaces.

Jacopo Tintoretto furnished the Scuola with three paintings Miracle of the Slave (also known as The Miracle of St. Mark, 1548), St Mark's Body Brought to Venice, painted between 1562 and 1566, both paintings are currently housed in the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice, and Finding of the body of St Mark also painted between 1562 and 1566, an now held in the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan. Tintoretto's son Domenico, added several more paintings after that related to St Mark's destiny to be buried in Venice.

The altarpiece, Christ in Glory with Saint Mark, Saint Peter, and Saint Paul, was later commissioned by Jacopo Palma il Giovane and sits at the head of the large meeting room on the first floor.

Conversion to a Hospital:

Although the Scuole Grande di San Marco was originally housed a great confraternity, in 1819 it became an Austrian military hospital. It is now a civil hospital. The second floor, which used to be a large meeting room for the chapter members was converted into a small medical museum, which houses medical tools that were used in the 19th and 20th century.

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