Tag: Baroque in Venice

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    Church of Santa Maria Formosa

    The Church of Santa Maria Formosa, formally known as the Church of the Purification of Mary, is a church in Venice, located in the sestiere of Castello, in Campo Santa Maria Formosa.   SHORT HISTORY According to legend, a first structure on this site was built in 639 by San Magno of Oderzo, to whom the Virgin appeared, asking him to build a church dedicated to her. However, the oldest written documentation about the church dates back to 1060. The ancient church was renovated in 864 and, after it was damaged by a fire, again in 1106. After a long period of neglect, in 1492, the church was rebuilt in Renaissance style by Mauro Codussi. The architect died in 1504, without finishing his work. Later, starting with 1542, the Cappello family financed the construction of both facades. The first, overlooking Rio del Mondo Novo, is in Classical style, while the second, facing the square, is in Baroque style. During the 17th century, following the damage caused by an earthquake, the Piedmontese merchant Turin Tonon financed a restoration of the church. In addition to the reinforcement of the facades, the restoration included works on the dome and the decoration of the Read more [...]

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    Palazzo Surian Bellotto

    Palazzo Surian Bellotto is a palace with an imposing facade, located in Venice, in the district of Cannaregio, overlooking the Cannaregio Canal.   SHORT HISTORY The palace was built by the Surian family in the 17th century, on a project attributed to the architect Giuseppe Sardi, who was also the author of the nearby Palazzo Savorgnan. At the end of the same century, the palace was ceded to the Bellotto family, a noble family from Brescia. In the 18th century, it became the Venetian seat of the French embassy. During this period, the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau lived there. In the 19th century, after the fall of the Republic of Venice, the palace entered a long period of degradation, during which the sumptuous interiors and the beautiful decorations were irretrievably lost. Now, the palace is a private residence.   ARCHITECTURE The best preserved and most important feature of Palazzo Surian is the large Baroque facade, which, with its four floors, stands out above the neighboring buildings. The facade is asymmetrical, having the central axis shifted to the left. On the ground floor, there are two portals with curved masonry, inserted in an ashlar band. To the portals correspond, on the main Read more [...]

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    Palazzo Emo alla Maddalena

    Palazzo Emo alla Maddalena is a palace built in Baroque style in Venice, overlooking the Grand Canal, between Palazzo Molin Querini and Palazzo Soranzo Piovene.   SHORT HISTORY The palace was built at the beginning of the 17th century, and aquired around 1616 by the Emo family, for the marriage of Alvise Emo with Eleonora Rodriguez of the Diego family. The palace was bought with a part of her dowry. Around the middle of the 18th century, the owners were Francesco and Gerolamo Emo, who completed around the same time the adjacent Molin Querini Palace.   ARCHITECTURE The facade is divided into two parts, having a double orientation, both towards the Grand Canal and to the Rio della Maddalena. The facade is spread over four floors, presenting a ground floor, a mezzanine, a piano nobile and an attic. The expressive power of the facade is concentrated in the group consisting of the water portal and the overlying serliana (a serliana, or Palladian window, is an architectural element composed of a round arched central section, symmetrically flanked by two rectangular windows, surmounted by a lintel). On the main floor, there are also single windows, two on the right and three on Read more [...]

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    Church of Santa Maria di Nazareth

    The Church of Santa Maria di Nazareth, known locally as Chiesa degli Scalzi, is a wonderful church in Venice, overlooking the Grand Canal, located near the Santa Lucia railway station and the beautiful Ponte degli Scalzi. The church is the seat of the religious Order of the Discalced Carmelites (or the Barefoot Carmelites, scalzi meaning barefoot in Italian).   SHORT HISTORY After the Discalced Carmelites settled in Venice in 1633, they asked the architect Baldassare Longhena to build a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The construction of the edifice began in 1656, funded by the Venetian diplomat Girolamo Cavazza, and was completed in 1689 by Giuseppe Pozzo, seven years after Longhena’s death. The church was consecrated in 1705 and the Order of the Discalced Carmelites used it together with the adjacent convent until the beginning of the 19th century. In 1810, they left the church, returning 30 years later, in 1840. The church of Santa Maria di Nazareth was restored between 1853 and 1862, while only a few years later, with the appearance of the Santa Lucia railway station, the convent was demolished.   ART AND ARCHITECTURE The facade of the church was built in Baroque style between 1672 Read more [...]

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    Palazzo Michiel dalle Colonne

    Palazzo Michiel dalle Colonne is a palace in Venice, located about 250 meters from the Rialto Bridge, overlooking the Grand Canal near Palazzo Michiel del Brusà. The palace is known for the architectural structure of its ground floor, with a portico along the whole facade, divided by very tall columns.   SHORT HISTORY OF PALAZZO MICHIEL DALLE COLONNE The palace was built in the 13th century by the Grimani family, whose coat of arms is carved on an old well in the courtyard. Originally, it probably followed the Venetian-Byzantine style typical of that period. Starting with 1661, the palace was attested as the property of the Zen family, and was named dalle Colonne (of the Columns). To the Zen family, we owe the partial rebuilding to a design by Antonio Gaspari, completed in 1697. In 1702, the palace was given to Ferdinando Carlo di Gonzaga-Nevers, the last duke of Mantua and Monferrato. He lived there starting with 1706, after he was exiled by the Austrians who emerged victorious in the War of the Spanish Succession. In 1712, the palace was bought by the Conigli family, nobles of Verona. It seems they have never used it, and in 1714 they sold Read more [...]