To get to know the supreme expression of Venetian culture, whether you are attracted to architecture, painting, sculpture or all together, a visit to the Doge’s Palace is imperative. Although we are often tempted to recommend the discovery of Venice on narrow streets and hidden canals, early in the morning or late in the evening, we can equally say that visiting Venice without seeing the Doge’s Palace, in the middle of the day, inside and outside, can be considered a missed visit. SHORT HISTORY Initially built of wood in the 9th century, the Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale) was rebuilt several times afterwards, acquiring the form we see today between 1340 and 1424, with the construction of the Great Council Chamber under the supervision of the architect Filippo Calendario. After that period, new constructions have been added to the palace, under the care of Giovanni and Bartolomeo Bon (father and son), of which we can remember the Porta della Carta, the main entrance that directs visitors to the inner courtyard. After a major fire that occurred in 1483, the inner courtyard will be rebuilt in a Renaissance style by architect Antonio Rizzo. The exterior of the white and pink marble Read more [...]
Tag: Bartolomeo Bon in Venice
Ca’ del Duca
Ca’ del Duca is a palace in Venice, located in the San Marco district (sestiere), overlooking the Grand Canal next to Palazzo Falier. SHORT HISTORY OF CA’ DEL DUCA The construction project of the palace was entrusted to Bartolomeo Bon by Marco Cornaro, father of Caterina Cornaro, the last monarch of the Kingdom of Cyprus. Unfinished, the palace was sold in 1461 to Francesco Sforza, who entrusted its grandiose reconstruction to Antonio Averulino. However, before the project could be implemented, Ca’ del Duca was expropriated due to the rivalry appeared between the Republic of Venice and the Duchy of Milan. A second renovation project was entrusted to Jacopo Sansovino by Vittore Grimani, the Procurator of San Marco, but this project too remained only on paper. In 1618, Alfonso de la Cueva-Benavides y Mendoza-Carrillo, a Spanish nobleman who went to Venice as ambassador, settled in the palace. Soon after, he was forced to flee because he was involved in the Bedmar Conspiracy against the Serenissima. During the 1620s, the palace was used as a studio by Titian, who worked here on many of the canvases intended for the decoration of the Doge’s Palace. In 2011, Ca’ del Duca hosted the Read more [...]
Scuola Grande di San Marco
Scuola Grande di San Marco is a Renaissance building in Venice, located in the sestiere (district) of Castello, in Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo, adjacent to Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo. SHORT HISTORY OF SCUOLA GRANDE DI SAN MARCO The edifice was built in 1260 in the area of today’s Papadopoli Gardens as the seat of the Confraternity of San Marco. In 1437, the Dominicans of Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo granted an adjacent area for the construction of a new structure, which in 1485 was devastated by fire. Within the next years, the structure was rebuilt on a design by Pietro Lombardo and Giovanni Buora. In 1490, the works were entrusted to Mauro Codussi, who completed the facade and built the internal staircase. In the 16th century, the facade towards Rio dei Mendicanti was built, apparently with the contribution of Jacopo Sansovino. In 1807, under the Napoleonic rule, the Confraternity of San Marco was suppressed, and the building became the seat of the Austrian military hospital. Later, it was transformed into a civil hospital. ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF SCUOLA GRANDE DI SAN MARCO The facade, a delicate composition of aedicules, Corinthian pilasters and statues in Read more [...]
Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo
Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo (Basilica of Saints John and Paul), known in the Venetian dialect as San Zanipolo, is the largest church in Venice. The church is located in the homonymous square (Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo), in the Castello district (sestiere). SHORT HISTORY OF BASILICA DEI SANTI GIOVANNI E PAOLO According to legend, the origins of the basilica are connected to a vision of doge Jacopo Tiepolo, who, in 1234, donated a piece of land to the Dominican friars, on which the structure was later built. The church was immediately erected, and dedicated to the Roman martyrs of the fourth century, John and Paul. The Basilica was enlarged in the 14th century by two Dominican friars, Benvenuto of Bologna and Nicolò of Imola. The structure was completed in 1368, but it was solemnly cosecrated only on November 14, 1430. In 1807, during the Napoleonic era, the Dominicans were removed from their convent, which was transformed into a hospital, and the church was deprived of numerous works of art. ARCHITECTURE OF THE BASILICA OF SAN ZANIPOLO The church has a salient facade in Gothic style, characterised by a large central rose window and two smaller lateral Read more [...]
Church of the Madonna dell’Orto
The Church of the Madonna dell’Orto is a beautiful Gothic church in Venice, located in the sestiere (district) of Cannaregio, in the homonymous campo (square). SHORT HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF THE MADONNA DELL’ORTO The church was built by the religious congregation of Humiliati around the middle of the 14th century, and dedicated to God, to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travelers. Because of its weak foundations, the church underwent important restoration works in 1399. In 1414, the Council of Ten, one of the highest governing bodies of the Republic of Venice, granted the church the name of Madonna dell’Orto, which was already popular among the locals. The name came from a miraculous statue of the Madonna, brought to the church from a nearby garden (orto meaning garden in Italian). In 1462, the Humiliati were expelled by a decree of the same council, and the church was assigned to the congregation of the Canons Regular of San Giorgio in Alga, which was suppressed in 1668. The convent of the Madonna dell’Orto passed in 1669 to the Congregation of the Cistercian Monks, and in 1787 came under public administration. In 1841, the Austrian Read more [...]
Church of Sant’Alvise
The Church of Sant’Alvise is a Gothic church in Venice, located in the Cannaregio district, overlooking the homonymous square. The church is dedicated to Saint Louis of Toulouse, a Neapolitan prince from the House of Anjou canonized in 1317, known in Venice as Sant’Alvise. SHORT HISTORY The church of Sant’Alvise was built in 1383, together with the nearby convent, by the noblewoman Antonia Venier, after the saint appeared to her in a dream. Later, Antonia Venier retired in the monastery, following the Augustinian rule. At the beginning of the 16th century, other Augustinian nuns were welcomed here, after they escaped from the territories affected by the War of the League of Cambrai. The church underwent a major reconstruction in the 17th century, which largely changed the interior. ART AND ARCHITECTURE The church is built in Gothic style, having a basilica plan. The facade, very simple, is delimited by six protruding pilasters, connected by ogival arches. The portal in Istrian stone is enriched by a statue of Sant’Alvise in marble, attributed to Bartolomeo Bon. The bell tower retained its original Gothic appearance of the 14th century. It was built in terracotta, with a pinecone cusp and spiers at the Read more [...]
Church of San Rocco
The Church of San Rocco is one of the four plague churches in Venice, along with San Giobbe, San Sebastiano and the Salute. The church was built for the Confraternity of San Rocco, founded in the plague year 1478, with the mission to help the poor and the sick, particularly the people suffering from the disease. San Rocco is the only Venetian church designed as a sacrarium for the remains of its titular saint, St. Roch, whose body is preserved within the high altar. SHORT HISTORY A church was standing on this place before 1485. The new church was built after a design by the architect Pietro Bon, starting with 1489. In March, 1490, the left side-chapel of the presbytery was finished and ready to receive the remains of St. Roch, which were to be brought from San Silvestro. A competition for the construction of the high altar was won in 1517 by Venturino Fantoni, who designed a reliquary-altar, developed in Venice by the sculptor-architects Pietro and Tullio Lombardo. After 1680, the church was almost entirely demolished and rebuilt between 1726 and 1733 by the architect Giovanni Scalfarotto, who kept only the fifteenth century chancel and the ground-plan of Read more [...]
Ca’ d’Oro
Commonly known as Ca’ d’Oro, Palazzo Santa Sofia, located just across the Rialto Market, overlooking the Grand Canal, undoubtedly remains the most beautiful Venetian palace. Its name, translated into English as The Golden House, does not lie, because at origins, portions of the facade facing the Grand Canal were covered with this noble metal. Today, gold is missing, but the Venetian-style Gothic building still impresses, not so much by stature, but by the delicacy of its decorations. Currently, the palace hosts the Giorgio Franchetti art gallery, and it can be visited at the same time. SHORT HISTORY The palace was built between 1421 and 1440 for the Venetian merchant Marino Contarini. He closely supervised the work of several architects and sculptors, of whom we can mention the Venetians Giovanni and Bartolomeo Bon, responsible for the decorations that adorn the palace, the Milan sculptor Matteo Raverti, and Marco d’Amedeo, probably the designer of the project. Marino Contarini died in 1441, leaving his only son, Piero, his entire fortune. Piero inherited, of course, the palace, which he will leave after his death to his daughters. A series of misunderstandings that followed led to the loss of the palace, which came in Read more [...]
