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: Tiziano Vecellio in Venice
Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari
The Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari is one of the largest churches in Venice, and one of Italy’s most important Franciscan sites. The church, commonly known as the Frari, is located in the homonymous Campo dei Frari, in the sestiere of San Polo. SHORT HISTORY The first church built on this site dates back to the first half of the 13th century, when the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor received a piece of land in the area. Soon, the church proved too small and, in 1250, the papal legate, the cardinal Ottaviano Ubaldini, laid the first stone of a new larger church. Around the year 1330, the architect Jacopo Celega began working on a third church, which was completed in 1396 by his son, Pier Paolo. The bell tower of the church was built in 1936, the Chapel of San Marco was added in 1420, the Chapel of San Pietro in 1434, and the facade was finished in 1440. The church was consecrated in 1492, and the portal, surmounted by three statues, work of Lorenzo Bregno, was built in 1516. In the 19th century, the Franciscans were banished from the church, and they returned only in 1922. Read more [...]
Santa Maria della Salute
On the southern bank of the Grand Canal, near to its end leading to St. Mark’s Basin, one of the most beautiful churches of Venice, Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, was built in the 17th century. A symbolic picture of the floating city, that appears in many of the documentaries about Venetian architecture, but also in many paintings left by famous artists such as Michele Marieschi, Francesco Guardi, John Singer Sargent, Walter Sickert and, of course, Canaletto. SHORT HISTORY After the plague of 1630, which is said to have killed nearly a third of the population of Venice, the Venetian senate decided to build a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. After a competition between several architects of that time, the project was entrusted to the young Baldassare Longhena. The construction began in 1631, but the soil was not solid enough to support this massive structure, and the church was to be completed very late, not until 1687, five years after Longhena’s death. Every year, on November 21, Festa della Madonna della Salute is celebrated. The Venetians build a bridge over the Grand Canal, from San Marco to Dorsoduro, where locals go to worship the Virgin Mary, and Read more [...]
