Name: Scuola Grande di San Marco
Address: Campo dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice, Veneto, Italy
Telephone: +39 041 5294323

About

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.

the facade of Scuola Grande di San Marco

ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF SCUOLA GRANDE DI SAN MARCO

The facade, a delicate composition of aedicules, Corinthian pilasters and statues in white and polychrome marble, is a Renaissance jewel.

The marble decoration and the high-reliefs in the lower part of the facade (two lions and the stories of San Marco) are attributed to Pietro Lombardo.

The main portal has a porch with columns resting on finely carved plinths. The archivolt has a high relief in the lunette attributed to Bartolomeo Bon.

The upper part of the facade and the upper crowning with lunettes and statues was designed by Mauro Codussi.

The staircase on the ground floor is a 20th-century reconstruction of the one built by Codussi, and demolished during the transformation of the building into a hospital.