Scuola Grande dei Carmini
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The Scuola Grande dei Carmini is a confraternity building in Venice, Italy. It is located in the sestiere of Dorsoduro, before Campo dei Carmini and Campo Santa Margherita, upon which its facade looks. In stands, separated by an alley, to the northeast of the church of Santa Maria dei Carmini.
History
It was the former home of the a Venetian Scuola of the same name. The Scuola was founded in 1594 under Doge Pasquale Cicogna, and was the last of its kind to be recognized as a Scuola Grande in 1767 by the Council of Ten. Initially it was located in the Convent of the Church of Carmini, whose structure also faces the campo of the same name. The present scuola building was designed by Francesco Caustello and Baldassare Longhena. In 1807, the confraternity was suppressed by Napoleon's anticlerical decrees. The Austrians allowed the Scuola to reopen, and it continues activities today, though mostly cultural activities.
The Baroque facade faces south, while the lateral facade faces west. The chapel has a wooden roof. The main altarpiece is a Virgin of the Carmelo. The entry staircase by Longhena and the upstairs landing are richly decorated with a colorful trompe l'oeil tile floor, stucco ceiling with gilded highlights, and elaborate lamps
The capitular hall (Sala Capitolare) has a ceiling paintings by Tiepolo (1739–1749). The four corner lunettes represent Prudence, Sincerity and Temperance, Strength and Justice (man with column and woman), Patience (with Putto overhead), Innocence, and Chastity and Faith (with cross), Hope and Charity ; while the central canvas depicts the Madonna consigns the scapular to St Simone Stock.
The altar dedicated to the virgin has a statue of the Madonna and Bambino offering the scapular, by Bernardino da Lugano. The Stucco decoration in the room was completed by Abbondio Stazio.
The rooms of the archive contain ceiling and wall paintings by Giustino Menescardi with elaborate woodwork, specially caryatids by Giacomo Piazzetta; the iconography of the paintings was organized by Gaetano Zompini. Among Menescardi's paintings are Martyrdom of Brothers Maccabe and Abigail placates David's designs against her husband Nabal. The ceiling depicts a Virgin appears to Elias atop Mount Carmel.
Finally in the Sala dell'Albergo are also remarkable canvases by painters including central ceiling by Padovanino (Assumption), Ambrogio Boni, and Antonio Balestra. The complex also has a “Judith and Holofernes” by Piazetta.
Coordinates: 45°26′02″N 12°19′21″E / 45.433776°N 12.322439°E
External links
- (in Italian)—Official Scuola Grande dei Carmini website