SANTA MARIA GLORIOSA DEI FRARI

The facade of the Frari: Image published under GNU Free Documentation License Version 1.2 or later

The Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, commonly referred to as the "Frari", is located in the heart of the San Polo district, approximately three hundred metres from the San Tomà ferry stop on the Grand Canal.

The Lesser Friars of the Franciscan order were granted the right to construct the first church and monastery on this site in the early 13th century.

In 1250 work commenced on an extension to the church which had proved too small to accommodate its congregation. By 1330 the church covered the entire area now occupied by the Campo dei Frari.

However, the church was still too small and the decision was taken to demolish the section which formerly stood on the Campo dei Frari and turn the church ninety degrees on its axis.

The facade now faced the Rio dei Frari so that the length of the church could be extended onto vacant land to its rear.

This reconstruction work, partly supervised by Jacopo Celega, and later by his son Pier Paolo, took over a century to complete.

The new church initially possessed three naves, a transept and seven apses.

An eighth apse was added in 1420 on the completion of the San Marco Chapel.

The ninth pentagonal apse was added in 1478 when the sacristy was dedicated as a private chapel for the use of the Pesaro family.

The campanile of the Frari. Image published under the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or later

The campanile, which has a noticeable lean due to subsidence, was completed in 1396. At 83 metres, it dominates the San Polo skyline and is the second tallest in Venice after the bell tower of Saint Marks.

The chapel of Saint Peter, completed in 1434, was constructed at the foot of the campanile by Pietro Mani, the Bishop of Vicenza.

The Gothic facade, completed in 1440, possesses an imposing doorway whose arch is crowned by a marble of the Risen Christ  by A.Vittoria. This beautiful sculpture is flanked by statues of the Virgin to the left and Saint Francis to the right, both by Bartolomeo Bon.

The interior of the Frari contains several notable treasures.

The only surviving rood screen in Venice (1475), which features marbles by  Bartolomeo Bon and Pietro Lombardo, divides the monk's choir from the nave.

The three-tiered monk's choir, which dates from around 1468, is decorated by bas-relief carvings which portray saints and everyday scenes of 15th century Venetian life.

 High Altar showing Titian's Assumption: Image published under GNU Free Documentation License Version 1.2 or later

Detail of Titian's Assumption, Frari

Titian's spectacular "Assumption", the largest altarpiece in Venice, provides a focal point through the monk's choir to the high altar and upwards to heaven.

The north wall of the nave features a richly coloured Madonna by Titian, while the sacristy altarpiece incorporates a further Madonna by Bellini accompanied by Saints Nicholas, Peter, Mark and Benedict.

The Bellini altarpiece in the Sacristry

Other notable paintings include the portraits of Saint Ambrose by Alvise Vivarini in the north transept chapel. Bartholomew Vivarini, his uncle, painted the "Saint Mark Enthroned" in the north transept and the "Madonna and Child with Saints" in the third south choir chapel.

Paolo Veneziano's portrayal of Doge Francesco Dandolo and His Wife being presented to the Virgin by Saints Francis and Elizabeth is also housed in the sacristy.

The Frari also contains several impressive funerary monuments.

The most notable is the Foscari Monument in the chancel. Francesco Foscari was the Doge of Venice from 1423 to 1457. He died barely one week after he was forced to resign following the conviction and imprisonment of his son on corruption charges.

Foscari, who has been the subject of a play by Byron and an opera by Verdi, is honoured by a magnificent funereal monument celebrating his life and achievements. His sarcophagus is supported by four ornamental corbels and decorated with a frieze featuring the three biblical virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity.

Three other doges are buried in the Frari as are several bishops, generals and the composer Claudio Monteverdi.

The most curious tomb is the marble pyramid in the nave designed by the neo-classical sculptor Antonio Canova as a monument to Titian, also buried in the Frari. Canova did not actually build the tomb. After his death in 1822  his pupils copied the design and constructed the pyramid in honour of their master.

The Frari also possesses many fine sculptures, particularly Donatello's Saint John the Baptist in the first south choir chapel and Girolamo Campagna’s statuettes of Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Agnes in the nave.

The Frari is also an important concert value. Its two grand organs have both been restored in recent years. The left organ by Giovan Battista Piaggia dates from 1732 and the right organ by Gaetano Callido dates from 1795.

The Frari is a rare example of a Venetian church which still possesses two opposing choirs and organs.  This once common feature enabled the evolution of the Venetian concertato in the 16th and 17th centuries.

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