The Island of San Giorgio

The island of San Giorgio is located approximately five hundred metres to the south of the Riva degli Schiavoni. It faces the entrance to the Grand Canal and the San Marco Piazzetta. The island of Giudecca, from which it is separated by a narrow channel, lies immediately to its west.

The island, which is barely one square kilometre in size, is occupied by the church of San Giorgio Maggiore and a former Benedictine monastery.

The church and Benedictine monastery were first established in 982 AD. The monastery became a popular pilgrim destination after the bones of Saint Stephanus were brought there from Constantinople in 1109 AD.

The church is dedicated to both Saint George and Saint Stephanus. A festival is held on the island on 26th December, the latter's saint's day.

By 1565 the church was urgently in need of repair and the  monks commissioned Andrea Palladio to rebuild it. Although Palladio designed the new church he died in 1580, some thirty years before work was completed.

The external walls and dome are constructed from red-brick with some occasional marble facing. However, the facade is completely composed of Istrian marble. Palladio, one of the great renaissance architects, was inspired by the Parthenon and other Greek temples. He wished to unify the three-naves of the church in a single harmonious structure.

 © bigfoot - FOTOLIA

The facade consists of four massive half-columns mounted on pedestals which support a square tablet over which the pediment, topped by a marble statue of Christ, was constructed. The statue of Christ is flanked by marbles of Saints George and Stephanus.

Palladio incorporates the pitched roof of the church by repeating the angles of the triangular pediment on either side of the portal.

The church is laid out in the form of a cross. The dome is located above the intersection of the cross. The transepts are semi-circular and the presbytery with monk's choir is divided from the nave by a colonnade. The grand organ, framed by Corinthinian columns, is incorporated within the colonnade.

The interior is brightly lit by the nave and presbytery windows. The walls and ceiling are plastered white. The main architectural features such as the pillars and capitals are light grey. The only splash of colour is provided by the marble flooring on which the font stands.

The altar was decorated by Jacopo Tintoretto. The church also possesses a "Virgin Mary with Saints" by Ricci and a "Birth of Christ" by Bassano. The monk's choir possesses several exquisite wooden stalls made by Gasparo Gatti in the 1590's.

The Last Supper by Tintoretto (1594), San Giorgio Maggiore

The chancel contains two Tintoretto masterpieces: "The Last Supper" and the "Gathering of the Manna", both painted in 1594. A third Tintoretto: "The Deposition", completed by his son Domenico, hangs in the Chapel of the Dead.

A former Doge, Domenico Michiel (1118 - 1130), is buried in the church. His tomb was damaged during the reconstruction work. A magnificent replacement, located in the vicinity of the monk's choir, was added in 1640 by Baldassare Longhena.

The Benedictine monastery hosted the papal conclave which elected Pius VII as the Pope in 1800. The conclave could not be held in Rome as it was occupied by Napoleon at the time.

  Thereafter, the monastery fell into a state of disrepair. Many treasures were plundered by the French after the Napoleonic invasion of Venice in 1797. These included collections held by the monastic library.

The monastery experienced a revival in the mid-1950's when it became the headquarters of the Cini Foundation. The foundation, which is dedicated to the promotion of the arts, holds international exhibitions on the site. It also maintains a library of rare documents. Live performances are staged in the Teatro Verde, an open-air theatre located in adjacent parkland.

 The campanile, which is almost identical to the San Marco campanile, was added in the 18th century.

© Kerstin Gruhn - FOTOLIA 

 Palladio's design creates a visual axis from Saint Mark's Square through the Piazzeta and across the San Marco Basin to the campanile and facade of the San Giorgio Maggiore. The similar classical facade of the church of the Redentore on the island of Giudecca, also designed by Palladio, is tilted towards the San Giorgio Maggiore along a second visual axis.

The huge domed church of Santa Maria della Salute, later constructed at the mouth of the Grand Canal by Baldassare Longhena, completes the impressive architectural environment. Instead of being faced by the open sea or a mundane cityscape, each of these four landmarks faces at least one other monumental building of equal splendour.

 

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