Scuola Grande di San Marco

Picture by Adriano 19.03.05. Image published under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, version 1.2 or later

The Scuola Grande di San Marco is located in the Campo di Santi Giovanni e Paolo in the Castello district, a short distance from the Fondamente Nuove.

The Scuola was founded in 1260 for religious and humanitarian purposes. It was one of  the six grand confraternities which exerted considerable social and political influence during the days of the Venetian Republic. Many of its members were from the closed ranks of the nobility.

The Scuola was initially located on the site of the nearby church of Santa Croce. It was transferred to its present site in 1437. After the original Gothic structure was damaged by fire in 1485, the architect Pietro Lombardo was commissioned to redesign its facade.

Lombardo divided the facade into two parts, each with its own entrance portal, and introduced a series of eye-catching columns, windows and friezes. He also created a pattern of richly-decorated niches and pilasters to which he added a variety of marble and polychrome statues.

Many of the friezes were carved by Tullio Lombardo, the architect's son. The two located on either side of the right portal, which depict scenes from the life of Saint Mark, are generally considered to be the most impressive.

Recent discoveries suggest that the façade was once gilded. An examination of the red pigment stains on the exterior has revealed them to be the remnants of a primer typically used in combination with gold leaf.

Pietro Lombardo was replaced by another architect, Mauro Codussi, in 1491. There appears to be no explanation for this other than that Codussi had friends in high places.

Although Codussi supervised the completion of the upper part of the facade, he did little more than follow his predecessor’s designs. The Lombardo workshop continued to provide many of the decorations including the crowning lunettes and the marble lions at the entrance.

Picture by Adriano 19.03.05. Image published under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, version 1.2 or later

Codussi did however add a spectacular interior staircase which was dismantled after the Scuola was closed by Napoleon. This act of vandalism was executed for the sole purpose of merging the Scuola with a neighbouring Dominican convent and the adjoining church of San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti. The resulting structure has housed the city's municipal hospital since 1819.

The Scuola is located in the same square as the monumental Gothic church of Santi Giovanni and Paolo, and the magnificent equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni by Andrea del Verrocchio

 Canaletto: View of the Scuola, the Santi Giovanni e Paolo and the statue of Colleoni

Statue of Colleoni by Verrocchio: Picture by Giovanni Dall'Orto. Image published under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 Licence

Colleoni, a Venetian general who died in 1475, left a legacy to the city for the purpose of funding the Turkish wars on the condition that a statue be erected in his honour outside San Marco.

Although it was perfectly obvious that Colleoni wished his statue to be placed outside the Basilica di San Marco, the authorities  decided that such an honour would be inappropriate. They therefore deliberately misinterpreted his legacy and placed the statue outside the Scuola Grande di San Marco.

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