Santa Maria dei Miracoli: a Jewel Box

MIracoli

Santa Maria dei Miracoli

Deutscher Text am Ende.

Ezra Pound called it a ‘jewel box’; today it is one of the most popular churches to celebrate a wedding. The Miracoli church is intimate and at the same time spectacular hidden shrine of Venice.

Dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, but called by everyone Our Lady of the Miracles because of a miraculous image of the Virgin Mary standing above the main altar, this late 15th- century church is a symbol of the Venice of that time: rich, with a sophisticated sense of beauty, proud to carry on the classical legacy of the antique world, and proud of its very miracle: to stand on the water, like the church itself.

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The Treasures of the Doge – A new Itinerary in the Doge’s Palace

Doge's Palace

Giant’s Staircase, courtyard of the Doge’s Palace.

The Doge’s Palace of Venice is a shrine with lavishing gilt ceilings, great masterpieces by Veronese and Tiepolo, and hundreds of years of history visible on its many paintings but now there is a new reason to visit it.

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The Jews of Venice and the Ghetto

18th century banker; possibly Jewish banks must have looked just the same.

18th-century banker; Jewish banks must have looked just the same.

In the 17th and 18th century the Jews of Venice were a flourishing community.
Officially, they could work only as moneylenders, have pawn-shops or deal with second-hand clothes and furnishing, but then of which quality! Sir Wotton, an English nobleman who lived in Venice, bought furniture, fabrics, carpets, chandeliers, and other various objects in the Jewish Ghetto. Even most of the decorations for the golden boat of the Doge, the Bucintoro, came from the Jewish shops.

Grevembroch Jewish Peddler

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An architectural Walk: the Giudecca Island in Venice

Cino Zucchi, new construction on the Giudecca island, 1996-2003

Deutsche Version am Ende

People often think that Venice is a city where history has stopped with the fall of the Republic; a city that has not been touched by modernity.

On the contrary, throughout the 19th and 20th century, there have been intensive discussions on new urban plans that would help to develop the economy; thousands of buildings were pulled down and reconstructed in new forms.

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Last tips for your Christmas in Venice

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Francesco Ardini Photo credit: Ohmyblue

For those who are in Venice over Christmas, here you have a few last minute shopping tips (but they will be good also if you plan to come later in the season)

Design objects, bags, fashion jewelry and fashion… here my favorite shops

Gualti between campo San Barnaba and campo Santa Margherita in Rio Terà Canal.

Gualti

Photo credit: Gualti

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The Church of the Jesuits in Venice

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Deutsche Zusammenfassung am Ende

On the northern side of Venice, in the Cannaregio district, you can find the Jesuits Church, which is richly ornate, and austere at the same time.

The order of the Jesuits was founded in 1534 by Ignatius of Loyola. The Spanish Saint had a military background and conceived the order as a well-organized structure open to men who wanted to “serve as soldiers of God”. Their aim was “the defense and propagation of the faith”.

Their sacral buildings are usually very imposing, with overwhelming decorations, aiming to show the power of the Catholic Church.

Jesuits, interior

In Venice the Jesuits wanted to show their connections with the Venetian government as well as with the Vatican. The construction was commissioned to the best architect (Domenico Rossi) and artists (Louis Dorigny, Giuseppe Torretti) of that time.

Gesuiti church, detail of angel

The interior is covered by an extraordinary variety of marbles, part of them are carved and inlaid (like the one by the altar that looks like a carpet). Black and white marble inlaid on the columns looks like fabric.
The altar has a baldacchino with barley-twist columns and concealed lighting.

Gesuiti church, main altar

The ceiling is covered with gilded plasterwork and frescoes.

Gesuiti church, ceiling

Among the artworks in the Gesuiti church there is an Assumption of the Virgin Mary by Tintoretto and an extraordinary Martyrdom of St. Lawrence by Titian. The painting (1548-57), made in a late phase of Titian’s life, when the artist couldn’t see very well and used his hands to put colors on the canvas, is one of the most astonishing night scene, of European Renaissance Art.

Titian, Martyrdom of St. Lawrence, 1548-57

The Gesuiti Church is not as famous as the Frari or San Zaccaria but it is one of those many hidden ‘jewels’ that make Venice so special at every step.

Text auf deutsch
Auf der Nordseite von Venedig, im Stadtteil Cannaregio, befindet sich die reich verzierte und gleichzeitig strenge Jesuitenkirche.
Der Orden der Jesuiten wurde 1534 von Ignatius von Loyola gegründet. Der spanische Heilige hatte einen militärischen Hintergrund und konzipierte den Orden als eine gut organisierte Struktur, die Männern offen stand, die “als Soldaten Gottes dienen” wollten.
Ihre sakralen Gebäude sind normalerweise sehr imposant, mit überwältigenden Verzierungen, um die Macht der katholischen Kirche zu demonstrieren.

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Private and urban gardens in Venice

The orchard of the Franciscan Church Redentore on the Giudecca island.

A city with no land to expand could not afford to waste vast areas for gardens. In spite of this logical issue, the garden was a must, a status symbol.

Garden in the former Palazzo Contarini dal Zaffo now a nunnery.

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Movies in Venice

Summertime55Some movies that made out of Venice a real icon.

How to forget Catherine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi in Summertime? 1955

Here you find some of the most famous scenes.

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The Restoration of the Colleoni Monument

Colleoni

Watch this video on the restoration of the Bartolomeo Colleoni monument, the famous captain originally from Bergamo who fought for the Venetian Republic. The Restoration was generously sponsored by the World Monuments Fund.

Colleoni’s wish was to have after his death (1475) a monument in St. Mark’s’ square, but the Republic would have never granted such honor to a single man.

A compromise was found; the Colleoni would have a wonderful monument but in front of the Scuola di San Marco, in the wide campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo.

The Senate commissioned the monument to maybe the best sculptorer in Italy, Andrea del Verrocchio from Florence. Due to the death of the artist, the equestrian monument was later cast in bronze by the Venetian Alessandro Leopardi (1481).

In his genre, the equestrian monument of Colleoni is a masterpiece. Verrocchio referred to the ancient monument of Marco Aurelio in Rome, to the Gattamelata by Donatello in Padova, to the Regisole in Pavia and created a daring composition, where the horse paces majestic on his three paws and the captain, with hard face, seems already concentrated in the battle.

 

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15th Century Fashion in the Paintings at the Accademia Gallery

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Masters of the late 15th – early 16th century like Gentile Bellini, Carpaccio, Mansueti were intrigued by the Islamic world.
Venetian and a constant and contradictory relationship with Ottomans, Mamlukes, and Arab people. 
Many Venetians used to live years in the Islamic countries and when they came back they brought with them souvenirs, exotic objects, and lots of stories. Probably also some drawings. Moreover, Islamic traders were present in Venice so that for artists it was quite interesting to represent their fashion. 

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