I suspect that this happens at the beginning of every trip. We commit ourselves to a slow pace and some anticipated relaxation........and our energy patterns shift. We planned on taking it easy today, but the sunshine and general sense of excitement found a way of capturing our interests......the result of which ended up being lots of walking and exploring, and sore bodies at the end of the day! All fun!
We were also quite aware of what happens in Venice on a beautiful weekend day. Apparently, the weather has been somewhat cloudy and glooming for weeks now, so the forecast for a nice weekend would most likely draw crowds. Our plan was to head down (west) fairly far into the sestieres of Dosoduro, San Polo and a bit of Santa Croce. The map below shows our basic route. (follow the red squiggly route).
We had a 'sizeable' breakfast with our new found microwave skills........croissants, fruit, juice and 'boiled' eggs on toast. (as I look at the photo below, I think Andrea was not pleased with my photojournalism timing!) We did a little research on a couple of destinations (today was two of the Scuole Grande) and made sure our phones were charged. With the sun shining we stumbled out of the apartment around 10:30. This was to be a day of leisurely wandering with a couple of key destinations. Much of the blog 'captures' are just fun Venetian images. (haha, until we reach the Tiepolo and Tintoretto frescoes and paintings!)
The two Scuole that we visited today were both interesting in different ways. On our last trip we went to see the Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni and the amazing series of Carpaccio paintings. While the Scuola itself was more modest than what we saw today, the paintings were stunning........and probably represent a time in Venetian painting that we both found more evocative and powerful. Somewhat later than the Carpaccio series in the Schiavoni (early 1500's) the contributions from Tintoretto and Tiepolo came at a time when the renaissance was transitioning to mannerism and the baroque.......and the art reflected this change. What we saw today was more refined and somewhat evocative in a more religious manner.
Scuola Grande dei Carmini
The school of devotion and charity dedicated to S. Maria del Monte Carmelo obtained official recognition from the Council of Ten on 22 September 1597, and was elevated to Grande in 1767. The brotherhood had built its current headquarters , designed by Caustello and Longhena , during the 17th century next to the church that belonged to the Carmelite monks, where the Brotherhood had its initial headquarters and its own altar dedicated to the Virgin.
The Chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Inside the school, on the ground floor, there is a large chapel (Cappella della Madonna del Carmelo) with a single nave, baroque style, the ceiling is apparent woodwork is remarkable. The main altar is dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, protector of the brotherhood, the painting of the altarpiece, an oil on canvas of the Venetian painter Sante Piatti, represents it.
The Stairs and the Corridor
The grand staircase and the corridor with barrel vaults on a drawing of Baldassare Longhena, were made by his pupil Antonio Gaspari. The sculptures are the work of Alvise Bassi and were erected between 1728 and 1729. Three medallions in the last ramp show the theological virtues, the frescoes of Sante Piatti date from 1733.
The Capitular Hall
It is the largest of the rooms and contains famous frescoes (actually paintings on canvas in the ceiling) completed by Giambattista Tiepolo from 1739 to 1749. The stuccoes are by the Swiss decorator Abbondio Stazio (1740), gilded by Carpoforo Mazzeti from 1742 to 1743. In the hall there is an altar dedicated to the Virgin with a statue of the Madonna and Child offering the scapular; it dates from the 17th century and is by Bernardo Falconi.
The ground floor wall frescoes were stunning. They were done in grey tones only, with no color.......the only ones present in Venice.
Exhausting..........time for lunch. We wandered for about 5 minutes and came to Campo San Margherita, one of the largest open public spaces in Venice, dense with restaurants, bars and market stalls. It was alive with Saturday energy........and a great place to stop for lunch. Lots going on here........we think there was some kind of festival activity. We found a small restaurant/cafe and were lucky to get a table under a large awning. We ordered a couple of spritz's and a bottle of water and some sandwiches.......perfect combination.
Had to show this one. When you think you are off the beaten track and away from the tourist horde.......in walks a couple from Chevy Chase, Maryland. They were real talkers!
He was a genealogy buff and was convinced that Fiske and he were distant cousins dating back to the early 1600's! Anyway, it made for interesting lunch conversation.
OFF TO SCUOLA GRANDE DI SAN ROCCO
Leaving our crazy new friends behind we headed out to the second of our Scuole visits for the day. It was fairly close, maybe a 10 minute walk.
SCUOLA GRANDE DI SAN ROCCO
This was the second of the Scuole (Schools) that we tackled today. There is a lot to absorb in these locations, not to mention that each of them is adjacent to (connected) to a major church.......each of which deserves attention. I think we took a more light-hearted approach! We tried to get the basic thrust of the history and artistic legacy of the places, but did not try to turn it into an art history class! Tintoretto took almost 20 years to complete the series of paintings in San Rocco........quite an achievement. Then again, the themes were complex and highly allegorical and it took some effort to get immersed into the context. Many of the works in both buildings were on the ceilings. In both locations there were portable mirrors that you could walk with. This was actually very effective and helped a lot.
The Scuola Grande di San Rocco is a lay confraternity founded in 1478. The popularity of the cult of St. Roch, whose remains had been in the possession of the brotherhood since 1485, contributed to the latter’s rapid expansion to the extent of it becoming the richest Scuola of the city.
At that point it was decided to build a new monumental headquarters and engage Tintoretto to decorate it with his most celebrated pictorial cycle, illustrating episodes from the New and Old Testaments. It is the only one of the historic Scuole Grandi to have survived the fall of the republic.
It is a unique site, where over 60 paintings are preserved in their original setting in a building that has hardly undergone any alteration since its construction.
The confraternity is still active today, carrying out its traditional charitable duties as well as looking after its extraordinary artistic patrimony. To avoid overload here, we are only talking about the Sala Capitolare (Chapter Room).
The imposing decorative cycle of the room consists of 33 paintings. The ones on the ceiling show stories from the Old Testament, those on the walls illustrate episodes from the life of Christ. The cycle is completed on the opposite wall to the altar with two paintings showing the gigantic figures of St. Roch and St. Sebastian, and with six chiaroscuro Sybils over the tympana of the windows.
The great painting operation was completed in Summer 1581. Only the altarpiece with the Apparition of St. Roch, remained to be painted, which was finished with the help of his son Domenico in 1588.
A complex iconographical program links the ceiling paintings not only to one another but also to those of the walls, blending the two cycles into a grandiose unified whole.
ON THE WAY BACK, A RIDE DOWN THE GRAND CANAL
WE HAD TO GET OFF AT SAN MARCO TO CHANGE TO VAPORETTO #2
AND GOT A CHANCE TO MINGLE WITH THE TOURISTS IN A MAJOR WAY
Then back to San Giorgio for a desperately needed rest before headed out again for dinner!
DINNER AT AL COVO
So we made it back to the Residenza by about 3:45.........and had a wonderful two hour rest......which we really needed! Our dinner reservation was at 7:30 at Al Covo. This is a Venetian favorite, slightly off the beaten track enough to avoid too many people. It is also relatively small and is reserved literally months in advance. Andrea made reservations back in February.
We had a wonderful dinner! Midway through dinner the chef/owner's wife, Diane came to our table to congratulate us on our 50th anniversary (haha, we have used this 'occasion' all year and are now approaching 51!). Turns out she is from Austin, Texas and has been living in Venice over 30-odd years now. We had a long conversation and later, she sent us 2 delicious glasses of verduzzo wine as an after dinner drink. We headed back to our vaporetto stop but, being in good spririts, we decided to stop at the Metropole Hotel, where we once stayed years ago, for a drink. The Orientale Bar is a cozy hangout at the front of the hotel.......a negroni for Fiske and a limoncello for Andrea.
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