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Venice, 14 August 2021- St. Rocco’s Feast is one of the major recurrences that, still nowadays, take place in the city of Venice. Each year, on August 16, the Saint is celebrated with a procession that starts from Campo dei Frari, reaches the Church of San Rocco and the namesake confraternity, and closes with a Solemn Mass in the lavish context of the Chapter House of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco.

The San Rocco’s Feast program of 2021 includes, in addition to the Pontifical High Mass by Patriarch Francesco Moraglia that takes place at 10.30am at the Scuola Grande and dedicated to the Saint, also the award ceremony of the San Rocco Prize 2021. Moreover, from 1.00pm to 6.00pm (last admission at 5.30pm) it will be possible to visit the Scuola Grande with a donation of 1€ for charity. At 8.30pm, following the celebrations, the orchestra “Virtuosi Veneti'' will perform the traditional concert in Campo San Rocco, playing symphonies by Vivaldi, Torelli and Tartini with Piergiuseppe Doldi on trumpet, Enzo Carolli on flute and with the artistic direction of Alessio Benedettelli.

The roots of the Feast of San Rocco in Venice

The roots of this celebration and of the bond between the Saint and the city of Venice date back to the 16th century, during the period of the terrible plague’ outbreak that struck the city between 1575 and 1577 and caused 50,000 deaths. To save the city from the plague, the Venetians invoked the grace of San Rocco, whose remains were lying in the Church dedicated to him since 1490. The defeat of the disease in 1577 is, therefore, partly attributed to the Saint and to praise what he has done on August 16 of every year, since then, San Rocco is celebrated. The date of the celebration was chosen at the behest of the Senate of the Serenissima Republic, which also declared August 16 a public holiday.

As depicted in the canvas by Canaletto “Visita del Doge alla Chiesa di S. Rocco”, today kept at the National Gallery of London, every year to the Church on August 16 the Doge arrived after the High Mass and visited the treasures- only preceded by the treasures of San Marco- which houses inside the church hall of the Scuola Grande, established in 1478 by a lay confraternity and decorated with the works of Tintoretto, Giorgione, and Tiepolo. The Doge, in fact, every year during the celebrations arrived at the Church dedicated to the Saint carried by a golden boat, followed by the Serenissima Lordship, members of the Senate and ambassadors, all welcomed by the Scuola Grande di San Rocco.

The chaplain of the confraternity arranged the celebration of the Holy Mass, which was followed by a parade that went from the Church of San Rocco to the Scuola Grande and dedicated to the Saint, that allowed the believers to admire the treasures and to venerate the remains of the Saint, preserved right inside the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, the only confraternity that is privileged with the remains of the Saint to whom the same institution is dedicated.

Moreover, a majestic canopy, called by Venetians “El tendòn del Doge" was set up in Campo San Rocco to connect the Church of the Frari to the Church of San Rocco and the Scuola Grande, and had the dual function of shading the procession from sun and giving a scenic effect to the celebration. Still today this tradition is maintained by setting up a four-poster structure right in front of the entrance of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, which houses the celebrations of this major venetians’ commemoration.

The history of San Rocco

San Rocco is the second patron of the city after San Marco. Born to a wealthy family in Montpellier, at the age of twenty he decided to leave his well-off lifestyle and devote himself entirely to faith, due to the early loss of both his parents. After joining the Franciscan Third Order, St. Rocco undertook a pilgrimage that brought him to Rome, city symbol of Christianity. Later on, in the surroundings of Acquapendente near the city Viterbo, a place hardly hit by the plague, he began to take care of the sick. His dedication in rescuing the plague victims went as far as to reach Emilia Romagna, where the epidemic disease was spreading through with greater intensity. St. Rocco called upon God to heal the infected and, to cure them, drew a cross on their chest, the same cross that, as a birthmark, he had at the level of his heart. St. Rocco’ journey as a healer continued reaching the city of Piacenza where, after discovering he had contracted the disease, he decided to distance himself in a clearing. St. Rocco miraculously recovered from the plague and continued to help and treat the sick for a long time and his devotion earned him the recognition of Patron Saint of the sick. The Saint died in the Prison of Voghera on August 16 in the late 1300s, following a sentence for political issues that lasted for five long years. Next to his body, just before he died, St. Rocco left a writing that read: “Whoever invokes blessing upon me against the plague, will be freed from this scourge”.

Venice, 19th July 2021 – To see it, you have to look for it. As soon as you find it, the astonishment is inevitable. Stuck between narrow calli, the “Scala del Bovolo” - which in the venetian dialect means snail – is, due the breath-taking impact that it causes, among the most loved landmarks of the city. It could be for the contrast between red, which characterizes the porphyry, and white, which characterizes the Istrian stone. It could also be for the seven floors of loggias that seem to touch the sky. Or maybe for the eighty stairs. Or perhaps for the terrace and its 28 meters high which gives, to any change of light, an astonishing and unique show. Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo is one of the five “hidden gems” owned by the Ire, from which was born the Fondazione Venezia Servizi that today manages them actively. A jewel that is part of the Venetian history, rooted in the age of Serenissima, which this year celebrates its 1600 years from its establishment.

“Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo dates back to the 1300s – said Edoardo Rizzi, from the Fondazione Venezia Servizi alla Persona – originally owned by the Morosini family it was built to be used as a “casa fontego””, a warehouse to store goods. The location of the warehouse was perfect, being the canal literally on the other side of the palace”.

It was Pietro Contarini, at the end of the 1400s who wanted to build this picturesque staircase. Pietro was the scion of the powerful Contarini family, of the San Paternian branch (whose nickname came from the church located in what today is Campo Manin). As a matter of fact, from this family came one of the Doges of the Repubblica Serenissima: Andrea Contarini.

“Pietro Contarini strongly wanted to build this staircase in order to have something unique in the city – Rizzi explained – but the Repubblica had banned the construction of any luxurious building by Venetian noble families in order to keep the political status quo. Nevertheless, the Contarini’s managed to build this spiral staircase, which recalls both the Renaissance and the Byzantine style. The Belvedere was not only built for the view, but also to represent the power of the Contarini’s. As a matter of fact, this was the most central and requested area of Venice since the walking distance from Saint Mark’s Square – the heart of the political and cultural life – and Rialto – the economic centre, was the same.”

Throughout five centuries this palace was the theatre in which several curious events took place. If we focus on the structure of the palace, for instance, we can see that the back side of it is fully decorated from bottom to top, a very unusual fact if we think that at the time just the front side of palaces used to be decorated. Nevertheless, it must be underlined that Palazzo Contarini’s main façade stretches along rio San Luca, whilst its back side – which instead is the main one – overlooks St. Mark’s, the political beating heart of the city at the time. Some tiny remains of this decoration, which was sacrificed to build the staircase, are still visible along the walls. Finally, we have the Belvedere dome, the terrace from which a breath-taking view of the city can be enjoyed. It was from here that the German astronomer Tempel, observing the sky with his telescope on top of the tower, discovered the comet C/1859 and the Merope nebula of the Pleiades.

LINK TO THE INTERVIEW

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Venice, 5th July 2021 – Until September 19th the exhibition “Francesco Morosini: la difesa di Venezia tra mare e terra a Creta e nel Peloponneso” displayed at the Museo Nazionale Atestino di Este, will be open. The exhibition was organized for the celebrations of the 1600 years of Venice. Francesco Morosini, considered as one of the most important and relevant figures of the history of the Repubblica - and perhaps the last great venetian captain - is the main character of the exhibition displayed within the Sala delle colonne.

The Stato da Mar (State of the sea), the venetian territories of the east, located along the Adriatic and Mediterranean shores, are the places in which the presence of Venice dates back to the Middle Ages. It is a State that owned very specific characteristics: it did not have any territorial cohesion and it was made up by cities, harbours, and fortresses only connected by sea routes which went through the eastern shore of the Adriatic and reached the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean by passing through the Ionian Islands, Greece, the Morea (Peloponnese), and the Island of Crete. Through centuries, the geography of the Stato da Mar changed continuously. It particularly changed between the 1400s and the 1500s, as a consequence to the war with the Ottomans, the loss of some territories and acquisition of others by the Venetian Republic. Almost every coastal city of the Morea fell by 1500 whilst the Candia Island remained under the Venetian control for more than 400 years, until 1669. The changes in government of these lands left clear traces within the history of these cities: on their aspect, urban planning and on their defence plans. The exhibition – which has already been shown at the Torre Civica in Mestre – aims at returning the original aspects of some cities and fortresses located in Crete and the Peloponnese at the time when Francesco Morosini lived. This aim will be achieved by providing original images and documents that date back to his era.

Realized with the special partnership of the Mayor of Este, the exhibition allows visitors to admire and celebrate 48 astonishing artworks completed between the end of the 1600s and the beginning of the following century, to celebrate the military undertakings of Morosini in the east. Moreover, weapons, artifacts, Turkish signs, a rare Ottoman cannon, some musical instruments of the janissary band (soldiers of the sultan’s private army in the Ottoman Empire), books, military maps, and historical administrative and military documents will be included within the exhibition.

Opening timetables: Tuesday to Saturday: 8.30 – 13.30 and 14.30 – 19.30. On Sundays: 14.30 – 19.30. Monday closed.

To know more: http://www.atestino.beniculturali.it

Venice, 25th June 2021 – In the year in which Cristoforo Colombo sailed from Palos with the three caravels on his way to discover the Americas, Doge Agostino Barbarigo, at the Doge Palace, was signing a statute – the Mariegola – in order to regulate the work of log drivers. It was the 3rd August 1492. The statute is still guarded in the Library of Belluno. In Codissago, a small village within the Mayor of Longarone – on the left side of the Piave river – a unique museum is located: the Museo degli Zattieri, which tells a great part of the history of the Serenissima. A bond that lies on the cut and transport of timber, which for Venice was essential. A story about the life of specialized workers – woodcutters, menadàs, sawyers and log drivers – whose hard task was to bring to Venice the “green gold”. They climbed back the Piave river by wooden raft boats and after a long path they reached the Lagoon, pulled by sailing boats called burchi. In Venice, thousands were the wooden raft boats that supplied the city centre – at least 3000 -, particularly the Arsenal.

The museum – which displays proofs of the methods used all over the world to cut and transport timber by river – it is managed by the association “Fameia zatèr e menadàs de la Piave di Codissago” and by its administrator, Arnaldo Olivier. 

What’s the role of the association? When was it established, and which was the main goal?

The association aims at keeping the memory of brave and strong men, the “zattiere” (log drivers), alive. It was established on November 6th of 1982, the day of San Nicolò, who is our patron saint. Two were the main goals: the recovery of the statue of the “zattiere”, destroyed by the Vajont tragedy, in addition to a log driving memorial descent from Perarolo di Cadore to Venice, to remember our ancestors. Codissago is the village from which generations of log drivers were born. It played a key role since it used to be the main harbour of the ancient river route, where citizens were masters in the art of creating rafts and in the log driving. Moreover, it stretches over the water while at the same time it is surrounded by woods, for centuries it used to be one of the most important river harbours located along the Piave river. Nearby Malcolm bridge - which took the name from the 1800s Villa destroyed by the Vajont tragedy – in the north side of the village, we can still admire the ancient rests of the “roste”, which were the huge man-made barriers through which the log driving descent – from the mountains to the venetian lagoon - was managed.

What is displayed within the Museum?

Theme room on ancient rafts and rooms that testify the growing and cutting of woods, as well as timber deforestation and transport methods, are displayed. The so-called “Menada”, which characterized the floating of timber and the mechanisms used to control and manage its arrival to the sawmill is also documented. In the museum yard there is an ancient “Venetian sawmill”. It dates back to 1883 and is perfectly working. Within the Museum thousands are the objects categorized, among them: thousands of local and foreign rafts miniature, pictures, documents, maps and books. In addition to the tools used by Woodcutters, Carradori (artisan who used to build or repair tools), Menadàs, Sawyers and Log drivers, sleighs used to transport timbers, resin models, stoves, pile drivers, the cidoli (a cidolo is a wooden dam which could be used as a bridge or as a method to stop timbers from flowing and organize them), sawmills and Piave rafts – among which we find the raso, built by using masts of ships - are also displayed.

Who were the “zattieri”?

“Zattieri” or log drivers, were strong and brave men. For centuries, they did a very hard and dangerous job, which was not only essential to provide for themselves and their family’s a livelihood, but it also was very important in order to give a commercial structure to the valleys by contributing to the establishment, growth and glory of a city that it is, still today, one of the most beautiful in the world: Venice. People that did this job were strong and brave. A job that for centuries was the heart of venetian transports of goods and people, necessary to live and upon which their whole survival and their future stood.

Which kind of relationship does your community have with the Serenissima?

The relationship between the Serenissima and our alpine community is a very strong one: Venice roots rely on thousands of timber placed on the bottom of the lagoon. Timber that mainly comes from the woods of Belluno. The relationship dates back to the end of the Roman Empire, when populations ran out of timber from the coastal forest; timber which was necessary in order to build stilt houses. Therefore, they began to look at the mountains of Belluno – mainly the Cadore area – as well as the woods of Friuli, Slovenija and Trentino. Nevertheless, it is believed that a “forest inspector” examined the origin of timber and claimed that, in case timber supply coming from Piave were interrupted, it would be like killing Venice.

How was timber coming from Belluno used ?

The usage was different: let’s think about the whole material used to build the basis, bridges, houses, and palaces but especially the Arsenale (dockyard), main hub of the Venetian navy power. Venice considered timber as its green gold. As a consequence, in the XIV century, the Serenissima decided to protect the woods that were considered as essential, necessary for its growth and power. Indeed, the highest percentage came from the Cadore area: the Bosco di Somadida di Auronzo di Cadore (which is still known as the Bosco di San Marco, which literally means Wood of St. Marks) which timber was used for the aerial of the “galee” (a military boat used in the Middle Ages); the Bosco di Cajada, which timber was used for the “galee” mast and their construction; the wood or forest of Cansiglio, which is still known as Bosco da remi di San Marco (literally the wood of St.Mark’s rows), which was very famous for its beeches, “fagher”, which were used for the creation of the rows of the galee and the Bosco di Roveri del Montello, which timber was used for the keelboat or the ships frame. 

Which were the varieties of timber chosen? Were they implemented to build a specific part of the ship?

Trees that used to be cut were mainly: white fir, red fir and larch. The age of the tree was connected to its ripeness and so to its sale, thickness, and length. The “lares” – larch – was used for working underground and underwater since alterations (humidity and dryness) doesn’t affect this kind of timber. The “lavedìn” – white fire – was used to create buildings and vessels; indeed, the venetian navy used this kind of timber for the ship's mast. Oak soft timber – ròre - was instead used to create buildings and palaces (roofs, ceilings, floor, stairs and so on).

So, it seems that at the end of the 1700s Venice could count on a specific quantity of timber yearly guaranteed.

Since the end of 1700s Venice could count on a great quantity of wood equal to 270/350 thousands of timbers a year, deployed in 13 different sawmills located between Perarolo di Cadore and Faè di Longarone, whose owners had several palaces along the Grand Canal and timber warehouse placed along the eastern Venetian shore. In August, timber merchants went back to the mountains and bought the amount of trees that had to be cut. After the cutting, transport operations began. The so-called Menàda Grande, the transport of timber to the sawmills where sawyers worked around the clock to transform timbers into boards and beams. Afterwards, the log drivers of Codissago built rafts, gave them to people from Ponte nelle Alpi, who climbed back the Piave until Borgo Piave and paid the duty. In the morning, log drivers of Borgo Piave went to Falzè di Piave, 60 km south. There, they paid the duty to Castello di Quero, where a long chain was used to stop timbers from flowing. From Falzè log drivers from Nervesa sailed off to Ponte di Piave, paid the duty and went through the Caligo channel, pulled by some horses. Later they arrived in Treporti, where they waited for the tide to grow, in order to have the timbers pushed towards the lagoon. Once they reached the lagoon and the tide went down, the rafts were pulled by the burchi (big boats used at the time) to the eastern Venetian shore, where Cadorini merchants had warehouses used to store timber. 

When did this activity begin? And how long did it continue?

This business ended at the beginning of the 1600s when streets, bridges and railways were created and so replaced these rather odd methods of transport. These testimonies are related to an historical period that goes from the roman times (II° century A.D.) to the beginning of the industrial society, which wiped out lifestyle habits that lasted unchanged for centuries. Timber floating along the Piave river and goods transported on rafts, for centuries supported the livelihood of people living along the rivers as well as the development of a civilization that should be rediscovered and valued.

Venice, June 16, 2021- Is believed to be the oldest church in Venice, built in 421 by a carpenter named Eutinopo, coming from Candia, who devoted himself to Saint James asking him to put out a serious fire on the small island of Rivus Altus. The Church of San Giacometo is located in the heart of Venice, the Rialto market, once the centre of the commercial and financial activities of the city, which with him always had a deep connection. On the occasion of the celebrations for the anniversary of the foundation of the city, the 1600 years of Venice, the church which has always been considered as the oldest, since it was founded the same year as Venice, opens its doors. The church is, in fact, open every morning from 9.30 am to 11.30 am (Sunday Mass at 10.00 am).

The church- whose external façade is dominated by a big clock with a sun in the middle and has a small gothic portico (Venice’s only remaining original) - is managed by the Archconfraternity of San Cristoforo e della Misericordia. Its roots are related to some historical dates of which still today some evidence remains. In one of the two inscriptions, located in front of the main altar, we found the legendary foundation of the church, as recalled by the tradition handed down by Doge Andrea Dandolo. The foundations of the church were laid on 25 March 421 to honor the votive offering satisfied by the Saint, while the consecration of the church took place the same day of the following year, at the presence of the bishops Saveriano di Padova, Ilario di Altino, Giocondo di Treviso and Epodio di Oderzo.

We know that it was certainly rebuilt in 1071, following the will of Doge Domenico Selvo, and it was saved from a terrible fire that, on the night between 9 and 10 January 1514, destroyed much of the Rialto area. The Church remained undamaged, but this event was understood as a sign of the divine will to preserve the oldest church of Venice from fire.

An inscription dated back to the 12^th century is located on the outside apse of the church as a confirmation of the historical connection between this house of worship and the area of Rialto: “Hoc circa templum sit jus mercantibus aequum, pondera nec vergant, nec sit conventio prava”, meaning “let the law of the merchant be fair around this temple, let the burdens be just and the contracts be loyal”. Respect for contracts and fairness in prices were, therefore, required.

In the days of the Serenissima Republic the church was home to several schools and corporations, the evidence of which remain on the altars: the main altar, for example, until the end of the 1400s was the seat of the Scuola dei Compravendipesce and the same altar also housed the Scuola dei Ternieri e Casaroli in the 1600s, which gathered the craftsmen that dealt with the sale of edible oil, honey, cheese, fresh and salted pork. The altar on the left aisle instead “belonged” to the Scuola degli Oresi, Zogielieri e Diamanteri (jewelers, goldsmiths, and diamond cutters).

The area around the Church of San Giacometo has many interesting aspects to discover, related to historical events, customs, and legends. The most popular among them is the “Gobo De Rialto”, a marble statue, located just in front of the church, made up from the same red granite as the “Pietra del Bando” in St. Mark’s Square, with a little stairway made of Istrian stone on its side, on which heralds climbed to read sentences or the list of the banned citizens. Under the ladder we found a hunchback, well-known to many thieves who, in the Middle Ages, were condemned to run naked from St. Mark to Rialto, between two rows of people whipping and disparaging them.

Venice, 12^th August 2021 – For more than two decades, the city centre of Moscow has been the theatre of the “Cherry Forest Open Art Festival”, in which exhibitions and shows of the great Italian masters of art, cinema, music and fashion are hosted. For years now part of the festival has been entirely dedicated to the promotion of events, exhibitions and projects with the aim of developing cultural relations and strengthening the historical existing bond between Italy and Russia. Mikhail Kusnirovich – founder of the Cherry Forest society and major shareholder of the Gum store in Moscow – is the head of the project. Kusnirovich is also the main sponsor of many Italian cultural events that take place in Russia, such as: the “Russian exhibition of Giorgio De Chirico (1888-1978)”, displayed at the Tretyakov Gallery in 2017. 

 “Under the Mask of Venice” is an exhibition entirely dedicated to the city, which this year celebrates the 1600 anniversary since its foundation (421-2021). It explores and investigates the venetian culture of the 18^th century, which was shaped by the Carnival of Venice, by the art of painting, by the theatre and, last but not least, by the literature of the Enlightenment. These cultural influences made very clear the extraordinary connection between Russian and the Repubblica Serenissima in the 18^th century. 

The Tsaritsyno Palace is the only one of the capital city composed of several picturesque palaces, bridges, pavilions, tiny lakes and gardens. For this reason, the palace has been chosen to display – for the first time – unique and rare antiquities on loan from the most ancient venetian museums. Among these, artifacts from the Museo Correr, Museo Ca' Rezzonico, Museo del Vetro of the Island of Murano, Palazzo Mocenigo e Museo del Tessuto e Costume veneziano. Moreover, artifacts and testimonies from the Pushkin Museum, the Moscow State Historical Museum and some other national collections will be included within the exhibition. 

The exhibition will include more than one hundred artworks of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia. From April 27^th until the end of summer, it will be possible to fully enjoy the 18^th century venetian lifestyle, deep diving within the age in which the Carnival of Venice reached its peak and became a unique and popular event throughout Europe. As a matter of fact, this was the century in which the venetian character Giacomo Casanova lived. He was famous for introducing a bohemian lifestyle in Venice in the 18^th century, when luxurious parties and richness characterized the everyday life in the city.

The exhibition will display carnival masks, costumes that date back to the period of the ancient nobility, glass artifacts from Murano, gondola decorations, game kits from the most famous venetian casinos, prints and paintings from Pietro Longhi in which daily life scenes are represented.

“Tsaritsyno Palace was established as a holiday residence in which it was possible to listen to music and admire fireworks display, which I believe is a proof of the typical atmosphere of the Carnival of Venice. We dreamed about telling the venetian story in our museum and I must say that our dream has come true!” – claimed Elizaveta Fokina, general director of the Tsaritsyno Museum when commenting on the decision to open the exhibition within the museum.

“The project will provide Moscow citizens and visitors with the opportunity to deep dive within the unique atmosphere of the city of Venice, which is characterized by love and freedom. With an imaginary walk through the calli and canals, a journey into the past and within the 18^th century venetian culture – continues Edith Kusnirovich, executive director of the festival –. Through the exhibition, people who have never been in Venice will fall in love, while those who already know the city, will discover a new and astonishing version of it.

Venice, 11 August 2021- The Basilica di San Giovanni e Paolo and the Scuola Grande di San Marco open their doors even during the night to celebrate the 1600^th anniversary from the foundation of Venice in order to recreate the ancient bond between believers and the lay members of the charity associations of Venice. On Saturday 14^th and Sunday 15^th August, the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo and the Scuola Grande di San Marco Museum complex open their doors to the public with new original proposals and themed tours to  celebrate the anniversary of Venice. 

On the occasion of the religious celebration of the “Assunta”, the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo and the major confraternity Scuola Grande di San Marco celebrate this major anniversary with two days of special night openings. This initiative has the purpose to let people experience the whole magic of the place called by Venetians “Campo delle Meravegie”, that means a small place which encloses lots of treasures : the fifteenth-century bronze equestrian statue by the artist Andrea del Verrocchio, portraying Bartolomeo Colleoni, the famous captain that served the Serenissima in the fifteenth century, The Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, known as the Pantheon due to its size and the number of Doges that are buried inside it, and the Scuola Grande di San Marco with its Renaissance façade and all the treasures kept inside it. 

Two nights under the moonlight to discover and investigate, with some volunteer tour guides, the relationship between the Dominican order and the most famous and majestic confraternity of Venice: The Scuola Grande di San Marco. The guided tours will start from the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo before proceeding to the Scuola di San Marco. First turn to visit at 20.00, second round of visit 21.00. For further information and reservations please write to visite@santigiovanniepaolo.it 

The initiatives organised by Dominican monks will continue in the coming months: Saturday 11 September and Saturday 9 October at 15.00, two more guided tours to the Scuola and the Basilica are planned, reservation is always required.

Venice, 5 August 2021- The concept of “quarantine”, the forty-day period of isolation reserved for people suffering from contagious diseases and aimed at preventing their expansion, is a true Venetians intuition dated back to the fifteenth century that put Venetians at the forefront in preventing epidemics outbreaks. It was exactly in these years, in fact, that the citizens of the lagoon understood that only segregation could stop the spreading of certain contagious infections, like the plague. They decided to create a place, the so-called “Lazzaretto Nuovo”, located about two miles northeast of Venice, near the mouth of the harbour of the Lido, intended to host for a long period of forty days people and goods, from all over the world, potentially infected and contagious. It was 1468 and this hosting structure was added to that of the first, so called, “old” Lazzaretto of 1423 which constituted, instead, the first public hospital dedicated to contagious diseases in Western history, located on an island in the Bacino San Marco. 

“Venice, with this intuition placed itself at the forefront, anticipating everyone else- say Giorgia Fazzini of the Ekos Club and Archeoclub of Italy in Venice-, even going against the superstitions of the time, Venice understood that the plague was contagious and so decided to create the first public hospital for contagious diseases on the island of Lazzaretto Vecchio. Later on, in 1468, it figured out that, since the cure for the disease was unknown, a “plague prevention” was necessary and decided to establish the quarantine practice on the island of Lazzaretto Nuovo”. 

The Lazzaretto Nuovo, an island of nine acres of which almost 40.000 square foots made up of buildings, was truly dividing the lagoon from the city of Venice and was seen as the preventing symbol of a progressive method in treating contagious diseases that showed how Venetians, already in 1468, had a really intuitive and forward- seeing mindset in that field of medicine which today is still faced with this kind of approach.

“Today quarantine, as a Venetians invention, is becoming a quite hot topic, with the two-year of Coronavirus- says Giorgia Fazzini- since both the international informative and diplomatic network and the daily practices can be compared precisely with what Venice understood and created in the fifteenth century and that the contemporary world still practices today in all the countries affected by Sars-Cov-2. The “lazzaretti” network was not just a health care system, but also an international intelligence system.

The one of Lazzaretto nuovo is the only island in the venetian lagoon that was recovered and brought back to the community with a non-profit project and today is still renowned by dozens of local and international realities and by thousand of people that visit it each year through guided tours, workshops, exhibitions, and events. However, the most important aspects of this island are three and cover three different fields of study, from the historical and archaeological one to the project concerning the recovery of the island, passing through the environmental care. Especially the recovery plan, promoted in 1977 and up till the present days, makes this place a true lifelong learning stage. 

From the historical point of view, the island of Lazzaretto Nuovo, lived all the different habits which characterized the more than sixty islands of the lagoon of Venice: the agricultural one, since this place was used for crops and livestock, the religious one from the end of the XI century when the island was owned by the Benedictine monks of San Giorgio Maggiore, the healthcare one during the spread of the plague in the fifteenth century and, finally, the military one when during the 1800s the island was used as a defensive system on the lagoon. 

Definitely, the most important period for the island of Lazzaretto nuovo is that of the Serenissima Republic, when it was involved in the healthcare field eventually becoming the quarantine lazzaretto passing through which was essential to reach the city center of Venice. All the goods, people and boats coming from plague suspected places, and therefore, from the different ports of the Mediterranean with whom Venice cooperated, being the connection between East and West, had to pass through here and spend a period of forty day before entering the city. 

The island, moreover, it's also very important from the environmental point of view, as it hosts the “path of whales”, the nature walk of the Ecomuseum that tells about this very particular environment of the lagoon ecosystem. That of whales is an endangered environment, in fact almost 70% of it disappeared in the last century, but it has had an essential impact both ecologically and on the landscape, as well as on the economy, on the land and on the identity of Venice and its citizens. The “path of whales”, which you can still visit today, follows the military walkway of the island of Lazzaretto Nuovo and extends beyond the city walls for about half a mile. 

Besides the historical- archaeological and environmental importance, the Lazzaretto Nuovo also acts as a deposit for the archaeological heritage of the State. In fact, the structure hosts with no charge all the finds of thousands of archaeological researches, thanks to the agreement that occurs between the associations Ekor Club, Archeoclub of Venice and the Ministry of Culture. 

“Another not widely known gem of the island - concludes Giorgia Fazzini- is having one of the first systems of phyto-purification of Italy, a technology that allows purification of the wastewater, supporting a low environmental impact”. 

The Lazzaretto Nuovo is an island which demonstrates not just the great intuitive mindset of the Venetians, but also the true beauty of the ecosystem that is enclosed in the lagoon which has made Venice a unique place in the whole world and that, still today, we can admire in this place that preserves, with the finest care, its origins. 

Venice, 22^nd July 2021- The decorated ceiling that competes with the Doge's Palace, a Christ that has safeguarded the place for ages and that, by twisting of 180 degrees around it, allows you to witness his death, and an incomparable collection of books and medical tools narrating the world medical history. This, and much more, is the Museum of the Scuola Grande di San Marco in Venice, enclosing stories and anecdotes of a Venice that, with its 1600 years, proudly looks into its past and, as strongly and fiercely, to its future. The museum stands in some of the spaces that, during the last century, have been converted into a Civil hospital. From Scuola dei Battutito Scuola Grande di San Marco, passing through the fall of the Serenissima up until the takeovers and the conversion into a military and civil hospital. Many are the events that the beautiful building has been holding for centuries. We discussed this with Mario Po', director of the museum complex.

In this building St. Mark plays a dominant role, but what does St. Mark really represent for Venetians?

To fully understand who St. Mark was, we need to take a look at the canvas by Domenico Tintoretto that depicts the body of St. Mark reaching Venice, on January 31, 828. In that canvas the Saint is received with great fanfare by the Doge, the political spokesperson of power. As a matter of fact, St. Mark was the actual head of the State, which means this was the arrival of the State representative and the Doge played as his delegate. A very bold statement that allows us to understand how the figure of the Saint seeped so deeply into Venetian genetics, as to be so alive and so recognized as a landmark. St. Mark is the patron saint of Venice but we must remember that Venice already had one: Todaro, a Saint of Eastern, Byzantine origin. St. Mark is an independent character, which combines a religious profile with a divine protection but he is also able to give his presence clearer evidence of the role that the Republic wanted to play in the Mediterranean”.  

What’s inside the Chapter house?

“This room was built with the aim of General Chapter for the representatives’ congregation of the Scuola Grande di San Marco. The General Chapter is what today is known as a fellowship Assembly, six hundred brothers who gathered here to then communicate the wishes to the leading bodies: the Zonta and the Guardian Grande. This room has its own pageantry and magniloquence and was created to communicate something really important to the State, to the Republic and to the Government. The golden-plated ceiling, that certainly represented a huge economic investment, was meant to say: “we are competing with the majesty of Palazzo Ducale, with the Doge’s private apartments, since we are a “State within the State”. Here a role of public interest was performed even though it was administered by a private body, especially one as powerful as the Scuola Grande di San Marco was. This was the purpose and the employment of this place. As soon as Napoleon violently suppressed the organization, this building became the headquarters of a new hospital unit. It was specifically during the first World War’s Austro-Hungarian raids that a bomb, dropped right next to the building, caused a partial collapse and a significant number of deaths and injuries, on August 14, 1917. It is believed that, immediately after this happened, the building lost its function as a place of recovery to become as we know it today: Museum of history of Medicine in the Scuola Grande di San Marco”.

What does the Museum of Medicine consist of?

We have an extremely rare and precious summary of the history of medicine, made up of around twenty thousand volumes illustrating the evolution of the history of medicine, as it is understood in the West, from Hippocrates to the enlightenment, through the Arabs and the Byzantines up until our Venetian’s doctors, including Niccolò Massa and Giovanni Della Croce. Then we have also the medical-surgical tools collection, often commissioned by Venetian care facilities to Venetians workshops, that show us how these instruments were employed between 1700 and 1800, then going through the first syringes and surgical tools before anesthesia was employed, as well as medical instruments before antibiotics and cortisones were produced. Secondly, there is perhaps one among the most important archives of Europe, the medical records: here the oldest document is dated 1094. We are talking about an archive that follows the history of Venetian healthcare institutions. Then, again, we have the hospital pharmacy that dates back to the Napoleonic era that, originally, was born as an exhibition open to the public and that today still preserves its furniture, its vases, and their contents, as well as an important museum of pathological anatomy born when the first finding, which are still retain, were discovered by 1874 and that, at this point, has turned into a museum of palaeopathology. Consequently, there is the Church of San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti that holds many art pieces and the putte da coro. In the end we find the Domenican section, protected with meticulous jealousy since inside we find one of the most important places dedicated to the preservation of traditional West culture: the San Domenico library, the place which the Cardinal Bessarione, the patriarch of Constantinople, had decided it  should contain all the treasures after the fall of the capital of the Byzantine Empire.

A Christ wooden sculpture overlooks the room.

A Christ who has been the guardian of these places over the centuries: the Christ symbolic of the congregation. We have a picture, dated back to the bombing period, where we can see the absence of the paintings, since they had been removed, while clearly appears the crucifix placed on the altar and, if we look closely to the right hand, we can notice he still carries the marks of that event. He was designed to be looked up from below, with a 180 degree view. During this journey we are able to notice that initially Jesus’ eyes are open but then they gradually close. At the end of the round we find a dead Christ, with his head bent to his right side.”

The Scuole Grandi played an essential role in the development of the city of Venice, why was the one of San Marco, which was originally the Scuola dei Battuti, born?

Two are the reasons that lie at the origin of these institutions: first and foremost, following the Flagellants movement of 1260, which affected many Italians cities including Venice, the sufferings of Jesus were rediscovered and with the practice of self-flagellation the Scuola dei Battuti was born. But then there is another reason as well: Venetians, when in Constantinople, observed everything they could and then seized the Imperial Palace, which for centuries had given a part of the imperial property on loan to a charitable institution, in order that it could assist those in need. In comparison to the ones of the mainland, the schools situated on the lagoon had their own peculiarities, since they were independent from the State and the Church and since they were in charge of taking care for the poor, that practice then known as “caritas”. A very important reality, considering that this was the foundation of subsidiarity which finds its roots and creation exactly in Venice, thanks to its Byzantine influence.

Venice, then, could be defined as a “modern” city also in this field

Venice had an undisputed leadership also in the field of medicine – which today will be defined as welfare - due to its ministry of health. As a consequence, a question may arise: Which were the other European States that had thought about taking care of people’s health by means of a state organ? Well, Venice did. Moreover, we could define as cutting-edge its contribution to the medical field. Some of the medical treatments whose origins we believe are far, were actually born in Venice. For instance, Venice played a key role in the development of anatomy, by recruiting many important doctors of the time: from Vesalio dalle Fiandre, who worked in Venice, to the anatomist Niccolò Massa or the famous surgeon Giovanni della Croce. Oral implantology was also born in Venice, thanks to the studies and knowledge of Umberto Saraval, expert in stomatology. Saraval was a jewish doctor who, due to the persecution, had to hide in a closet for a year. Nevertheless, he succeeded in writing a book which still is considered as a milestone in this field”.