Venice, December 27th, 2021 – Not only traditions, Christmas markets and lights paths: Christmas in Venice means culture too. Nativity in Venice is explained through art. Christmas, in the city that this year celebrates its 1600 years from its foundation, means to deep dive within the huge artistic heritage of the Serenissima.
Venetian churches, for instance, guard extraordinary masterpieces related to Christmas, painted between the 1500s and the 1700s. Christmas is described by the original work of art painted by Tintoretto in 1581, displayed at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, representing the “Adoration of the Shepherds”, while in the church of San Trovaso the “Adoration of the Magi”, realised by the same famous venetian painter can be admired. In the churches of San Giovanni e Paolo and of San Giuseppe in Castello there is the same theme painted by Paolo Veronese, whilst the work by Paolo Veneziano can be observed at the church of San Pantalon with the “Nativity”. In the church of the Carmini, “The Nativity with Saints”, one of the masterpieces by Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, realised in the first years of the 1500s, is displayed . In the church of San Giobbe, the astonishing “Nativity of Jesus” by Girolamo Savoldo can be admired (one of the greatest venetian painters of the 1500s), while in the sacristy of the Basilica of Santa Maria gloriosa dei Frari the painting “Adoration of the Magi”, by Bonifacio de’ Pitati is displayed. Inside the Church of San Zaccaria, Christmas is represented with the “Adoration of the Shepherds”, painted by Antonio Balestra at the beginning of the 1700s.
Venetian museums guard precious gems that represent Christmas. At the Gallerie dell’Accademia we can find the “Conversano Polyptych” by Bartolomeo Vivarini and the “Nativity among Saints Eustace, James, Mark and Nicholas” by Lazzaro Bastiani. The Gallerie also host the “Nativity Triptych” by Jacopo Bellini, Gentile Bellini e Giovanni Bellini. At the Correr Museum instead, several are the paintings that represent Christmas. As a matter of fact, we can see a panel representing the central scene of a triptych that celebrates the birth of Jesus by an unknown painter. Moreover, we can admire the “Nativity” by Teodoro Poulakis, the triptych “Progenie di Sant’Anna”, painted between 1500 and 1510 by the German artist Hans Fries and the “"Madonna and Child with Angels" painted in 1525 by Lorenzo Lotto. The elegant “Madonna and Child with Goldfinch” by Michele Giambono is also dislayed as well as the “"Madonna and Child” by Giovanni Bellini, who is represented with an unusual bordeaux dress, a pink cloak and a veil with a jewel, that partially covers her head, while at the Doge’s Palace the “Nativity” by Gregorio Lazzarini (1665-1730) is displayed.
Throughout Christmas holidays the musei civici veneziani will be open also in the evening. The Doge’s Palace and the Correr Museum will be open until 11pm (last entrance at 10pm) every Friday, Saturday and Sunday beginning from Friday 17th December 2021 until Sunday 9th December 2022. Museums will also be open every day from Friday 17th December 2021 until Sunday 9th December 2022.
Comune di Venezia
