Page 422 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Europe

420  IT AL Y AND GREECE

confraternity. Construction The Adoration of the Shepherds.
began in 1515. The work was The carvings below the paintings
financed by donations from were added in the 17th century
Venetians keen to invoke San by sculptor Francesco Pianta.
Rocco’s protection, and the They include (near the altar)
Scuola quickly became one a caricature of Tintoretto with
of the wealthiest in Venice. his palette and brushes.
In 1564, its members decided The Sala dell’Albergo contains
to commission Tintoretto to perhaps the most breathtaking
decorate its walls and ceilings. of all Tintoretto’s masterpieces –
His earliest paintings, the first the Crucifixion (1565). Henry
of over 50 works he eventually James once remarked of this
created for the Scuola, fill the painting: “no single picture
small Sala dell’Albergo off the contains more of human
Upper Hall. His later paintings life; there is everything in
are in the Ground Floor Hall, it, including the most
just inside the entrance. exquisite beauty.”
Portrait of a Young Man in a Red Hat The ground floor cycle was
(anonymous), Museo Correr executed in 1583–7, when 5 Santa Maria
Tintoretto was in his sixties,
3 Museo Correr and consists of eight episodes Gloriosa dei Frari
Piazza San Marco (entrance in Ala from the life of Mary. They are Campo dei Frari. Tel 041-272 86 11.
Napoleonica). Tel 041-240 52 11. remarkable for the tranquil 4 San Tomà. Open Mon–Sat & Sun
4 San Marco. Open daily. serenity of paintings such pm. Closed Jan 1, Jan 6, Easter,
Closed Jan 1, Dec 25. & = - 7 as The Flight into Egypt and Dec 25. & unless attending mass. ^
∑ correr.visitmuve.it St. Mary of Egypt.
Scarpagnino’s great staircase More commonly known as
Teodoro Correr bequeathed his (1544–6), leads to the Upper the Frari (a corruption of Frati,
extensive collection of works Hall, which was decorated by meaning brothers), this vast
of art to Venice in 1830, thus Tintoretto in 1575–81. The ceiling Gothic church dwarfs the
forming the core of the city’s is painted with scenes from the eastern area of San Polo. Its
fine civic museum. Old Testament. The three large 83-m (272-ft) campanile is the
Its first rooms form a suitably square paintings in the center tallest in the city after that of
Neo-Classical backdrop for early show episodes from the Book San Marco. The first church
statues by Antonio Canova of Exodus, all alluding to the on the site was built by the
(1757–1822). The rest of the charitable aims of the Scuola in Franciscans in 1250–1338,
floor covers the history of the alleviating thirst, sickness, and but was replaced by a larger
Venetian Republic, with maps, hunger. The vast wall paintings building completed in the mid-
coins, armor, and a host of feature episodes from the New 15th century. The airy interior
doge-related exhibits. Testament, linking with the is striking for its sheer size and
The second floor contains the ceiling paintings. Two of the for the quality of its works of
picture gallery. Works are hung most striking are The Temptation art, including masterpieces
chronologically, enabling one to of Christ, which shows a by Titian and Giovanni Bellini,
trace the evolution of Venetian handsome young Satan offering a statue by Donatello, and
painting. The most famous Christ two loaves of bread, and several grandiose tombs.
include the Portrait of a Young
Man in a Red Hat (c.1490),
once attributed to Carpaccio,
now thought to be by an artist
from the Ferrara/Bologna area,
and Carpaccio’s Two Venetian
Ladies (c.1507).
4 Scuola Grande di
San Rocco
Campo San Rocco. Tel 041-523 48 64.
4 San Tomà. Open daily. Closed Jan
1, Easter, Dec 25. & 7 = 8 (audio).
Founded in honor of San Rocco
(St. Roch), a saint who dedicated
his life to helping the sick, the
Scuola started out as a charitable Detail from Tintoretto’s Flight into Egypt, Scuola Grande di San Rocco
For hotels and restaurants see pp438–40 and pp441–3

420-421_EW_Europe.indd 420 14/07/16 10:45 am