Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
builders), of whom she is patron saint. Vasari thought it one of his best works. Similarly
eye-catching is Bartolomeo Vivarini's triptych of the Madonna della Misericordia in the
first chapel to the right of the nave.
CHIESA DI SAN LIO
MAP GOOGLE MAP
(Campo San Lio; donations appreciated; 9-11.30am & 3-4pm Mon-Fri; Rialto) F Giandomenico
Tiepolo sure did know how to light up a room. Duck into the atmospheric gloom of San
Lio's baroque interior and, as your eyes adjust, look up at Tiepolo's magnificent ceiling
fresco, The Glory of the Cross and St Leon IX . On your left by the main door is Titian's
Apostle James the Great , but this church is better known for yet another Venetian artist:
the great vedutista (landscapist) Canaletto, who was baptised and buried in this, his parish
church.
CHURCH
STATUE OF BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI
MAP GOOGLE MAP
(Campo SS Giovanni e Paolo; Ospedale) Bartolomeo Colleoni's galloping bronze equestrian
statue is one of only two such public monuments in Venice - and it's an extraordinary ex-
ample of early-Renaissance sculpture. It commemorates one of Venice's most loyal mer-
cenary commanders. From 1448, Colleoni commanded armies for the Republic, though in
true mercenary form he switched sides a couple of times when he felt he'd been stiffed on
pay or promotions.
On his death in 1474, he bequeathed 216,000 gold and silver ducats to Venice, on one
condition: that the city erect a commemorative statue to him in Piazza San Marco. Since
not even a doge had ever won such pride of place in Venice, the Senate found a rather du-
bious workaround, placing the monument in front of the Scuola Grande di San Marco in-
stead. At least the Republic didn't scrimp on the statue: sculpted with imposing grandeur
by Florentine master Andrea del Verrocchio (1435-88), it is embellished with Colleoni's
emblematic coglioni (cullions or testicles) - a typically crude Renaissance pun. You can
spot them on the base, looking like emphatic quotation marks.
MONUMENT
SCUOLA GRANDE DI SAN MARCO
MAP GOOGLE MAP
(Campo Zanipolo; Ospedale) Instead of a simple Saturday father-son handyman project,
sculptor Pietro Lombardo and his sons had something more ambitious in mind: a high-
Renaissance polychrome marble facade for the most important confraternity in Venice;
Mauro Codussi was brought in to put the finishing touches on this gem. Magnificent lions
NOTABLE BUILDING
Search WWH ::




Custom Search