Chapter XXI: Section VI

_S. Zulian--S. Maria Formosa--S. Zanipolo_ (_SS. Giovanni e
Paolo_)--_The Colleoni Statue--The Scuola di S. Marco--S. Maria dei
Miracoli_

Fresh from memories evoked by the mansions of the ruling families of the Republic, we may now fitly turn to the more important of the two great churches of the Friars which together form the Walhalla of Venice. We enter the Merceria from the Piazza, noting the site of the Casa del Morter (p. 109). A few hundred yards down the busy street the ramo S. Zulian on the right leads to the church of that name, which contains two unimportant Veroneses, an interesting Boccaccino, Virgin and Child, SS. Peter, Michael, and the two Johns, first altar left of entrance, and one of Campagna’s best works, a group in high relief of the dying Christ, to the left of the altar.

From the Campo della Guerra at the back of the church we proceed E., cross the Ponte della Guerra, and continue along the calle until we reach, L., the Salizzada S. Lio. The second calle, to the R., along the salizzada is the picturesque Calle del Paradiso, which leads to the Ponte Paradiso. As we near the bridge we note a beautiful Gothic gable bearing the arms of the Foscari and the Mocenighi, and a fine fourteenth-century relief of the Virgin and Child and a donor. We cross the modern bridge which has replaced the fine old Ponte Paradiso, turn R., over the Ponte dei Preti, and emerge on the spacious Campo. S. Maria Formosa is one of the earliest of Venetian churches (p. 23) but entirely restored after the earthquake of 1689. Palma Vecchio’s grandiose St Barbara, for which his daughter Violante is said to have stood as model, stands over the first altar on the R. It is one of the most insistent of Venetian paintings. The composition is in six compartments. R. and L. are SS. Anthony and Sebastian; above is the Virgin of Mercy between the Baptist and St Dominic. The church has also an early work by Bart. Vivarini, a Pietà by Palma Giovane, and a Last Supper by Bassano.

We traverse the campo in a N.E. direction to the calle Lunga, which we follow to the end. Here we turn L. along the Fondamenta Tetta, cross the bridge and enter the calle of the same name which leads to the Ponte and Calle Ospedaletto; the end of the calle debouches on the Salizzada SS. Giovanni e Paolo. We turn L., noting to the R. the towering brick apse of the huge church of the Preaching Friars, due to the piety of Doge Giacomo Tiepolo (p. 78). The monastery was begun in 1236, the church twelve years later. The conventual buildings (now part of the civic hospital) were finished in 1293, and the church was not ready for consecration until 1430, when it was dedicated to the martyred Roman soldiers SS. John and Paul, and became popularly known as S. Zanipolo. To the L. before we enter are the tombs of Doge Giacomo Tiepolo (1249)[107] and Doge Lorenzo Tiepolo his brother (1275).

The interior is imposing by reason of its vast size and simple plan; though the dome, the Renaissance monuments and rococo details disturb the symmetry. The Mendicant Orders possessing the right to bury the dead within the precincts of their buildings were able to grant permission to wealthy and influential families, their supporters, to erect family chapels and sepulchral monuments in their churches. In this Dominican temple lie buried in monumental pomp Doges and statesmen, great captains and admirals, side by side with famous painters; for the two Bellini and Palma Giovane rest here. The traveller who remembers his Ruskin will doubtless turn first to the two monuments typical of noble and debased sculpture which are contrasted with such vehement rhetoric in the opening chapter of the “Stones of Venice.” He will find the “faithful tender portrait” of Doge Tomaso Mocenigo (1423) in the L. aisle beyond the second altar, recumbent on a beautiful transitional tomb wrought by two Florentine sculptors, Piero di Nicolo and Giov. di Martino. It is the last of the Gothic tombs in Venice and marks the advancing Renaissance. In the choir, L. of the high altar, is the monument, “perfect in workmanship but devoid of thought,” of Doge Andrea Vendramin (1478), executed by Aless. Leopardi and one of the Lombardi. To this “culminating point of the Renaissance,” Ruskin attained “by the ministry of such ancient ladders as he found in the sacristan’s keeping,” and discerned that the figure of the old Doge had but one hand, and that the “wretched effigy was a mere block on the inner side, ... the artist staying his hand as he reached the bend of the grey forehead.” The sculptor of “this lying monument to a dishonoured Doge,” adds the passionate critic, “was banished from Venice for forgery in 1478.” The tomb is, however, a fine example of early Renaissance work, in Burckhardt’s opinion “the most beautiful of all the tombs of the Doges.” Two inferior figures of St Catherine and the Virgin at the base are not by Leopardi; they were substituted for the admirable statues of Adam and Eve by Leopardi’s colleague, which were transferred to the Pal. Vendramin. To the L. of the choir is the early Gothic tomb of Doge Marco Corner (1368), a beautiful and simple monument, probably by the Massegne. Opposite is the “richest monument of the Gothic period in Venice,” the tomb of Michele Morosini (1382). The strongly marked features of the dead Doge, “resolute, thoughtful, serene and full of beauty” are wrought in masterly style. These are the tombs referred to by Ruskin: the former as noble Gothic; the latter is furnishing the exactly intermediate condition in style between the pure Gothic and its final renaissance corruption. L. of this is the monument to Doge Leonardo Loredan (1521) with allegorical figures, late Renaissance, executed in 1572. The statue of the Doge is an early work by Campagna.

Beyond the sacristy door is the fine Renaissance monument of Doge Pasquale Malipiero (1462) by a Florentine of the fifteenth century. In the arcade under the next monument (in the N. aisle) is the recumbent figure of Doge Michel Steno (pp. 124, 139) (1414). The inscription tells that he was a lover of righteousness, peace and plenty. At the end of the aisle against the entrance wall is the monument of Doge Giovanni Mocenigo (1485), a typical and early Renaissance work by Tullio and Ant. Lombardo. Over the main portal are the huge monuments of Doge Alvise Mocenigo (1577), his wife Loredana Marcella, and Doge Giovanni Bembo (1618). Against the entrance wall south aisle is another imposing monument by the Lombardi to Doge Pietro Mocenigo (1476). The growing pride of dominion is clearly seen in these sumptuous mausoleums. Pietro’s tomb wrought from the spoils of his enemies, as the inscription tells, is adorned with two reliefs boasting of his exploits in war. “The Vendramin Statue,” says Ruskin, “is the last which shows the recumbent figure laid in death. A few years later the idea became disagreeable to polite minds, the figures raised themselves on their elbows and began to look about them.[108] ...But the statue soon rose up and presented itself as an actor on the stage in the front of his tomb, surrounded by every circumstance of pomp and symbol of adulation that flattery could suggest or insolence claim.” The development of the sepulchral monument from the simple sarcophagus of the early Doges, as in the Tiepolo tombs on the west front to its culmination in the fourteenth and fifteenth century monuments; its subsequent decline and then its utter degradation in the eighteenth century Bertucci mausoleum, may be traced in this church. In the S. aisle a stone with reliefs of Christ between two angels recalls the memory of Doge Renier Zen (1268). Between the first and second altars is the monument to Marc’ Antonio Brigadin, hero of the defence of Famagosta. Beyond the side chapel is the colossal monument, 60 feet in length, of Bertuccio (1658) and Silvestre Valier (1700), and the latter’s wife Elisabetta, executed by Baratta and other followers of Bernini. This elaborate specimen of rococo art is denounced by Ruskin as exhibiting every condition of false taste and feeble conception.

Among the paintings we note the St Augustine by Bart. Vivarini, one of the master’s greatest works; an altar-piece, The Apotheosis of S. Antonino of Florence, by Lotto; one of Rocco Marconi’s best works, Christ with SS. Andrew and Peter; Alvise Vivarini’s Christ bearing the Cross, highly praised by Mr Berenson; and Bissolo’s Madonna and saints.

The famous monument of Colleoni, in the Campo outside the Church is the finest equestrian statue in Europe. The great stalwart condottiero in full armour sits erect in his saddle, indomitable will and forceful capacity marked in every line of his stern, clean-cut features. The “_vista superba_, the deep-set eyes, piercing and terrible,” are rendered with supreme art. The statue was designed by Da Vinci’s master Verrocchio, a Florentine sculptor, who, however, died of a cold caught at the casting, and Aless. Leopardi was charged by the Republic to complete the work. The conception and the modelling of horse and rider are due to the Florentine sculptor; the finishing of it and the design and execution of the pedestal to the Venetian. Colleoni left his fortune to the Republic on condition that his statue should be placed in St Mark’s Square. This the laws forbade, but there being a _scuola_ of St Mark with a spacious campo before it the Senate decided to erect the statue there and accept the inheritance.

On the N. side of the campo is the Scuola di S. Marco now the city hospital. This, in Ruskin’s estimation, is one of the two most refined buildings in Venice by the Lombardi. It was designed in 1485 by Martino, the decorations are due to Pietro. The beautiful lunette over the doorway is probably by Bart. Buon, the lions and the two fine reliefs--the healing of the Cobbler Anianus and St Mark baptising a convert--are by Tullio Lombardo. The second of the buildings referred to by Ruskin, S. Maria dei Miracoli, may be easily reached by crossing the Ponte del Cavallo, and following the calle opposite the west front of S. Zanipolo. This exquisite gem of Renaissance architecture (1480-89) was designed by Pietro Lombardo. To Tullio are due the half figures of the Annunciation on the top of the choir steps and the best of the charming arabesque decorations in the interior. The St Francis and St Clare are by Campagna.