Scuola Grande dei Carmini

About

The Scuola Grande dei Carmini is a confraternity building in Venice, Italy. It is located in the sestiere of Dorsoduro, before Campo dei Carmini and Campo Santa Margherita, upon which its facade looks. It stands, separated by an alley, to the northeast of the church of Santa Maria dei Carmini.

It was the former home of the Venetian Scuola of the same name. The Scuola was founded in 1594 under Doge Pasquale Cicogna, and was the last of its kind to be recognized as a Scuola Grande in 1767 by the Council of Ten. Initially it was located in the Convent of the Church of Carmini, whose structure also faces the campo of the same name. The present scuola building was designed by Francesco Caustello and Baldassare Longhena. In 1807, the confraternity was suppressed by Napoleon's anticlerical decrees. The Austrians allowed the Scuola to reopen, and it continues activities today, though mostly cultural activities.

The entrance facade and porch are of Baroque style, are facing south and overlook the southwestern tip of Campo Santa Margherita, while the west facade is parallel to the left of the nave of Carmini church. and visible from Campo dei Carmini.

The whiteness of the two facades is due to their Istrian stone surface and opposes the black thick wrought iron balustrades that close all the windows of the building.

The Scuola dei Carmini contains many works of great artistic value, due to their presence in their original location.

Inside the school, on the ground floor, there is a large chapel ( Cappella della Madonna del Carmelo ) with a single nave, baroque style, the ceiling is apparent woodwork is remarkable. The main altar is dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, protector of the brotherhood, the painting of the altarpiece, an oil on canvas of the Venetian painter Sante Piatti, represents it.

The piece is entirely decorated with grisaille paintings by Niccolò Bambini. On the left wall the circumcision of Jesus, surrounding the access to the staircase of Baldassare Longhena, Faith, Hope and Charity. On the right wall The rest of the holy family in Egypt and the Assumption of the Virgin.

From this room, to the right of the stairs you can access the sacristy, a small room covered by a barrel vault and embellished by the original wooden seats.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel by Sante Piatti

The circumcision of Jesus by Niccolò Bambini

the Assumption of the Virgin by Niccolò Bambini

The rest of the holy family in Egypt by Niccolò Bambini

The grand staircase and the corridor with barrel vaults on a drawing of Baldassare Longhena, were made by his pupil Antonio Gaspari. The sculptures are the work of Alvise Bassi and were erected between 1728 and 1729. Three medallions in the last ramp show the theological virtues, the frescoes of Sante Piatti date from 1733.

It is the largest of the rooms and contains famous frescoes (actually paintings on canvas in the ceiling) completed by Giambattista Tiepolo from 1739 to 1749. The stuccoes are by the Swiss decorator Abbondio Stazio (1740), gilded by Carpoforo Mazzeti from 1742 to 1743. In the hall there is an altar dedicated to the Virgin with a statue of the Madonna and Child offering the scapular; it dates from the 17th century and is by Bernardo Falconi.

- Penance, humility, truth : Penance (dark-skinned woman holding a wooden cross in prayer); Humility (teenager dressed in white with a lamb treading sceptres and wreaths); The Truth (woman turned back holding a sieve).

- Theological virtues of Faith, Hope, Charity : Faith (woman dressed in white, holding a cross and a chalice), Hope (Woman in a green coat holding an anchor), Charity (Mother with two child with a flame above of the head).

- Angel with lilies and putto with scapulars : A putto brandied two scapulars, an angel in the center holds a bouquet of lilies (symbol of chastity), two seraphim below kiss.

- The Virgin in glory hands Saint Simon Stock the scapular: This was the last central picture to have been put in place in 1749.

- Courage and Justice : Courage (woman leaning against a column with a lion); Justice (woman crowned with thorn a sword in hand, surmounted by a dove).

- Prudence, purity and temperance : Prudence (woman with a snake wrapped around her arm and a mirror in her hand, eyes raised); Purity (young girl with raised hair, eyelids lowered); Temperance (woman pouring the liquid drawn at the source). Bordering on both sides the central table.