The church of San Giorgio Maggiore

An island church with great views from the campanile

* San Giorgio Maggiore
Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore
Vaporetto: San Giorgio
tel. +39-041-522-7827
Open Mon–Sat 9:30am–12:30pm and 2:30–6pm, Sun 8:30am–11am and 2:30–6pm (4:30pm in winter)
Church: free; bell tower: adm

Fondazione Cini
tel. +39-041-271-0229
www.cini.it

Hotels nearby
Reid Recommends***Hotel Danieli [splurge]
Reid Recommends *Hotel Metropole [premier]
Reid Recommends Hotel La Residenza [cheap]

» More hotels in Castello from Venere.com
» More hotels in Castello from Booking.com

» More hotels in San Marco from Venere.com
» More hotels in San Marco from Booking.com

ReidsItaly.com Venice Map
» View ENLARGED MAP with all listings



TOURS FROM OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS that include Venice

Intrepid Travel
Intrepid Travel 2011 Italy trips
• Best of ItalyPartner (15 days)
• Italy UncoveredPartner (15 days)
• Italy ExperiencePartner (15 days)
• Classic ItalyPartner (21 days)
• Italy Family AdventurePartner (14 days)
• Highlights of ItalyPartner (8 days)
• Umbrian DiscoveryPartner (8 days)
Partner

Not just Italy...
PartnerBerlin to VenicePartner (15 days)
Paris to VenicePartner (23 days)
Venice to IstanbulPartner (23 days)

Gap Adventures
G Adventures 2011 Italy trips
• Ultimate ItalyPartner (13 days)
• Italy Culture and History Explored (9 days)
• Venice to Rome AdventurePartner (8 days)
• Italy Family AdventurePartner (10 days)

iExplore
iExplore Italy trips 2011
• Italy Experience (9 days)
• Italy in Style (9 days)

» THE VENICE BOOKSHELF

The church of San Giorgio Maggiore.
The church of San Giorgio Maggiore.Nearly every visitor to Venice sees it—and most snap a picture of it—yet barely a handful ever bother taking the quick vaporetto ride over to visit the church of San Giorgio Maggiore.

This is a shame, since they're missing not only one of the architectural glories of Venice, but one that is decorated with works by Tintoretto, Carpaccio, and Jacopo Bassano and that boasts spectacular views from the bell tower.

San Giorgio's Palladio-designed gleaming white facade and lithe brick-and-marble bell tower seem almost to float in the middle of the Bacino San Marco (St. Mark's Basin), supported on its own tiny island (for getting there, see below) just a few hundred yards off St. Mark's Square.

Palladian architecture and Renaissance art

A brief history of San Giorgio
This island was long known as the Isle of Cypresses, occupied since at least the 10th century by an order of Benedictine monks. The monastery was rebuilt in the 13th century after an earthquake, acquired its Palladian church in the 16th century, and became a renowned center of learning, frequently hosting visiting scholars and other eminent visitors—in 1433, Cosimo de Medici lived here during his exile from Florence. Napoléon suppressed the monastery in 1797 and plundered its riches, after which the island floundered for a few centuries, serving as a free port after 1829, then an artillery headquarters after 1851. In 1951, Count Vittorio Cini purchased the whole place for his Cini Foundation (www.cini.it), restored it and its library, and it once again became a cultural center hosting international scholars, occasional events and exhibits, and performances in a small open-air Greek-style theater.Construction on the church began in 1566 on a plan by Andrea Palladio, greatest of the High Renaissance architects interpreting the Neoclassical ideal.

His "Palladian" theories and style would go on to influence everyone from Christopher Wren in London to Thomas Jefferson in America—which is why Jefferson's Monticello and the major buildings and monuments of Washington, DC look the way they do.

For San Giorgio Maggiore, Palladio used an innovative split-level, two-tiered layered facade with a pair of stacked pediments—and a portico inspired by Greek pronaos—with side windows modeled on those in Roman baths (helping make it one of the few light-infused churches in Venice).

This light helps illuminate the works of art decorating the spare interior of white Istrian stone, including the Adoration of the Shepherds (first altar on the right) by Jacopo Bassano, and the fine Tintoretto canvases in the deep choir— Shower of Manna from Heaven on the left, and a dark and brooding The Last Supper on the right (both 1594).

In a chilling series of coincidences, Tintoretto's final painting, left unfinished upon his death and completed by his son Domenico, is a Deposition (1592–94) that now resides in the church's Chapel of the Dead. (Also here is a photograph of the Carpaccio painting kept in the conclave room, described below.)

The choir

The reason the choir, with its 16th century stalls, was designed to be so deep is two-fold.

Firstly, Palladio was trying to balance the Latin Cross ideal with the classic basilican plan—which is also the reason the dome has been placed equidistant from both the altar and the entrance.

Secondly, it was tradition for the Doge to come to San Giorgio to hear St. Stephen's Mass (December 26, traditionally a bigger holiday in Italy than even Christmas the day before), which for the occasion was sung by a double choir consisting of the resident Benedictine monks and the A-squad of St. Mark's choristers.

The day Venice picked a pope
Since the great Western Schism ended in 1417, every papal conclave has been held in Rome (usually in the Sistine Chapel) except one. While Napoléon's troops were occupying the Eternal City in 1799–1800, the college of cardinals met in Venice, at San Giorgio, to elect a new pope after nearly four months of stalemates. On March 21, 1800, they settled on a compromise and elevated Count Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti to Pope Pius VII. He ended up reigning for more than 23 years.To the right of the choir, a door leads to the so-called Conclave Room (see the sidebar to the right) with an altarpiece of St. George and the Dragon (1516) by the first great Venetian Old Master, Vittore Carpaccio. Sadly, this room is usually closed to the public.

The bell tower

One thing Palladio doesn't get credit for is the campanile (bell tower), which was designed in 1726 by Scalfarotto (rebuilt in 1791 by Buratti) in the style of the nearby one in St. Mark's Square.

Just like that far more famous cousin, this campanile offers spectacular views over the city—and across the Adriatic and, on clear days, as far as the Alps—and just like the one on Piazza San Marco, it even has an elevator to the top (unusual in Italy).

What sets it (and its views) apart from the Campanile di San Marco are the fact that there are no long lines to get in, no crowds at the top (heck, usually you're up there all alone), it costs less than half the price to go up there, and its view includes a full-on postcard shot of Piazza San Marco just across the waters (when you're up on that other bell tower, you can't get it, itself in the picture).

This is why my recommendation for vista-hungry Venice visitors is to... well, climb both bell towers, actually. The views are both totally different and totally worth it. Sorry. I just can't resist a great panorama (or a tower to climb; in fact, I'm one of those weirdos who prefers the stairs). However, when you climb this one, you'll feel like you're getting some kind of secret, private experience rather than the typical tourist jostle.

Tips

Related pages


   ShareThis

Intrepid Travel

Search ReidsItaly.com

This material was last updated February 2011. All information was accurate at the time.

about | contact | faq

» THE REIDSITALY.COM DIFFERENCE «

Copyright © 2008–2011 by Reid Bramblett. All rights reserved.