The church of Santa Maria Maggiore is a now deconsecrated religious building in the city of Venice, located in the Santa Croce district.
In 1483, a group of Franciscan nuns living in a ruined building at the Church of Sant'Agnese asked the Senate of the Republic for permission to establish a convent, but their request was refused. The decision was changed only in November 1497. The designated plot was located on recently acquired land in the western part of the city. The wooden monastery and church were built in 1497–1504. In the first years of the 16th century, the reconstruction of the complex began, probably under the supervision of Tullio Lombard. Construction work probably began between 1503 and 1504. This was made possible by a generous donation from a nobleman, Alvise Malipier. At the same time, an old icon of the Mother of God was donated to the Franciscan Congregation. The nuns moved into the convent in 1505. The church, whose design was based on the plan of the temple of the same name in Rome, was built in 1523–1531. He was called Santa Maria Maggiore and San Vincenzo (Saint Vincent). His first graphic documentation of the church dates back to 1525, when it was placed on a perspective plan by Giovanni Andrea Vavassore. Alvise Malipiero held the patronage until his death in 1557. He was buried in the church, in the family tomb. The growing importance of the monastery meant that it received numerous donations in the form of works of art. The generosity of donors also enabled the expansion of the monastery, which in 1695 was inhabited by 112 sisters. In 1797, the Venetian Republic collapsed.
Pursuant to the decree of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy of June 5, 1805 (and subsequent decrees), the process of dissolutions and transformations of churches and monasteries and changes in parish boundaries was initiated in Venice. The Franciscan monastery was abolished in 1805. Its buildings were turned into barracks, and the sisters moved to the church of Santa Croce. Their church, desacralized and stripped of furnishings, began to be used as a stable. The monastery square, renamed Campo di Marte, became a place where Austrian officers practiced horse riding. It was also available to civilians. In 1817, a violent fire broke out in the monastery, but it bypassed the church. In 1900, the monastery was demolished and the church was used as a warehouse for a tobacco factory. On this occasion, the interior of the building was rebuilt. In 1927, a prison was built in the convent, after which prisoners from the Palazzo delle Prigioni a San Marco were transferred here. The church was restored in 1961–1965. In the late 1960s, the 19th-century extensions were removed. The main nave was decorated with a fresco depicting the Exaltation of the Cross, Souls in Purgatory and Our Lady in Glory with St. Francis. The fresco, dating from 1700, was torn off during the aforementioned renovation works to allow for the restoration of the damaged plaster.
Facade
The authorship of the 16th-century brick façade is
attributed to Tulli Lombardo. Its Renaissance character is evidenced by
such compositional elements as: a simple portal, a cornice in the
central part, its triangular finial and gentle arches connecting it with
the side parts.
Interior
The church was built as a three-nave
basilica with a long chancel flanked by shallow chapels. It had a total
of 11 altars: the main altar, 2 altars in the side chapels and 4 in the
aisles. Eight of them are known to be invoked: the Saints of the Order,
the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Marcel, St. Nicholas,
Ascension, St. Clare, Our Lady of Sorrows and St. John. The aisles are
separated from the main nave by five even columns with Ionic capitals,
on which semicircular arches are supported. On the right wall there are
traces of a fresco depicting a mock colonnade.
Lost or deleted
artwork
Eight altars and the artwork adorning them have been removed
and/or lost. Among the paintings was St. John the Baptist by Giovanni
Bellini, commissioned for the chapel next to the main altar. The
painting was supposed to be moved to the Brera Pinacocoque in Milan, but
after a local protest it was given to the Accademia. The canvas
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, painted by Paolo Veronese,
located in the main altar, underwent conservation, is also in the
Accademia collection. Since 2008, her collection also includes the
Virgin and Child with Saints and members of the Marcello family,
probably painted by Giambattista del Moro. The collections of the Brera
Pinacotheque include: Agony in Gethsemane (Veronese), Victory of the
inhabitants of Chartres over the Normans (Padovanina) and Madonna with
Child and a choir of cherubs (Andrei Mantegni.
Campanile
Built
on a square plan, without bells, the campanile rises to a height of 33
m. It is decorated with the coat of arms of the Malipiero family. It is
crowned with a gothic, conical helmet surrounded by four pinnacles.
Monastery
The only document showing the appearance of the
monastery is an engraving in a manuscript from 1806. On the left side of
the church façade was the entrance to the monastery, leading through a
long atrium to a spacious courtyard, limited on three sides by a
cloister. The second convent, located between this courtyard and Piazza
Santa Maria Maggiore, was the oldest building built together with the
church.