The church of Santa Maria del Rosario, commonly known as the church of the Gesuati is a religious building located in Venice. The church is part of the Chorus Venezia association.
Origins and the Jesuates Order
The history of the site dates back
to the late 14th century with the arrival of the Jesuates (formally
known as the Clerici Apostolici Sancti Hieronymi, or Apostolic Clerics
of Saint Jerome) in Venice around 1390. This order, founded in Siena by
Giovanni Colombini in the mid-14th century, was a lay congregation
focused on poverty, charity, and caring for the sick, particularly
during plagues. They earned the nickname "I poveri Gesuati" (the Poor
Jesuates) due to their frequent invocations of Jesus' name and their
austere lifestyle. Distinct from the Jesuits (whose church, Santa Maria
Assunta, is in Cannaregio), the Jesuates amassed wealth through
donations, legacies, and privileges, including a monopoly on distilling
spirits from wine. By 1493, they had acquired land along the Zattere and
began constructing a small church initially dedicated to St. Jerome (San
Girolamo), later rededicated to Santa Maria della Visitazione (St. Mary
of the Visitation). This modest structure, still standing adjacent to
the current church, served as their base.
Over time, the Jesuates
struggled with recruitment and a decline in discipline, leading to their
suppression by Pope Clement IX in 1668. Their properties, including the
church and convent, were auctioned off the following year. The
Dominicans, formally the Order of Preachers founded by St. Dominic in
1216 to combat heresy through preaching and education, purchased the
site for 5,000 ducats and took possession in 1670. The Venetians
continued to refer to the location as "I Gesuati," even after the
Dominicans renamed it their "place at the Gesuati." The Dominicans
maintained the small Church of the Visitation but found it increasingly
inadequate for their growing congregation and the promotion of rosary
devotion, especially after the 1716 victory over the Ottoman Turks at
the Battle of Petrovaradin, which led to the universal inclusion of the
Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary in the Roman Catholic calendar.
Decision to Build and Construction Phase
By 1720, the Dominicans
decided to replace the small church with a larger one to accommodate the
faithful and emphasize their order's themes. They initially commissioned
architect Andrea Musato (also spelled Musalo), but he died in 1721
before work could begin. The project then passed to Giorgio Massari, a
prominent Venetian architect praised as the greatest of the first half
of the 18th century. Massari's model was approved in 1724, and
construction commenced in 1725, with the foundation stone laid on May
17, 1726, in the presence of Patriarch Marco Gradenigo. Massari oversaw
not only the architecture but also the interior fittings, decorations,
and art commissions, ensuring a unified vision.
Funding was a
critical aspect, spearheaded by Father Carlo Maria Lazzaroni, a Milanese
Dominican who organized charitable collections and secured benefactors,
including religious figures. The construction required significant
engineering, such as driving 270 wooden piles into the unstable lagoon
soil to support the facade. The new church was built alongside the old
one, preserving the latter. Interior decoration began in 1736, and the
church was consecrated on September 29, 1743, by Patriarch Alvise
Foscari. The final sculptural elements were completed in 1755, marking
the end of the project. This rapid timeline—spanning just three
decades—resulted in a remarkably preserved original design.
Architectural Style and Features
I Gesuati exemplifies late Baroque
transitioning into Rococo style, drawing inspiration from Andrea
Palladio's works. The facade, facing the canal, features giant
Corinthian pilasters dividing it into three sections, supporting a
triangular pediment with an inscription dedicating the church to the
Virgin of the Rosary. The main entrance is flanked by four niches
containing statues of the cardinal virtues (Prudence, Justice,
Fortitude, and Temperance), created between 1736 and 1737 by sculptors
Gaetano Susali, Francesco Bonazza, Giuseppe Bernardi (Torretto), and
Alvise Tagliapietra. The exterior walls are plain and rectangular,
contrasting with the luminous interior.
Inside, the nave appears
elliptical due to Corinthian columns set in rounded corners, with an
entablature running above. White walls contrast with grey Istrian stone
accents, and tall windows flood the space with light. There are three
altars on each side, set behind pillars. The high altar, elevated on
five steps, features a Rococo canopy with columns and a cupola, adorned
with colorful marbles, shells, angel heads, and reliefs of roses,
grapes, and corn—symbols tied to the rosary and Eucharist. The choir
includes carved wooden stalls from 1740–1744, and the organ was
originally installed in 1740 but replaced in 1856 by the Bazzani
brothers.
Key Artworks and Artists
The church's decorations
celebrate Dominican saints and the rosary, with most works commissioned
under Massari's direction. The ceiling frescoes by Giambattista Tiepolo,
contracted in May 1737 and completed by 1739, are a highlight. These
include three large panels: "The Glory of St. Dominic" (his assumption
into heaven, near the entrance), "The Appearance of the Virgin to St.
Dominic" (near the altar), and the central "Institution of the Rosary"
(the Virgin and Christ child offering the rosary to St. Dominic on
marble steps, surrounded by diverse figures from all social strata, with
damned souls below; it includes portraits of a doge and pope). Tiepolo
also designed monochrome frescoes on the ceilings and upper walls,
executed with assistants, such as "St. Dominic Blessing a Friar"
(possibly Fra Paolo) near the high altar, and "David Playing the Harp"
in the choir.
Paintings adorn the side altars:
Right side:
First altar features Tiepolo's 1739 oil (installed 1748) of female
Dominican saints St. Catherine of Siena, St. Rose of Lima, and St. Agnes
of Montepulciano. The second has Giambattista Piazzetta's half-length
"St. Dominic" (1743), surrounded by marble angels by Giovanni Maria
Morlaiter (1739). The third shows Piazzetta's three male saints: St.
Louis Bertrand, St. Vincent Ferrer, and St. Hyacinth.
Left side:
First altar has Sebastiano Ricci's 1732–1733 oil (one of his last) of
Pope Pius V, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Peter Martyr. The second
features a statue of the Madonna of the Rosary by Antonio Rosa (1836,
replacing an earlier inadequate one). The third displays Jacopo
Tintoretto's "Crucifixion" (c. 1560), transferred from the old church
and restored by Piazzetta in 1743.
Sculptures are predominantly
by Morlaiter, a master Rococo sculptor whose dynamic works here
represent his largest concentration in any Venetian church. These
include "The Glory of Angels" (1738, second right altar), cherubs on the
first left altar, high altar decorations, and paired statues in niches
with bas-reliefs depicting Old and New Testament scenes (e.g., Abraham
with the Centurion, Moses with the paralytic healing). The last statue,
Melchisedek, was added in 1755. In the presbytery, an early
International Gothic "Madonna and Child" (c. 1375–1380) by Stefano di
Sant'Agnese was transferred from the suppressed Church of St. Agnes in
1810.
Significant Events, Restorations, and Later History
Key
milestones include the Jesuates' suppression (1668), Dominican
acquisition (1670), construction start (1725), consecration (1743), and
completion (1755). In 1810, nearby churches like St. Agnes were
suppressed under Napoleonic rule, leading to artwork transfers. The
church became a parish in 1815 after the Jesuates' final dissolution,
succeeding closed parishes like San Vio and San Gregorio. The adjoining
monastery was repurposed as a boys' home and now houses the Istituto Don
Orione.
Restorations have been minimal, preserving the original
state: Piazzetta restored Tintoretto's "Crucifixion" in 1743; the
Madonna statue was replaced in 1836; and the organ updated in 1856. The
church survived Venice's floods and urban changes, remaining a testament
to 18th-century Venetian art and piety. It continues to attract visitors
for its harmonious blend of architecture, painting, and sculpture,
embodying the Dominicans' enduring legacy.
A first project was drawn up by Andreas Musalus but on his death, although defended by his pupil Giovanni Scalfarotto, the Dominicans shelved it and the design of the church was entrusted to the architect Giorgio Massari who presented a new one in 1724. If under construction presents various references to Palladian motifs Massari smoothed them following the fashion with his pictorial taste and carefully coordinating the interventions of the different artists and the various workers who he called to collaborate with the iconographic indications of the preaching friars.
It is interesting that the large church, in addition to forcing the
demolition of a part of the ancient cloister on the left, must have
extended beyond the arm of the Rio della Carità which bent parallel to
the Giudecca canal to rejoin the Rio di Sant'Agnese. Both streams were
filled in in the 19th century but the bricked-up mouth of the bridge
structure created to let the water flow under the hall towards the edge
of the presbytery is still visible on the right side. The arch is locked
by the emblem of the order supported by the dog with which the
Dominicans often identified themselves.
Just above the arch of
the old canalization there is still the aedicule containing a stepping
Christ in yellowish stone by an anonymous late fifteenth-century
sculptor with reminiscences of Donatello, perhaps coming from the old
church.
Facade
The classical facade is tripartite by
semi-columns with composite capitals which slope down into the wings
forming composite pillars. In the large crowning tympanum there is an
oval eye surmounted by a shell of St. James. Further enlivening the
surface in the lateral intercolumns, inside large niches and supported
by shelves, are the statues of the Four Cardinal Virtues: above,
Prudence by Gaetano Susali and Justice by Francesco Bonazza; below,
divided by a Greek frieze, the Fortress of Giuseppe Bernardi known as
Torretti and the Temperance of Alvise Tagliapietra.
In the
centre, above the arched tympanum of the portal, accompanying its
curvature, a large plaque dedicated to Santa Maria del Rosario appears
suspended from a central modillion decorated with five roses. It is not
an ornament arranged in a bunch but with the flowers arranged distinctly
on the volutes so as to be immediately enumerated: in fact in this
number, also repeated by the steps of the access stairway to the portal,
it is possible to catch a deliberate reference to the groups of five
into which the rosary is divided, a recurring symbology also inside.
The pavement in front of the church, a mix of white Istrian stone
and gray trachyte, and the other large staircase that descends into the
water integrate the scenographic layout of the building.
Looking
from the water or from the other bank, the two short onion-shaped cusped
bell towers and the dome with lantern of the presbytery are
characteristic.
The interior has a single nave with rounded corners, taking up the
model of Gaspari alla Fava but already partially announced in the
Redeemer by Palladio. The arches of the presbytery and the six side
chapels open up along the walls marked by paired semi-columns. Between
the paired columns there are large sculptures surmounted by bas-reliefs
by Giovanni Maria Morlaiter, sometimes with assistants, and executed
between 1743 and 1754. The bas-reliefs represent scenes from the Gospel
(counterclockwise starting from the entrance): Jesus and the centurion,
Jesus heals the blind man, Jesus appears to the Magdalene, Apparition of
Jesus to Thomas, (presbytery), Baptism of Christ, The Samaritan woman at
the well, The swimming pool and St. Peter saved from the waters. The
statues in the round and placed in niches are (counterclockwise starting
from the entrance): Abraham, Aaron, St. Paul the Apostle, St. Peter,
Moses and Melchisedech. On the sides of the presbytery there are instead
two pulpits.
Ceiling
The ceiling is occupied by three large
compartments frescoed by Giambattista Tiepolo between 1737 and 1739. In
the central one The institution of the Rosary: towards the top Mary and
the Child in heaven present the Rosary surrounded by angels, in the
center a little angel provides the rosaries to San Domenico who
distributes them to the faithful, below all the heretics sink into hell.
In the sector towards the door the Glory of San Domenico and in the one
towards the altar the Madonna appears to San Domenico. Around the
central compartments are sixteen smaller monochrome compartments,
probably painted with the help of Francesco Zugno and Giovanni Raggi.
Inserted alternately in oval or quadrilobate frames, they represent the
15 traditional Mysteries of the Rosary plus a last one dedicated to the
Glory of the Rosary. The stuccos of all the ceiling frames are the work
of Antonio Pelle.
Right chapels
In the first chapel on
Massari's altar, the altarpiece The Virgin Appears to Saints Rose of
Lima, Catherine of Siena and Agnese of Montepulciano by Tiepolo (1749?)
is exhibited. In the second chapel, the Glory of Angels by Morlaiter
(1738-39), a high relief which frames the small picture of San Domenico
by Giambattista Piazzetta (1743). In the third chapel the Vision of
Saints Lodovico Bertrando, Vincenzo Ferreri and Giacinto Odrovaz painted
almost monochromatically by Piazzetta (c. 1739)
Presbytery
The
main altar, designed by Massari (1742-43) has a large exedra within
whose colonnade in red Sicilian marble is contained the rich tabernacle
studded with lapis lazuli. On the side walls the wooden structures of
the choir lofts, only the one on the left contains a Bazzani organ from
1856 (see below). On the ribbed corners under the dome the symbols of
the four evangelists are a monochrome work by Tiepolo (1737-39).
Choir
The choir designed by Massari and carved by various craftsmen
between 1740 and 1744 is housed in the elliptical hall at the back of
the main altar. On the ceiling is King David playing the harp by
Giambattista Tiepolo and in the monochrome medallions at the corners the
prophets Ezekiel, Daniel, Jeremiah and Isaiah also by Tiepolo (1737-39).
On the walls, San Domenico and other saints by Matteo Ingoli (1630) and
the monochrome frescoed Trinity by Tiepolo.
Left chapels
In
the first chapel the Crucifixion by Jacopo Tintoretto (1563-65?) from
the previous church of San Girolamo dei Gesuati. At the time of
insertion it was restored by the Piazzetta. The putto on the keystone of
the altar is by Massari. In the second chapel inside the Massari altar
is the neoclassical statue of the Madonna del Rosario by Antonio Bosa
(1836). In the third chapel the altarpiece San Pio V, San Tommaso and
San Pietro Martire (1730-33), one of the last works by Sebastiano Ricci.
The altar is the work of Morlaiter (1744-45).
Noteworthy is the organ built by Jacopo Bazzani and his sons, heirs
of Callido, in 1856.
The organ, with mechanical transmission, is
located in the choir loft above the presbytery in cornu evangelii and
has a single manual with 56 keys (C1-G5) divided between basses and
sopranos at the level of C3. The pedal board, straight with 24 pedals,
is constantly combined with the manual.
The instrument features
pedals for Filling and Reeds.
The bell tower on the right houses a concert of 5 bells in Mi3 cast in 1845 by the Daciano Colbachini foundry of Padua. Subsequently the third was recast in 1969 by the Lucio Broili foundry in Udine.