The church of San Michele in Isola also known as San Michele di
Murano due to its proximity to the island of Murano, is a religious
building in Venice, located on the island of San Michele.
It was
the seat of a Camaldolese monastery.
The origins of the monastic complex date back to the 13th century.
The church was the first Venetian work of the Lombard architect
Mauro Codussi, renovator of lagoon architecture. It was built between
1468 and 1479. John Mc Andrew, one of the most accredited critics of the
Venetian Renaissance, says in relation to Codussi:
«[…] the
facade of San Giovanni Crisostomo in Venice, whose comparison with that
of San Michele is indispensable, [...] is a solution that will become
the model for many other churches [...] and, curiously, also for the
church of the Madonna of Miracles in Motta di Livenza»
The facade
of the church of San Michele, in Istrian stone, quarried on the island
of Brazza, due to its innovative characteristics, unique in its kind,
was preceded by that of San Giacomo in Šibenik by the architect Giorgio
Orsini who worked intensely first in Venice and then between the two
Adriatic shores, characterizing his sculptures and buildings always with
Istrian stone. The Venetian Adriatic Renaissance begins on these two
works.
Church
The facade is tripartite, freely inspired by Alberti's
Tempio Malatestiano, with two superimposed levels. The lower one is
characterized by a smooth rustication, which also covers the Ionic
pilasters, within which there is a central portal with a triangular
tympanum and two high arched windows in correspondence with the side
naves. The upper level, also between Ionic pilasters, is instead smooth,
and there is the large oculus, around which four polychrome marble discs
are arranged. This second level is surmounted by a curvilinear pediment,
while the sides are joined by two wings with a lowered curvature, with
fine shell-shaped relief ornaments; at the point where they join the
central part there is a protruding cornice which cuts the pilasters in
two.
The interior of the church is divided into three naves,
marked by round arches supported by columns. Each nave is covered with
coffers and ends in a semicircular apse. The last bays of the naves are
separated by walls and covered by blind domes.
On the side of the
entrance there is a vestibule separated from the rest of the church by a
"barco", i.e. a choir loft supported by arches. By subtracting the space
of the vestibule and that of the presbytery with the domes, a perfectly
square central body is obtained.
The bell tower of this church
was built between about 1456 and 1460. The parapet above the cell serves
to lighten the appearance of the bell tower and prepares the transition
to the octagon, also called a fanale, crowned by trilobate arches and a
band, which supports the raised dome with which the tower ends. Both in
the bands and in the arches of the barrel and in the crowning of the
octagonal part, there are worked bricks and terracottas. This bell tower
served as a model for the bell tower of the church of Santa Chiara.
Emiliani Chapel
In her will dated 1427, the noblewoman Margherita
Vitturi, who died in 1455, left a large sum of money to the Procurators
of San Marco so that a place of worship could be built to be dedicated
to Santa Maria Annunziata and in memory of her husband Giambattista
Emiliani. The project was completed only a century later (1528-1543) on
a project by the architect Guglielmo dei Grigi. Already shortly after
its completion it presented structural problems and was restored by
Jacopo Sansovino in 1560-62.
With a hexagonal plan and crowned by
a white dome in Istrian stone, it can also be accessed from the outside
since the main entrance is on the left of the facade. Inside there are
three small altars, each decorated with three marble altarpieces
(Annunciation, Adoration of the Magi, Adoration of the Shepherds)
sculpted by Giovanni Battista da Carona. He is also the author of the
two colossal Istrian stone statues depicting Santa Margherita and San
Giovanni Battista, placed in the niches outside the chapel.
Above
the external door we read the inscription: Margaritae Aemilianae
testamento - Matronae pietate insignis - Procuratores divi Marci de
Citra - fide optima a fundamentis extruendum - curarunt - Anno MDXXX).
The cloister of this church was built in 1448-1466 and has capitals
with various decorations and foliage, similar to those carved between
1462 and 1475 in the cloister and in the church of Santo Stefano di
Belluno.
Above the cloister door is the statue of San Michele.