The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, commonly abbreviated to ''the Frari'', is a church located in the Campo dei Frari at the heart of the
San Polo district of
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. It is the largest church in the city and it has the status of a
minor basilica
Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...
. The church is dedicated to the
Assumption of Mary
The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Catholic Mariology#Dogmatic teachings, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows:
It leaves open the question of w ...
.
The imposing edifice is built of
brick
A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...
and is one of the three notable churches in the city that retain most of their
Venetian Gothic appearance. In common with many Franciscan churches, the exterior is rather plain, even on the front facade. The exterior features a bell tower that was repaired in the early 2000s for structural problems.
The interior is notable for many tombs and works of art that accumulated in the centuries after it was built. It contains many very grand wall monuments to distinguished Venetians buried in the church, including a number of Doges. Many of these are important works in the history of Venetian sculpture, including that by
Donatello
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), known mononymously as Donatello (; ), was an Italian Renaissance sculpture, Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sc ...
. Paintings in situ include two large and important
altarpiece
An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...
s by
Titian
Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno.
Ti ...
, the ''
Assumption of the Virgin'' on the high altar and the ''
Pesaro Madonna'' in a chapel. The basilica also contains the only
rood screen
The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...
still in place in a church in Venice, a vestige of the
Venetian Gothic architecture
Venetian Gothic is the particular form of Italian Gothic architecture typical of Venice, originating in local building requirements, with some influence from Byzantine architecture, and some from Islamic architecture, reflecting Venice's trading ...
that preceded
Venetian Renaissance architecture.
History
In 1231, under Doge
Jacopo Tiepolo, the city donated land at this site to establish a monastery and church belonging to the Franciscan
Order of Friars Minor
The Order of Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; Post-nominal letters, postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a Mendicant orders, mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis ...
. This edifice proved too small and a three-nave church was begun in 1250, but not completed until 1338. Work almost immediately began on its much larger replacement, the current church, which took more than a century to build. The new church inverted the original orientation, thus placing the facade so that it faces the plaza and small canal. The work was started under
Jacopo Celega, but completed by his son Pier Paolo. The
campanile
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...
, the second tallest in the city after that of
San Marco, was completed in 1396. Under the patronage of Giovanni Corner, the Chapel of San Marco was added in 1420. In 1432-1434, Bishop Vicenza Pietro Miani built the chapel of San Pietro next to the bell-tower. The facade was not completed until 1440. The cornice is surmounted by three statues (1516) by
Lorenzo Bregno. The main altar was consecrated in 1469. In 1478, the Pesaro family commissioned a chapel in the apse of the church. On 27 May 1492, the church was consecrated with the name of Santa Maria Gloriosa.
The Frari is a parish church of the Vicariate of San Polo-Santa Croce-Dorsoduro. Other churches of the parish are
San Barnaba, San Ludovico Vescovo, Santa Maria del Soccorso, and Santa Margherita. In the sixteenth century, however, devotional life changed significantly; being private, less moral, and contained people from various countries. The congregations enlarged only when a famous preacher was preaching, or a major feast was taking place. All connections had a relationship with the brotherhood involved in the church, as most of the other chapel areas were designed for private groups. This church is notable to hosting funerals and other gatherings for the deceased. Also, in later times, there was some crime and mischief going on with the church.
As a result, the Franciscans had been expelled from the church during the nineteenth century, the church was restored to the order in 1922. The bell tower went through a structural intervention from 1904 to the 1990s that helped fix the cracks in the bell tower.
Titian
Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno.
Ti ...
, the most prominent sixteenth-century Venetian painter, is interred in the Frari.
Architectural Features
The church overall is in the Venetian style, as the walls were made of red brick, the beams were decorated on the inside, and details were made of
Istrian stone. In common with many Franciscan churches, the exterior is rather plain, even on the front facade.
It also has Roman influence, because the columns in the nave contain large cylindrical shafts. The church also contains six smaller chapels as well as the main chapel, three on each side of the main chapel. The baptistery and sacristy were featured along with two other chapels, making the church a family chapel.
The church overall has a vaulted Gothic rib ceiling, making the interior volume large. The church does not have a central dome, making it unique. The materials used were mostly hard and resonant, from marble and Istrian stone tile floors, to masonry walls, and vaults with brick covered with
intonaco.
Bell tower structural intervention
Following the collapse of St. Mark's bell tower, cracks started to form on the Frari bell tower in 1904. This led to a structural intervention at the Frari. An investigation of the Frari bell tower began in 1990. With structural problems identified in 2000, the tower was investigated deeply in 2001-2003 using a monitoring system to identify crack patterns. The stress was also measured using flat-jack testing. Overall, the tower was inspected geotecnically in great detail, including the use of standard penetration tests and digging through the bell tower foundation. A structural analysis of the bell tower was then performed, and the forces and loads needed to fix the tower were calculated. After the investigation, several instruments, including a crack-gauge and a strain gauge were used to keep track of the work on the bell tower in real time.
Strengthening interventions were conducted to keep the tower safe and used with a structural-geotechnical monitoring system. The first phase involved using a steel cable connecting one of the columns to the bell tower of the Frari. The second phase involved injecting mortar into the soil so that the soil would be strengthened in order to accommodate the increased stress. The most information derived during the first phase came directly from the bell tower and the precision leveling. The mortar was grouted to determine the velocity of the different intervention phases. At the end, the settlement velocity decreased. The third and final phase of the intervention involved a structural joint between the tower and the church. Although it took six months to execute and resulted in extensive deformations in the tower, it was successful and has prevented damage to the bell tower and parts of the church. Overall, soil-fracture intervention and structural-joint execution both use the direct pendulum. The structural joint contributes to prevention of future cracks when seismic loads occur.
Interior plan

The plan of the church resembled a typical Gothic cathedral, as it was shaped like a Latin cross, and featured aisles on the sides.
The list below indicates what is located on the image of the plan, shown below.
# - Counter-facade
# - Chapel of the Crucifix
# -
Canova Monument
# - Doge Pesaro Monument
# - Chapel with ''
Pesaro Madonna'' by
Titian
Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno.
Ti ...
# - Chapel of San Pietro
# - Chapel of San Marco
# - Chapel of the Milanesi
# - Chapel of San Michele
# - Chapel of the Franciscan Saints
# - Choir and Organ
# - Presbitery
# - Doge Tron Monument
# - 12th-century Crucifix
# -
Assumption of Virgin'', main altarpiece by Titian (and main organ)
# - Monumento al Doge Foscari
# - Chapel of San Giovanni Battista and Shrine of Blessed
Gentile of Matelica
# - Chapel of
Father Kolbe
# - Chapel of Bernardo
# - ''Dead Christ''
# - Altar of the Sacristy with
Giovanni Bellini
Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 29 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father, ...
's
Frari Triptych
# - Sacristy
# - Altar of the Relics
# - Entry to Sala del Capitolo and Convent
# - Wall of right transept
# - Jacopo Marcello Monument
# - Altar of Santa Caterina
# - Altar of
San Giuseppe da Copertino
# - Altar with ''Presentation of Jesus at the Temple''
# - Titian Monument
# - Altar of Sant'Antonio da Padova
Choir Screen
In 1475, a choir screen was built at the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari so that during the service, the friars were separated from everyone else. It remains the only choir screen in Venice today. The front of the screen has much Gothic influence, especially from the late Gothic era. Some of the styles on the screen today were in historical Venetian fashion. Some elements have a classical influence, such as the leaves that were formed on the pilasters. The screen had an inscription on the front that was created in addition to the main curtain screen that came from the Romans. The design of the screen had works that influenced from other churches, such as
San Zaccaria,
Ss. Giovanni E Paolo, and
San Michele in Isola.
Works of art
*''
Assumption of the Virgin'' by Titian
*
Titian
Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno.
Ti ...
, ''
Pesaro Madonna'' on the north wall of the nave
*
Antonio and
Paolo Bregno, tomb of Doge
Francesco Foscari in the chancel (attributed; may be by
Niccolò di Giovanni Fiorentino)
*
Lorenzo Bregno, tomb of Benedetto Pésaro above the sacristy door
*
Girolamo Campagna, statuettes of ''St. Anthony of Padua'' and ''St. Agnes'' on the water stoups in the nave
*
Marco Cozzi, choir stalls in the choir
*
Donatello
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), known mononymously as Donatello (; ), was an Italian Renaissance sculpture, Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sc ...
, figure of ''
St. John the Baptist'' in the first south choir chapel, first documented work in Venice by Donatello
*
Tullio Lombardo, tomb of Pietro Bernardo on the west wall (attributed; may be by
Giovanni Buora)
* Antonio Rizzo, tomb of
Doge Niccolò Tron in the chancel
*
Jacopo Sansovino, damaged figure of ''St. John the Baptist'' on the font in the Corner Chapel
*
Palma il Giovane, ''Martyrdom of St. Catherine from Alexandria / Martirio di santa Caterina d’Alessandria'' (1590-1595)
*
Paolo Veneziano
Paolo Veneziano, also Veneziano Paolo or Paolo da Venezia (active by 1333, died after 1358) was a 14th-century painter from Venice, the "founder of the Venetian school (art), Venetian School" of painting, probably active between about 1321 and 13 ...
, ''Doge Francesco Dandolo and His Wife Presented to the Virgin by Ss. Francis and Elizabeth'' in the sacristy
*
Alessandro Vittoria
*
Giambattista Pittoni, ''Hagar in the desert'', Oil on Canvas, sacristy
*
Bartolomeo Bon's workshop, figures of the Virgin and St. Francis on the west front
** figure of ''The Risen Christ'' on the west front
** figure of ''St. Jerome'' on the south wall of the nave
*
Alvise Vivarini, ''St. Ambrose and other Saints'' in the north transept chapel, his last work
*
Bartolomeo Vivarini
** ''St. Mark Enthroned'' in the Capella Corner in the north transept
** ''Madonna and Child with Saints'', altarpiece in the third south choir chapel
Frari (Venice) - Sacristy - triptych by Giovanni Bellini.jpg, Giovanni Bellini
Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 29 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father, ...
, ''Madonna and Child with Ss. Nicholas of Bari, Peter, Mark, and Benedict''
Frari (Venice) - Chapter Room - Hagar in the Desert by Giovanni Battista Pittoni.jpg, Giambattista Pittoni, ''Hagar in the desert''
Basilica di Santa Maria dei Frari - Venezia - Porta laterale, a sinistra.jpg, Bartolomeo Bon the Virgin and St. Francis on the west front
Frari (Venice) - Tomb of doge Francesco Foscari.jpg, Antonio and Paolo Bregno, tomb of Doge Francesco Foscari
Frari (Venice) right transept - Monument to Benedetto Pesaro.jpg, Lorenzo Bregno tomb of Benedetto Pésaro
Frari (Venice) nave left - Statue of St.Antony by Girolamo Campagna 1609.jpg, Girolamo Campagna,''St Anthony of Padua''
Frari (Venice) nave right - Statue of Saint Agnes by Girolamo Campagna.jpg, Girolamo Campagna, ''St Agnes''
Frari (Venice) Cappella di San Giovanni Battista - San Giovanni Battista di Donatello.jpg, Donatello
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), known mononymously as Donatello (; ), was an Italian Renaissance sculpture, Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sc ...
, ''St. John the Baptist''
Frari (Venice) interior facade - Monument to Pietro Bernardo by Tullio Lombardo.jpg, Tullio Lombardo, tomb of Pietro Bernardo
Frari (Venice) - Tomb of doge Niccolò Tron.jpg, Antonio Rizzo, tomb of Doge Niccolò Tron
Frari (Venice) Chapel Corner - Statue of St. John the Baptist by Jacopo Sansovino.jpg, Jacopo Sansovino, ''St. John the Baptist''
Frari (Venice) nave left - Altar of Madona di Ca'Pesaro.jpg, '' Pesaro Madonna'' by Titian
Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno.
Ti ...
Frari (Venice) - Chapter Room - Monument to Doge Francesco Dandolo - Doge Francesco Dandolo and his Wife Presented to the Madonna by Paolo Veneziano.jpg, Paolo Veneziano
Paolo Veneziano, also Veneziano Paolo or Paolo da Venezia (active by 1333, died after 1358) was a 14th-century painter from Venice, the "founder of the Venetian school (art), Venetian School" of painting, probably active between about 1321 and 13 ...
, ''Doge Francesco Dandolo and His Wife Presented to the Virgin by Ss. Francis and Elizabeth''
Basilica di Santa Maria dei Frari - Venezia - Portal.jpg, Alessandro Vittoria ''The Risen Christ''
Frari (Venice) nave right - Altar of san Giuseppe da Copertino - St.Jerome by A.Vittoria.jpg, Alessandro Vittoria ''St. Jerome''
Pala di sant'Ambrogio dei Milanesi da Alvise Vivarini e Marco Basaiti ai Frari.jpg, Alvise Vivarini ''St. Ambrose and other Saints''
Frari (Venice) Cappella Corner - Pala di San Marco by Bartolomeo Vivarini.jpg, Bartolomeo Vivarini ''St. Mark Enthroned''
Frari (Venice) - Cappella Bernardo - Polyptych by Bartolomeo Vivarini.jpg, Bartolomeo Vivarini ''Madonna and Child with Saints''
Funerary monuments
*
Francesco Barbaro (1390–1454) (humanist and senator)
*
Pietro Bernardo (d. 1538) (senator)
*
Antonio Canova (only his heart is buried here; the tomb, realised by his disciples, is based on the drawing by Canova for an unrealised tomb for
Titian
Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno.
Ti ...
)
*
Federico Cornaro
*
Doge Francesco Dandolo (in the chapter house)
* Doge
Francesco Foscari (d. 1457)
*
Jacopo Marcello
*
Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string instrument, string player. A composer of both Secular music, secular and Church music, sacred music, and a pioneer ...
(one of the greatest composers of the 17th century, Chapel of the Milanese )
*
Beato Pacifico (founder of the current church)
*
Alvise Pasqualigo (d. 1528) (Procurator of Venice)
*
Benedetto Pésaro (d. 1503) (general)
* Doge
Giovanni Pesaro
* Bishop
Jacopo Pésaro (d. 1547)
*
Paolo Savelli (
condottiere) (the first Venetian monument to include an equestrian statue)
*
Titian
Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno.
Ti ...
(d. 1576) (
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
painter)
*
Melchiorre Trevisan (d. 1500) (general)
* Doge
Niccolò Tron
Basilica di Santa Maria dei Frari interno - Monumento di Canova.jpg, Monument to Antonio Canova
File:Antonio Rizzo, Monumento Tron, Basilica Frari, Venezia.jpg, Monumento to Doge Niccolò Tron
Frari (Venice) Cappella Corner - Monument to Federico Corner.jpg, Monument to Federico Cornaro
Frari (Venice) - Chapter Room - Monument to Doge Francesco Dandolo.jpg, Monumento to Doge Francesco Dandolo
Frari (Venice) right transept - Monument to Jacopo Marcello by Pietro Lombardo.jpg, Monument to Jacopo Marcello
Frari (Venice) Cappella dei milanesi- tomb of Claudio Monteverdi.jpg, Tomb of Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string instrument, string player. A composer of both Secular music, secular and Church music, sacred music, and a pioneer ...
Frari (Venice) right transept - Monument to Blessed Pacifico Dei Frari.jpg, Monument to Blessed Pacifico
Frari (Venice) interior facade - Monument to Alvise Pasqualigo.jpg, Monument to Alvise Pasqualigo
Frari (Venice) nave left - Monument to Doge Giovanni Pesaro.jpg, Monument to Doge Giovanni Pesaro
Frari (Venice) nave left - Monument to Jacopo Pesaro 1524.jpg, Monument to Jacopo Pesaro
Frari (Venice) right transept - Monument to Paolo Savelli.jpg, Monument to Paolo Savelli
File:Frari (Venice) nave right - Monument to Almerico d'Este.jpg, Monument to Almerico d'Este
Frari (Venice) Cappella di san Michele - Monument to Melchiorre Trevisan.jpg, Monument to Melchiorre Trevisan
Pipe organs
History
The first historical information about organs in the Frari basilica dates back to the fifteenth century. In 1483, a chronicle of the convent refers to the existence of a "perfectum" organ. In service for more than thirty years ranging approximately from 1593 at least until 1629. Girolamo Diruta (1586-1589) and Giovanni Picchi are among the most famous organists of the basilica during that period.
An engraving depicting the choir of the basilica made by Father Vincenzo Coronelli in 1708, shows that the basilica then had two organs on the perimeter wall of the choir that were facing one another and placed sideways on the choir stalls.
The left organ was probably built by Giovan Battista Piaggia in 1732, this instrument could therefore be one of his first works. The activity, known up to now, of this Venetian organ builder extends, in fact, from 1740 to 1760, the organ he built for the Venetian church of San Giovanni Evangelista dates back to that date and has remained almost unchanged; the latter therefore served as a term of comparison to validate the attribution of that of the Frari and, above all, to allow its reconstruction in 1970. In fact, after Gaetano Callido had built the front organ (1795), this instrument was progressively abandoned, so as to reach the early seventies almost completely stripped of the metal rods.
The organ on the right was built by Gaetano Callido in 1795 or 1796. Almost uninterrupted documentation from then until the early decades of the twentieth century provides information confirming that, unlike the other organ in the pair, this instrument was entrusted to qualified organ builders for ordinary maintenance and, from time to time, the organ on the right was restored with substantial respect for its authenticity.
Problems regarding restoration of the two ancient organs was faced in 1969. Following construction of new organ with electropneumatic transmission (1928) by Mascioni, an organ located in the apse close to Titian's Assumption, use of the Callido organ decreased so much over time that between 1929 and 1969 there were no maintenance interventions on the original pared organs.
The restoration of the pared organs was unequal. Given the good condition of conservation and integrity of the right organ, an intervention of extraordinary maintenance was all that was needed. While a more radical intervention was needed for the left organ that called for a reconstruction in the strictest sense, since there were seven façade pipes, all the internal mechanics, nine wooden pipes, and a bellows were missing. For this reconstruction all the surviving elements were used and, on the basis of these, also making comparisons with the organ of San Giovanni Evangelista, the measures of the pipes were established.
The restoration made it possible to appreciate again the round and robust sounds of the Callido organ and the transparent and delicate timbre of the Piaggia organ, closer to Renaissance sound models. Eventually, the instruments were tuned in unison, in order to be played together. After more than thirty years, a new revision work was promoted, which was completed in the months of April and May 2004.
Thanks to the availability of two organs placed on two opposing choirs that was typical of a musical style in vogue in Venice in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the practice of the double choir is restored in the basilica of the Frari. It is the last surviving example in Venice - and one of the rare examples in Italy - of two choirs with functioning historical organs.
Piaggia organ
The organ of the left choir was built by Giovan Battista Piaggia. It features an original integral mechanical transmission, has a single keyboard of 45 notes with a first octave scavezza (C1-C5), and a pedalboard of 13 (C1-E2) with a first octave scavezza, constantly combined with the manual. The exhibition consists of 21 pipes, belonging to the main register and forming a single cusp with side wings and with aligned shield mouths. The phonic arrangement, based on the position of the knob tie rods of the various stops in a column of the register (whose handwritten tags are original), is as follows:
*Main 8 '
*Octave
*Tenth Fifth
*Tenth Ninth
*Second Vigesima
*Vigesima Sixth
*Vigesima Nona
*Human Voice
*Twelfth flute
*Handset
*Double basses 16 '(always inserted)
Callido organ
The organ of the right choir is the pipe organ built by Gaetano Callido. It has an original integral mechanical transmission. It has a single 47-note keyboard with first octave scavezza (C1-D5) and a 17 + 1 pedalboard (C1-G # 2 + Rollante pedal) with first octave scavezza, constantly combined with the manual. The exhibition consists of 21 pipes, belonging to the main register and forming a single cusp with lateral wings and with aligned miter mouths, at the foot of which the tromboncini are housed.
Mascioni organ
The basilica also housed the Mascioni opus 398 pipe organ, built in 1928. It was placed behind the Assunta altarpiece of the main altar. It was electrically driven, had three keyboards of 61 notes each (C1-C6), and a pedalboard of 30 (C1-F3).
It was the largest organ in Venice, the only one with three manuals from the Cecilian period. It was the only instrument that allowed the performance of concerts with a repertoire that could range from the Romantic to the contemporary period.
Despite the transformation of the transmission from pneumatic to electric, the organ preserved all the pipes (about 2000), the bellows, and the wind chests (with the exception of that of the third manual that was destroyed by high water during the restoration of the Pala Assunta in the 1960s), and the beautiful wooden console table, with its original ivory keys.
In 2018, the organ, fully functional and active in liturgies and concerts, was disassembled to allow the complete restoration of the altarpiece and the frame of the painting of the Assumption, with no idea of where to place it at the end of the restoration of the painting. In 1965 it had already been dismantled to allow the restoration of the altarpiece in a previous intervention, once restored, the organ had been rebuilt in 1977, many parts were destroyed, including the wind chest of the 3rd manual, but many other patios were resumed and reassembled because they were missing, some registers from the same period also made by Mascioni. The patient work was performed by Maestro Alessandro Girotto. The completed organ was inaugurated with a concert by the concert master Sergio De Pieri, then organist of the basilica.
The Mascioni organ now has been donated to the parish church of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice in Lido di Jesolo (Venice) with extensive plans for it to be mounted. Restorations and tampering by the Zanin di Codroipo company that are necessary to adapt the organ for use in a different location, however, will leave the city of Venice without its only romantic-symphonic concert instrument.
See also
*
Italian Gothic architecture
*
List of buildings and structures in Venice
*
List of churches in Venice
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures completed in 1338
Churches completed in the 1330s
Buildings and structures completed in 1396
Churches completed in the 1390s
14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy
Maria Gloriosa dei Frari
Gothic architecture in Venice
1250 establishments in Europe
13th-century establishments in the Republic of Venice
Minor basilicas in Veneto