The San Giorgio Monastery (St. George Monastery) is a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

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 ...

, located on the island of

San Giorgio Maggiore San Giorgio Maggiore () is one of the islands of Venice, northern Italy, lying east of the Giudecca and south of the main island group. The island, or more specifically its Palladian church, is an important landmark. It has been much painted, ...

. It stands next to the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, which serves the monastic community. Most of the old monastic buildings currently serve as

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

of the

Cini Foundation The Giorgio Cini Foundation (''Italian: Fondazione Giorgio Cini''), or just the Cini Foundation, is a cultural foundation founded by industrialist and politician Vittorio Cini on 20 April 1951 in memory of :it:Giorgio Cini (imprenditore), Giorgio ...

History of the monastery

Foundation

The monastery was founded in AD 982 following the donation of the island by the

Doge Doge, DoGE or DOGE may refer to: Internet culture * Doge (meme), an Internet meme primarily associated with the Shiba Inu dog breed ** Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency named after the meme ** Kabosu (dog), the dog portrayed in the original Doge image ...

Tribuno Memmo in response to a request by the Blessed John Morosini, O.S.B., who wished to establish a monastery there, and who then became the first

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

. Among the first monks of the community which developed there was St.

Gerard of Csanád Gerard or Gerard Sagredo (; ; ; 23 April 977/1000 – 24 September 1046) was the first bishop of Csanád in the Kingdom of Hungary from around 1030 to his death. Most information about his life was preserved in his legends which contain most c ...

() (980-1046), a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

who helped establish

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. He was murdered in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

—on the hill which now bears his name—in the course of a pagan insurrection against the Venetian king then ruling the

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

Prestige

Over the centuries the monastery became a

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

, cultural and artistic center of primary importance in Europe. The monks had considerable autonomy and close links with

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

and

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, and thus it became also a favoured location for foreign dignitaries to stay while in the city. In 1177

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a Papal election, ...

and

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

met here. In 1204, Doge Enrico Dandolo secured the relics of

Saint Lucy Lucia of Syracuse ( – 304 AD), also called Saint Lucia () and better known as Saint Lucy, was a Roman people, Roman Christian martyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution. She is venerated as a saint in Catholic Church, Catholic, Angl ...

for the monastery; they were transferred in 1279 to Santa Lucia in

Cannaregio Cannaregio () is the northernmost of the six historic ''sestieri of Venice''. It is the second largest ''sestiere'' by land area and the largest by population, with 13,169 people . Isola di San Michele, the historic cemetery island, is associate ...

. In 1223 a violent earthquake destroyed the monastery. In 1433

Cosimo de' Medici Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici (27 September 1389 – 1 August 1464) was an Italian banker and politician who established the House of Medici, Medici family as effective rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. His power derive ...

, when exiled from Florence, took refuge here. Between 1560 and 1562

Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio ( , ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be on ...

built a new

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...

for which

Paolo Veronese Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , ; ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as ''The Wedding at Cana (Veronese), The Wedding ...

painted the massive '' The Wedding Feast at Cana'' which was displayed there. In 1566 began the construction of the new church by Palladio, who later designed also the "

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

. Between 1641 and 1680 Baldassarre Longhena designed the new library, the grand staircase, the monastery facade, the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

, the infirmary and the guest quarters. After the fall of the

Venetian Republic The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

in 1797, the monastery was deprived of its most precious books and works of art.

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

sent ''The Wedding Feast at Cana'' to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and at present it is displayed in the

Louvre museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

. It is now possible, however, to admire a copy in the refectory which hangs in the place for which the painting was originally created. The monastery was so important that, in 1799, while

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

was occupied by the

French Revolutionary Army The French Revolutionary Army () was the French land force that fought the French Revolutionary Wars from 1792 to 1802. In the beginning, the French armies were characterised by their revolutionary fervour, their poor equipment and their great nu ...

, the

Papal conclave A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around ...

which elected

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

was convened there.Miles, Paul. "Stay in a monastery in Venice: no frills, no crowds and the best views". ''The Guardian'', October 18, 2013
/ref> The cardinals met in the ''chorum nocturnis'' (or Night choir), where the remarkable canvas ''St George slaying the Dragon'' by

Vittore Carpaccio Vittore Carpaccio ( , , ; – ) was an Italian painter of the Venetian School (art), Venetian school who studied under Gentile Bellini. Carpaccio was largely influenced by the style of the early Italian Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina ...

is still displayed.

The decline

Nevertheless, in 1806 the monastery was suppressed and the monks expelled; many of the monastery's remaining treasures were sold or stolen. Only a few monks were able to remain to serve in the church, while the monastery itself became a weapons depot. For more than a century it was used as a military

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

, undergoing grave deterioration.

Revival

In 1951 the Italian Government granted the monastery to the

, which restored it and revived its cultural heritage. On 29–30 May 1956 the Venice Conference of the Foreign Ministers of the six Member States of the

European Coal and Steel Community The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to integrate Europe's coal and steel industries into a single common market based on the principle of supranationalism which would be governe ...

(ECSC) was held in the San Giorgio Monastery to discuss the Spaak Report of the

Spaak Committee The Spaak Committee was an Intergovernmental Committee set up by the Foreign Ministers of the six Member States of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) as a result of the Messina Conference of 1955. The Spaak Committee started its work o ...

. The old and smaller monastic buildings to the left and rear of the basilica still serve as a small monastery of Benedictine monks, who continue to offer hospitality as part of their mission.Gillett, David. "Stay in a spectacular monastery in Venice for what you can afford", ''The Globe and Mail'', January 28, 2016
/ref>

References

Sources

World Congress of Environmental and Resource Economists - San Giorgio Maggiore
* Guida d’Italia del Touring Club Italiano – Venezia. 3° ed. * S. Vianello (a cura di) Le chiese di Venezia. Electa, 1993

External links

* Fotosearchbr>Pictures of San Giorgio MonasterySatellite image from Google MapsPictures of San Giorgio Maggiore
{{coord, 45.4295096, N, 12.3436975, E, display=title, region:IT_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Andrea Palladio buildings Benedictine monasteries in Italy Monasteries in Veneto Religious buildings and structures in Venice 982 establishments Christian monasteries established in the 10th century Sites of papal elections Renaissance architecture in Venice 10th-century establishments in Italy Andrea Palladio church buildings