Santa Maria dei Carmini, also called Santa Maria del Carmelo and commonly known simply as the Carmini, is a large

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in the sestiere, or neighbourhood, of

Dorsoduro Dorsoduro is one of the six sestiere (Venice), sestieri of Venice, in northern Italy. Dorsoduro includes the highest land areas of the city and also Giudecca island and Isola Sacca Fisola. Its name derives from the Italian language, Italian fo ...

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 ...

, northern

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 nestles against the former ''Scuola Grande di Santa Maria del Carmelo'', also known as the '' Scuola dei Carmini''. This charitable confraternity was officially founded in 1597, and arose from a lay women's charitable association, the ''Pinzocchere dei Carmini''. The members of this lay group were associated as tertiaries to the neighbouring

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

monastery. They were responsible for stitching the

scapular A scapular () is a Western Christian garment suspended from the shoulders. There are two types of scapulars, the monastic and devotional scapular; both forms may simply be referred to as "scapular". As an object of popular piety, a scapular ...

s for the Carmelites.

History

The church originally was called Santa Maria Assunta, and first dated to the 14th century (circa 1348).Karl Baedeker's guide
page338. The brick and marble facade contains sculpted lunettes by Giovanni Buora. Among the roofline decorations are images of Elisha and Elijah, thought to be founders of the Carmelite order. The bell tower, designed by

Giuseppe Sardi Giuseppe Sardi (1680 – documented until 1768) was an italians, Italian architect active in Rome. He was born at Sant'Angelo in Vado, Marche which was then part of the Papal States. Known primarily for his church of Santa Maria del Rosario in ...

, is topped by a statue of the Madonna del Carmine sculpted in 1982 as a replacement by Romano Vio. The previous original was destroyed by lightning.

Description

The chancel and side chapels in the interior were rebuilt in 1507-14 by Sebastiano Mariani from Lugano. The counter-facade has a large monument (1602) to Jacopo Foscarini who was a

procurator of San Marco The office of Procurator of Saint Mark ( Venetian: Procurador de San Marco) was one of the few lifetime appointments in the government of the Venetian Republic and was considered second only to that of the doge in prestige. Da Mosto, ''L'Archivio d ...

, admiral of the fleet, and whose family palace lies across the canal. The second altar on the right has an altarpiece depicting the ''Adoration of the Shepherds'' (1509–11) by

Cima da Conegliano Giovanni Battista Cima, also called Cima da Conegliano (), was an Italian Renaissance painter, who mostly worked in Venice. He can be considered part of the Venetian school (art), Venetian school, though he was also influenced by Antonello da ...

. The third altar on the right has a ''Madonna del Carmelo with saints'' (1595) by Pase Pace and Giovanni Fontana. The statues of ''Virginity'' (left) and ''Humility'' on the right of the nave were completed (1722–1723) by

Antonio Corradini Antonio Corradini (19 October 1688 – 12 August 1752) was an Italians, Italian Rococo sculptor from Venice. He is best known for his illusory veiled depictions of the human body, where the contours of the face and body beneath the veil are disc ...

and Giuseppe Torritti respectively. The bronze angels on the balustrade are by

Girolamo Campagna Girolamo Campagna (1549–1625) was a Northern Italian sculptor. Life Born in Verona, he went to Venice in 1572 and studied under both Jacopo Sansovino and Danese Cattaneo, and completed many of the latter's works. He was responsible f ...

. The wooden frontal represents the ''Miracles of the Madonna'' (1724) and was carved by Francesco Bernadoni. The ''Tabernacle'' is by Giovanni Scalfarotto. The fourth altar on the right has the funereal monument to Andrea Civran (1572), a Venetian general. The ''Glorification of the Scapular'' (1709) was frescoed by

Sebastiano Ricci Sebastiano Ricci (1 August 165915 May 1734) was an Italian Baroque painter of the late Baroque period in Venetian painting. About the same age as Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, Piazzetta, and an elder contemporary of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Tie ...

on the nave ceiling. The stucco work was completed by Pietro Bianchini to designs of Abbondio Stazio. In the fresco, the angels uphold a

, and a painted inscription say it is an ornament of Mt Carmel. The fourth altar on the left, past the entry to the sacristy, was erected by the guild of the ''Compravendi Pesce'' or fishmongers (1548) with an altarpiece depicting the ''Presentation of Jesus at the Temple'' (1541–1542) by a young

Jacopo Tintoretto Jacopo Robusti (late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594), best known as Tintoretto ( ; , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized the ...

. The third chapel on the left has an altarpiece depicting the ''Lamentation of the Dead Christ'' (c. 1476) by

Francesco di Giorgio Martini Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439–1501) was an Italian architect, engineer, painter, sculptor, and writer. As a painter, he belonged to the Sienese School. He was considered a visionary architectural theorist—in Nikolaus Pevsner's terms ...

. In front of the chancel are paintings by Marco Vicentino,

Palma il Giovane Iacopo Negretti (1548/50 – 14 October 1628), best known as Jacopo or Giacomo Palma il Giovane or simply Palma Giovane ('Young Palma'), was an Italian painter from Venice and a notable exponent of the Venetian school. After Tintoretto's death ...

, and

Gaspare Diziani Gaspare Diziani (1689 – 17 August 1767) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque or Roccoco period, active mainly in the Veneto but also in Dresden and Munich. The artist's canvas is the largest painting of the Hermitage Museum in St. Peter ...

. The second altar on the left has two statues depicting the prophets Elijah and Elisha by

Tommaso Rues Tommaso Rues (1636 – 1703) was a Baroque sculptor active mainly in Venice; he contributed many of the statues outside of the church of the Salute, Venice, Salute. His works can be seen in a number of other Venetian churches including the Il Reden ...

. Elijah holds a flaming sword. The first altar has a painting of '' St Nicholas of Bari in Glory between St John the Baptist and St Lucy'' (1529) by

Lorenzo Lotto Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480 – 1556/57) was an Italian Renaissance painter, draughtsman, and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school, though much of his career was spent in other north Italian cities. He painted mainly altarpie ...

. The upper register of the nave is lined with 24 large canvases from the 1666-1730s, painted by artists such as

Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini (29 April 1675 – 2 or 5 November 1741) was one of the leading Venetian history painters of the early 18th century. His style melded the Renaissance style of Paolo Veronese with the Baroque of Pietro da Cortona ...

Girolamo Brusaferro Girolamo Brusaferro was an Italian painter of the 18th century, active in his native Venice. He was a pupil of Niccolo Bambini and Sebastiano Ricci. He has paintings in various churches in Venice including the Santa Maria dei Carmini, Carmini. He ...

and

Pietro Liberi Pietro (Libertino) Liberi (1605 – 18 October 1687) was an Italian painter of the Baroque era, active mainly in Venice and the Veneto. Biography Liberi was born in Padua, his earliest training was with Alessandro Varotari (''il Padovanino''). ...

. The choirs includes 3 paintings (c. 1545) by

Andrea Meldolla Andrea Meldolla (), also known as Andrea Schiavone or Andrea lo Schiavone, literally "Andrew the Slav", (c. 1510/15–1563) was an Italian Renaissance painter and etcher, born in Dalmatia, in the Republic of Venice (present-day Croatia) to par ...

. Near the entrance to the cloister is a relief of the ''Madonna and Child'' (1340) by Arduino Tagliapietra.

Sources

References

External links

World Monuments Fund restoration of the Scuola
{{Authority control 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Venice Dorsoduro Renaissance architecture in Venice