Santa Maria dei Miracoli

Overview

Santa Maria dei Miracoli is a church in the sestiere of Cannaregio, in Venice, Italy.

Also known as the "marble church", it is one of the best examples of the early Venetian Renaissance including colored marble, a false colonnade on the exterior walls (pilasters), and a semicircular pediment. The organisation Save Venice Inc. restored the church over a period of seven years, from 1990 to 1997 (after several years of preliminary research). The treatments focussed on the marble sheeting and sculptural decoration of both the exterior and interior of the church. The marble cladding contained 14 percent of salts, and was on the point of bursting, when restorers began the desalination and cleaning process. All marble cladding was removed, and cleaned in stainless steel tanks, in a solution of distilled water. Additionally, the campaign worked in the coffered ceiling, which was made up of fifty-two wooden panels depicting saints and prophets. The cleaning led to the rediscovery of frescoes of sibyls on the spandrels of the ceiling. Nearly every part of the church was examined and treated, including the intarsia doors in the presbytery, the bronze statues and candelabra of the high altar, and the wooden panel of the Madonna from which the church got its name. The restoration was calculated to cost 1 million dollars, the final cost was 4 million dollars. The main altar is reached by a series of steps. The circular facade windows recall Donato Bramante's churches in Milan.

Details

Location" Location: Campo dei Miracoli, Sestiere Cannaregio, Venice 30121 Italy
Visitor Visit Type: Vistor Centre
Co-ordinates" Co-ordinates: 45.439340, 12.339150
Web" Web: https://www.chorusvenezia.org/en/church-of-santa-maria-dei-miracoli external_link_dark

Map

History

Built between 1481 and 1489 by Pietro Lombardo to house a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary. The plans for the church were expanded in 1484 to include the construction of a new convent for nuns of St. Clare to the east. The convent was connected to the gallery of the church by an enclosed walkway that was later destroyed.

The interior is enclosed by a wide barrel vault, with a single nave. The nave is dominated by an ornamental marble stair rising between two pulpits, with statues by Tullio Lombardo, Alessandro Vittoria and Niccolò di Pietro. The vaulted ceiling is divided into fifty coffers decorated with paintings of prophets, a work by Girolamo Pennacchi's contemporaries, Vincenzo dalle Destre and Lattanzio da Rimini.

Nearby Locations

LocationDistanceDirection
Rialto Bridge Italy bullet_black0.18 milesWSW
Santi Giovanni e Paolo Italy0.25 milesENE
St. Mark's Basilica Italy0.33 milesS
Bridge of Sighs Italy bullet_black0.37 milesSSE
St Mark's Campanile Italy0.37 milesS
San Zaccaria Italy0.38 milesSSE
Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo Italy0.39 milesSW
Doge's Palace Italy bullet_black0.40 milesS
Piazza San Marco Italy bullet_black0.43 milesS
Venetian Arsenal Italy0.61 milesESE
Santa Maria della Salute Italy0.64 milesSSW
Museo Storico Navale Italy0.70 milesSE
Murano Glass Museum Italy bullet_black1.36 milesNNE
Cava dei Balestrieri San Marino bullet_black103.93 milesS
Guaita Tower San Marino bullet_black104.05 milesS
Museum of Medieval Criminology and Torture San Marino bullet_black104.06 milesS
Porta San Francesco San Marino bullet_black104.06 milesS
Sammarinese Museum of Ancient Arms San Marino bullet_black104.22 milesS
Cesta Tower San Marino bullet_black104.25 milesS
Monastery of St. Clare San Marino104.48 milesS
Information correct as of 05/09/2020