Description
The Monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore occupies the island facing St Mark's Square in Venice: an ancient Benedictine monastery remade by Andrea Palladio and Baldassare Longhena, next to the famous Palladian basilica. Today it is the home of the Giorgio Cini Foundation, with cloisters, libraries and gardens.
The heart of the complex is Palladio's refectory, built between 1560 and 1563: a staircase, two classical-style portals, a vestibule with two red marble washbasins and then the great hall with its barrel vault. On the back wall stands Paolo Veronese's Wedding at Cana, in a copy.
Also not to be missed is the Palladian cloister, designed by Palladio after the refectory, and Longhena's grand staircase. In the Night Choir, where the cardinals met in 1800, hangs Vittore Carpaccio's St George Slaying the Dragon.
The libraries are a small world of their own: the monumental 17th-century one by Longhena, and the Nuova Manica Lunga, the monks' old dormitory redesigned by Michele De Lucchi, with much of the book collection on open shelves. In the garden there is a labyrinth inspired by a story by Borges.
Next door, the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, also by Palladio, has a 75-meter bell tower: from the top, the view over Venice and the lagoon is one of the finest in the city.
It all began in 982, when Doge Tribuno Memmo gave the island to the Benedictine monk Giovanni Morosini. Memmo, forced to abdicate by a popular uprising, lived here as a monk until his death. In 1433 Cosimo de' Medici arrived, exiled from Florence, and founded a library here.
Veronese's canvas has a bitter story. In 1797 the French cut it into seven pieces and took it to the Louvre, where it still hangs. In 2007 the Cini Foundation put a digital copy identical to the original in its place.
In 1800, with Rome occupied by the French, the conclave that elected Pope Pius VII was held on the island. Then Napoleon suppressed the monastery, which remained an arms depot and military garrison for almost a hundred and fifty years. It was saved in 1951 by Count Vittorio Cini, with a foundation dedicated to his son Giorgio, who died at thirty in a plane crash.
The heart of the complex is Palladio's refectory, built between 1560 and 1563: a staircase, two classical-style portals, a vestibule with two red marble washbasins and then the great hall with its barrel vault. On the back wall stands Paolo Veronese's Wedding at Cana, in a copy.
Also not to be missed is the Palladian cloister, designed by Palladio after the refectory, and Longhena's grand staircase. In the Night Choir, where the cardinals met in 1800, hangs Vittore Carpaccio's St George Slaying the Dragon.
The libraries are a small world of their own: the monumental 17th-century one by Longhena, and the Nuova Manica Lunga, the monks' old dormitory redesigned by Michele De Lucchi, with much of the book collection on open shelves. In the garden there is a labyrinth inspired by a story by Borges.
Next door, the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, also by Palladio, has a 75-meter bell tower: from the top, the view over Venice and the lagoon is one of the finest in the city.
It all began in 982, when Doge Tribuno Memmo gave the island to the Benedictine monk Giovanni Morosini. Memmo, forced to abdicate by a popular uprising, lived here as a monk until his death. In 1433 Cosimo de' Medici arrived, exiled from Florence, and founded a library here.
Veronese's canvas has a bitter story. In 1797 the French cut it into seven pieces and took it to the Louvre, where it still hangs. In 2007 the Cini Foundation put a digital copy identical to the original in its place.
In 1800, with Rome occupied by the French, the conclave that elected Pope Pius VII was held on the island. Then Napoleon suppressed the monastery, which remained an arms depot and military garrison for almost a hundred and fifty years. It was saved in 1951 by Count Vittorio Cini, with a foundation dedicated to his son Giorgio, who died at thirty in a plane crash.