Churches of Venice. New Research Perspectives, 11/ Chiese di Venezia. Nuove prospettive di ricerca, 11

Begun in 2010, the project “Churches of Venice. New Research Perspectives” consists of a multi-year program of interdisciplinary conferences, each focused on a specific Venetian church. Since 2017 it has been supported by the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage at Ca’ Foscari University Venice, and it is currently sponsored by Save Venice Inc. As physical spaces, Venetian churches served a variety of religious functions. The project, directed by Gianmario Guidarelli, is designed to engage different disciplines for a deeper understanding of the complex social and religious phenomena long embodied – even catalyzed – by these sacred spaces. In addition to investigating Venetian churches and holy spaces from innovative, “new research perspectives,” the project also strives to share the latest research with the general public through the publication of the conference proceedings in a dedicated book series published by Viella (https://www.viella.it/catalogo/collana/75).

After having studied the churches of San Bartolomeo (2011), the Scalzi (2012), San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti (2013), San Zaccaria (2014), San Pietro di Castello (2015), San Giacomo dall’Orio (2017), San Polo (2019), Santa Maria dei Servi (2020-2021), San Rocco (2021), and San Nicolò dei Mendicoli (2022), the project will focus on the church of San Giovanni Bragora and its surrounding community – seemingly marginal but in reality a crossroads – as a locus of identity-formation lasting from the high Middle Ages through the 20th century.

Located at the southern end of the area of Rivo Alto called “Gemino,” the church is said to have been founded in antiquity by Saint Magnus (8th century). The arrival of relics of Saint John the Baptist in the 10th century and those of Saint John the Almsgiver in the 13th encouraged further development of the site. In the Renaissance, the church was rebuilt, affecting also its relationship to the campo (i.e. piazza). Prominent figures in this transformation included Pope Paul II Barbo, the future doge Andrea Gritti, the painters Cima da Conegliano and Alvise Vivarini, and the sculptor Alessandro Vittoria. In this period the church also became ever more connected to the area’s economic activities, thanks to the presence of confraternities such as the ropemakers and sand merchants; the campo, in the meantime, became a space for festivals, theatrical performances and, later, for popular games. Also noteworthy was the presence of foreign communities in the area, such as Greeks, Slavs, Friulians, the Knights of Malta, and Florentines. Church and campo were thus representative of the urban fabric of Venice, in which the local and the international were inseparable. In the 18th century, the church and parish were marked by the activity of Antonio Vivaldi, followed by the playwright Giacinto Gallina in the 19th. Densely populated, the area remained a lively neighborhood until the second world war and the closing of the Arsenal. In this period the church also underwent a number of important restorations.

Director Gianmario Guidarelli

Edited by Lorenzo Buonanno and Matteo Casini

The conference is scheduled for three days in December 2023, with the final sessions to be held inside the church itself. Participants will have access to a professional photographer who will take photographs on request for use at the conference and in the subsequent publication. Possible paper topics include (but are not limited to):

  • The church architecture, from any phase from the Middle Ages to the modern era; restorations, rearrangements, or other interventions inside the church itself or in the areas and structures that surround it
  • The sculptural and pictorial decoration and furnishings of the church or of the surrounding areas; the patronage of those objects and ornament
  • The origins and performances of devotional cults and practices at the church, including relics, pilgrimages, liturgies
  • The presence and activities of confraternities
  • The relationship between the church, its campo, and the urban fabric; the relationship with the Arsenal and its workers, with the Greek community, with the Ospedale della Pietà, and with the Riva degli Schiavoni as a port zone
  • Festivals, spectacles, music, and social activities linked with the church or its parish

Paper proposals, along with a brief abstract (max 250 words) and a brief CV, must be submitted to [email protected] by September 30th, 2022. Selected participants will be notified by October 31st, 2022.