JJ20_Scuola Grande di San Rocco

By Rachele Callegari

Located in the sestiere of San Polo, La Scuola Grande di San Rocco was founded in 1478 as the headquarters of a lay confraternity dedicated to good works. After only two years, in 1480, it obtained the title of Scuola Grande thanks to the increase in the number of confraternity members, to the good reputation obtained for works to help the community and public health, and later to the presence of the relics of St. Roch, whose protection was invoked in case of epidemics. The saint’s body arrived in Venice in 1485, but since the confraternity did not yet have a suitable place to keep it, it was at first placed at the Church of San Geminiano and only later moved to the Church of San Rocco. The devotion to the saint, which probably began in Montpellier, soon spread throughout Europe, and in Italy it was especially linked, in addition to Venice, to Piacenza, Brescia, and Abruzzo.

At first, the brethren gathered in the Scoletta di San Rocco, a small building that stands in front of the present headquarters, built on the land they had obtained by concession from the friars of the basilica of the Frari (now the site of temporary exhibitions), but in the early 1500s it was decided to build a new headquarters, the construction of which began in 1517 with the laying of the first stone and went on for over fifty years. The design was similar to that of the other Scuole

Venetian, featuring two halls, one on the first and one on the second floor, connected by an imposing Scalone. In 1489 the Scuola also initiated the construction of its own church named after St. Roch, which was consecrated in 1508.

In 1564 Tintoretto was commissioned to decorate the interior of the Scuola: the cycle of canvases he created represents for Venice, in its completeness, what the Sistine Chapel represents for Rome. In the Sala Terrena, the canvases depict episodes from the life of Jesus, from the Annunciation to Mary’s Assumption into Heaven; in the Sala Capitolare, on the other hand, episodes from the Old Testament accompany twenty-four wood-carved dossals, by Giovanni Marchiori, depicting episodes from the life of the saint. Finally, in the Sala dell’Albergo, the last section of canvases by Tintoretto, depicting the Saints to whom the other Venetian Schools are dedicated and the Passion of Christ. The School, however, does not only house works by Tintoretto; along with his canvases, one of the most significant works of art is Giorgione’s “Christ Carrying the Cross.” The image of Christ was even considered miraculous because it was thanks to the very rich alms it yielded when it was displayed in the Church, that the building of the Scuola was possible. Two other authors whose works are preserved inside the Scuola are Giambattista Tiepolo and Titian.

The second floor of the building housed the Treasure of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, whose rooms were dedicated to the safekeeping of relics and silverware. The rooms were opened to the public in 1899, closed with World War I, and reopened only recently, in 2009.

Today, the Scuola Grande di San Rocco continues its charitable activities, particularly towards the needy and prisoners and their families: the support activity is carried out every year with the donation of contributions (called Graces) distributed on the occasion of the patronal feast of St. Roch to needy families.

 

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