Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli
(1481-1489)

Pietro Lombardo (c.1435-1515)
and his sons Antonio (d.1516)
and Tullio (d.1532)

The early-Renaissance church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli was built as a votive chapel to house a miracle-working image of the Virgin and Child that hung outdoors on a nearby street corner. Construction of the church began in 1481, and the original plan called for the barrel-vaulted shrine to house the precious painting. In Venice, the state generally paid for the construction of churches; however, the impetus and the funds for the construction of the Miracoli came from local citizens and devotees of the miraculous image. By the end of 1484, the available funds far exceeded the costs of construction; thus the procurators decided to expand upon the existing plan. The revised plan called for the addition of a chancel and for the construction of a convent along the side of the church. The structure, initially intended as a shrine, was transformed into a monastic institution.

The Miracoli has come to serve as a model of the early-Renaissance style in Venice. The church follows a simple plan: a single-aisled nave covered by a barrel vault with a projecting chancel covered by a dome. Exterior and interior walls are sheathed with the finest marbles and porphyry revetments (facings), which are decorated in part with sumptuous carving "all'antica" (in a classical style). In the interior, a painted and gilded barrel vault decorated with 50 bust-length paintings of Old Testament prophets, patriarchs and saints forms the ceiling.

Pietro Lombardo completed the construction in 1489, and on December 31 of that same year, twelve nuns from the Franciscan nunnery of Santa Chiara (Saint Clare) in Murano took up residence in the convent and attended the consecration of the new church. The small yet sumptuous architectural marvel -- financed by public donations from grateful supplicants stands as a lavish symbol of Venetian self-reliance and pride.

The total restoration of the church, executed by Ottorino Nonfarmale under the direction of architect Mario Piana of the Superintendency of Architecture for Venice, has been sponsored by the estate of Carmela Gennaro, The Getty Grant Program, Paul F. Wallace and the many donors, both large and small, to Save Venice Inc.

Restoration 1988-1998