View of nuns' footbridge to the balcony:
Tosini-Lazzari, lithograph, Venice, Correr Museum
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View of organ in balcony
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BALCONY
The nuns, who lived a cloistered existence and thus had to remain out of view of the general public, attended services on the raised balcony. To ensure their isolation, a high wooden parapet blocked the view from the nave, and a "cavalcavia" (enclosed raised footbridge) connected the former convent to the church. It allowed the nuns to enter and exit the church unseen. The convent was dissolved by Napoleon in 1810, and in 1865 the bridge was demolished. A record of the structure has been preserved in a nineteenth-century lithograph by Tosini-Lazzari (above). The balcony now houses the organ (above), which was moved from the raised presbytery, or chancel, to its new location in the mid-nineteenth century.
Santa Maria dei Miracoli has held a special place in the hearts of the Venetians ever since its construction in the last quarter of the fifteenth century. The sheet music for Wagner's wedding march on the organ (visible in the Virtual Tour) reveals the church's present-day popularity as a church for marriages. The Miracoli's size assures an intimate gathering, its location on a rio allows the bridal couple to arrive and depart by gondola, and its overall splendor creates a beautiful frame for the joyful event.
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