Save Venice is seeking sponsors for the conservation of Cesare Vecellio’s 29 Ceiling Paintings Under the Organ Loft of the Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli.

*Published sponsorship costs are subject to change due to conservation plan modifications and fluctuations in exchange rates.

Please contact kim@savevenice.org today for more information and the latest cost estimates.

Originally built to enshrine a miraculous image of a Madonna and Child painted around the 1430s, the Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli is celebrated for its luminous marble façade and harmonious proportions, a masterpiece of the early Venetian Renaissance that embodies the elegance and sophistication of late 15th-century Venice.

The church was not only a destination for pilgrims drawn to the miraculous image but also a place of worship for the Poor Clares, a cloistered community of nuns who settled in a convent established across the calle between 1483 and 1485. Their presence remains embedded in the fabric of the building. Against the interior façade stands a raised gallery that today houses the organ but once enabled the nuns to participate in the liturgy while remaining hidden from view. Their seclusion was further protected by an elevated bridge that connected the convent directly to the church at the second-story level. Spanning the calle below, the bridge allowed the nuns to enter and leave the church unseen, preserving the strict enclosure that defined their religious life until its demolition in 1865.

Between 1988 and 1998, Save Venice sponsored an extensive conservation campaign that encompassed the entire structure, safeguarding both its exterior and interior treasures. More recently, in the aftermath of the catastrophic acqua alta (exceptional high tide) of 2019, Save Venice once again intervened, funding emergency measures to stabilize the building and mitigate the immediate effects of flood damage.

The organ loft is an elegant and richly decorated structure that bears witness to the artistic refinement of Santa Maria dei Miracoli. A wooden gallery rests on two finely carved stone columns adorned with delicate candelabra motifs and is enclosed by a pierced balustrade composed of nine panels. The gallery ceiling is richly decorated with gilded and painted ornament, where scrolling foliage and rosettes stand out against a vibrant blue ground. Divided into three compartments, it forms the centerpiece of the ensemble. Three large canvases—currently undergoing conservation by Save Venice—depict the Madonna and Child at the center, flanked by Saint Francis on the canal side and Saint Clare of Assisi on the calle side.

Each of these principal canvases is framed by a rich constellation of smaller paintings that transforms the ceiling into a sophisticated and carefully orchestrated devotional program. Surrounding each central image are two elongated, horizontally oriented panels depicting full-length saints, while the corner compartments are occupied by half-length figures representing prophets, evangelists, and Fathers of the Church. The iconographic scheme is tailored to the subject of each composition: the Madonna and Child is accompanied by images of God the Father and the dove of the Holy Spirit, while the four corner panels feature the Evangelists; Saint Francis is flanked by Saint John the Baptist and Saint Anthony of Padua, with the four Fathers of the Church occupying the surrounding corners; and Saint Clare of Assisi appears alongside Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Mary Magdalene, while prophets fill the corner compartments.

Additional figures rendered in grisaille animate the candelabra panels whose rich ornamental designs frame the larger paintings along the sides. These enigmatic characters have never been the subject of detailed study and remain largely unidentified. Their conservation offers a rare opportunity for close examination, and it is hoped that further investigation will shed new light on their identities, significance, and role within the broader decorative scheme.

Traditionally attributed to Marco Vecellio or another artist working within Titian’s circle, the decoration of the organ loft may instead be the work of Titian’s cousin, Cesare Vecellio. This hypothesis is supported by close parallels with a decorative program signed by Cesare in the 1577-1579 for the church of Santa Maria Assunta in Lentiai (Belluno). Especially striking are the similarities between the two ceilings, evident not only in their figural paintings and elaborate candelabra ornamentation, but also in the design of their wooden frameworks, which seem to draw upon architectural models published in Sebastiano Serlio’s Quarto Libro dell’Architettura (1537).

The attribution remains an open question, and the ongoing conservation campaign offers a unique opportunity to examine the paintings at close range. As the panels become more accessible for study, new evidence is expected to emerge, potentially reshaping our understanding of the ensemble’s authorship, chronology, and artistic context.

The conservation campaign will focus on stabilizing the gilded and polychrome decoration of the ceiling of the organ loft, while enhancing the legibility of its richly ornamented surfaces. Priority will be given to securing areas where the gilding and preparatory layers have detached from the wooden support, a condition that is particularly widespread throughout the structure. Cleaning will be carried out gradually and with great care to preserve the delicate gold leaf and prevent abrasion. Once the surfaces have been cleaned, the wooden elements will be treated to protect them against future attacks by wood-boring insects.

The pictorial reintegration of paint losses will begin with the filling of lacunae using conservation-grade stucco, followed by the retouching of painted and gilded surfaces. The candelabra decoration and blue painted areas will be reintegrated using water-based conservation techniques, while gilded areas will be carefully restored with brush-applied gold tones distinguishable from the original material. A final protective varnish will safeguard the reintegrated areas while allowing conservators to calibrate the overall sheen and visual balance of the decoration.

Cesare Vecellio (1521 – 1601) [attr.]
29 Ceiling Paintings and Gilded Organ Loft Ceiling
1560-1570, carved wood with gilding and polychrome decoration
1000 x 426 cm

Claut, Sergio. Le opere di Cesare Vecellio nella chiesa di Lentiai. In Conte, Tiziana (ed.). Cesare Vecellio, 1521c.-1601. Belluno: Amministrazione Provinciale di Belluno, 2001, pp. 35-70

Piana, Mario and Wolfgang Wolters (eds.). Santa Maria dei Miracoli a Venezia. La storia, la fabbrica, i restauri. Venice: Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, 2003

Schulz, Juergen. Venetian Painted Ceilings of the Renaissance. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of the California Press, 1968, p. 71

Venice Restored 1966-1986. The UNESCO campaign and the contribution of private organizations. Milan: Electa, 1991, pp. 33-35