Repairs to the church foundation and roof were made in 1986 with partial funding from Save Venice founder Betty Bartlett McAndrew.

In 1212 the Bishop of Torcello donated the island of San Michele, located halfway between Venice and Murano, to the Camaldolese congregation of the Benedictine order, a community of hermit monks who established a church and monastery there. In 1469 Mauro Codussi rebuilt the existing church in a bold new manner that effectively brought a Renaissance style to Venetian architecture. Codussi used white Istrian stone for the entire façade, an unusual and innovative choice at that time. The façade creates a study in contrast: the brilliant white stone stands out from the surrounding water and sky, and the monochrome façade is enlivened through a variety of textural patterns carved in the stone, including rusticated blocks, shell-like motifs, dentilled string courses, and friezes bearing inscriptions. The church’s three-bay interior has a flat ceiling in the nave and aisles, a feature commonly found in roughly contemporary churches in Florence, such as those designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. The monks’ singing gallery, located near the entrance of the church, was also built in a clearly classical style.

The island of San Michele is also home to Venice’s historic cemetery; Save Venice’s founders, John and Betty McAndrew, are buried in the Protestant section.

The restoration work was was carried out by conservator Antonio Perale, with the guidance of project director Mario Piana of the Superintendency of Monuments of Venice.

For select projects, conservation dossiers in Italian containing limited textual and photographic documentation may be available for consultation by appointment at the Venice office of Save Venice and the Rosand Library & Study Center. For inquiries, please contact us at venice@savevenice.org.

Mauro Codussi (1440-1504)
Church of San Michele in Isola
1469-1499