Save Venice is seeking sponsors for the conservation of the Gilded Ceiling of the Organ Loft in 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 one of the most elegant and richly ornamented features of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, a striking expression of the church’s artistic sophistication. The wooden gallery is supported by two finely carved stone columns decorated with delicate candelabra motifs and enclosed by a pierced balustrade composed of nine panels.

Its greatest richness, however, is revealed from below. The underside of the gallery is transformed into a brilliant field of carved and gilded ornament, with scrolling foliage and rosettes set against an intense blue ground. The effect recalls the sumptuous decorative vocabulary of the Palazzo Ducale, whose combination of gilding, saturated color, and intricate patterning provided a powerful model for Venetian interiors. By adapting this prestigious language to the more intimate setting of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, the artists turned the gallery into a luminous focal point. Suspended above the interior like a precious architectural jewel, the organ loft captures the taste for color, ornament, and material splendor that defined Renaissance Venice.

The gilded and polychrome underside of the organ loft also frames three large canvases attributed to Cesare Vecellio, currently undergoing conservation by Save Venice: the Madonna and Child at the center, flanked by Saint Francis on the canal side and Saint Clare of Assisi on the calle side. Around them are 29 smaller paintings, likewise attributed to Vecellio, whose conservation is currently available for sponsorship.

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 blue painted areas will be reintegrated using water-based conservation techniques, while the gilded candelabra decorations 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.

Unidentified Artist (16th century)
Gilded Ceiling of the Organ Loft
1560-1570, carved wood with gilding and polychrome decoration
1000 x 426 cm

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