The 2025-2026 conservation of the Saint Anne Chapel has been made possible thanks to the generous support of Arnold M. Bernstein✝.

It is uncertain when the Church of San Pantalon was founded. First mentioned in 1161 by Pope Alexander III, the church underwent numerous renovations over the centuries, with the latest occurring between the 1660s and the 1710s when it was entirely updated to the Baroque style. During this period, the church was adorned with magnificent altars, whereas the ceiling was decorated by Giovanni Antonio Fumiani’s astonishing Martyrdom and Glorification of Saint Pantaleon, one of the largest ceiling canvases in the world.

The Saint Anne Chapel was part of the 17th-century renovation effort and was likely built in 1696, as documented in a manuscript compiled by Don Domenico Girolamo Maccato between 1767 and 1770. The altar belonged to the Compagnia delle nobildonne devote a Sant’Anna, a lay confraternity dedicated to the mother of the Virgin Mary, Anne. Established in 1695, the Compagnia initially only admitted noblewomen of marrying age; by 1766, its membership had grown to 200 sisters. Upon joining the confraternity, novices had to swear on the Mariegola, the statute book of the Compagnia, adorned with an illumination depicting the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne. The book also featured a refined print of the Birth of the Virgin designed by renowned engraver Sister Isabella Piccini da Santacroce.

The Saint Anne Chapel stands as a remarkable testament to female artistic patronage. Both its construction and lavish decoration were financed entirely by the sisters of the Compagnia, underscoring the influential role women played in commissioning and shaping the city’s artistic and devotional landscape. Richly adorned, the chapel features an exquisite polychrome marble commesso floor, a sumptuous marble altar—likely designed by Antonio Tabacco—and a sculptural program depicting saints and narrative scenes, attributed either to the Venetian sculptor Giovanni Bonazza or the Tuscan master Pietro Baratta.

The statues depict the titular saint of the chapel, Saint Anne, surrounded by putti on the high altar and flanked by Saint Joseph (left) and Saint Joachim (right). The side walls feature, on the left-hand side, a Carrara marble high-relief narrative depicting the Birth of the Virgin, while on the opposite side, the wall is adorned with a Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple, deeply inspired by Titian’s painting for the Scuola Grande della Carità (restored by Save Venice in 2010-2012). The chapel also showcases a ceiling canvas by Fumiani, likely featuring The Lineage of Saint Anne.

Conservation state
The chapel’s marble and stone decorative elements, altar, reliefs, balustrades, and sculptures were covered in a thick layer of corrosive grime and dust. The marble sheeting of the lower registers and the inlaid marble pavement had suffered from the effects of exposure to rising damp, where moisture from the ground travels up through walls by capillary action, carrying with it corrosive salt that crystallizes and causes the marble to crack and split. Additional salt-laden moisture deposits caused by condensation were evident on upper registers. The ceiling painting by Fumiani had significantly darkened over time due to oxidized varnish and the accumulation of surface grime, which had obscured much of the scene’s pictorial detail. The artwork’s legibility had deteriorated to such an extent that it was long believed to be a fresco; only upon close examination was it determined to be executed on canvas. The surface also exhibited horizontal cracking, likely caused by structural stress from the underlying wooden support.

Conservation treatment
From 2025-2026, conservators from the Uni.S.Ve. firm addressed the many condition issues that were endangering the chapel’s preservation. They desalinated the precious stonework, removed centuries of dirt and grime, and repaired broken and detached pieces. The disfiguring oxidized varnishes were removed from the chapel’s ceiling canvas, the cracks in the canvas were stabilized and repaired, and pictorial losses were integrated with reversible conservation colors and glazes. A final protective varnish was applied to ensure the preservation of the work well into the future.

Bernardo Tabacco (active 1680 – 1729) [attr.]
Altar
Ca. mid 1690s, marble

Giovanni Bonazza (1654 – 1736) [attr.] or Pietro Baratta (1668 – 1729) [attr.]
Saint Anne; Saint Joseph; Saint Joachim; Birth of the Virgin; Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple
Ca. 1700s, marble

Giovanni Antonio Fumiani (1640s – 1710)
The Lineage of Saint Anne
Ca. 1700, canvas

Unidentified artist
Mosaic Floor
Ca. 1690s, marble

Bacchi, Andrea (ed.) La scultura a Venezia da Sansovino a Canova. Milan: Longanesi, 2000

Favilla, Massimo and Ruggero Rugolo. Baroque Venice. Splendour and illusion in a “decadent” world. Schio (VI): Sassi Editore Srl, 2009. Link to the article

Maccato, Domenico Girolamo. Memorie della chiesa Parrocchiale e Collegiata di S. Pantaleone Medico e Martire di Nicomedia (Archivio Storico Patriarcale di Venezia, Cronache e memorie storiche, ms.), 1767-70

Mason, Stefania and Maria Da Villa Urbani. Chiesa di San Pantalon: arte e devozione. Venice: Marsilio, 1994

Semenzato, Camillo. “Giovanni Bonazza.” Saggi e Memorie di storia dell’arte, 2 (1958-1959): 281, 283-314

Vio Gastone. Le Scuole Piccole nella Venezia dei Dogi. Note d’archivio per la storia delle confraternite veneziane. Costa Bissara (VI): Angelo Colla Editore, 2004