Venice Guide: Santa Maria dei Miracoli

Santa Maria dei Miracoli

Santa Maria dei Miracoli, also known as the Marble Church, is located in the Sestiere of Cannaregio, in Venice. The church is one of the best examples of the Venetian Renaissance including colored marble, a false colonnade on the exterior walls, and a semicircular pediment.

Built between 1481 and 1489 by Pietro Lombardo to house a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary. In Venice, the state generally paid for the construction of churches, but the funds for the construction of Miracoli came from local citizens and devotees of the miraculous image.

By the end of 1484, the available funds far exceeded the costs of construction, so the Procurators decided to expand upon the existing plan.

The revised plan called for the addition of a chancel and for the construction of a convent along the side of the church. The convent was connected to the gallery of the church by a enclosed walkway that was later destroyed.

Pietro Lombardo completed the construction in 1489, and on December 31 of that same year, twelve nuns from the Franciscan nunnery of Santa Chiara (Saint Clare) in Murano took up residence in the convent and attended the consecration of the new church.
The small yet sumptuous architectural marvel -- financed by public donations from grateful supplicants stands as a lavish symbol of Venetian self-reliance and pride.

The interior is enclosed by a wide barrel vault, with a single nave. The naive is dominated by an ornamental marble stair rising between two pulpets, with statues by Tullio Lombardo, Alessandro Vittoria and Nicolò di Pietro.
The vaulted ceiling is divided in fifty coffers decorated with paintings of the prophets's faces, a work by Gerolamo Pennacchi's brother: Vincenzo dalle Destre and Lattanzio da Rimini.

The church is the most popular venue for venetian wedding and often filled with flowers.

Santa Maria dei Miracoli
PDF printable Version .