This one, filled with geraniums surrounding Michelangelo's Pieta, is in Cannaregio.
This is a strange one. The reliefs on the tabernacle seem to have some age on them, and that face on the wall above looks exactly like the gatekeeper in The Wizard of Oz. :)
It's very rare to see a shrine that's been vandalized but this one has a busted window. Perhaps the vandal is responsible for the lurid orange color of Baby Jesus' face? It's a bizarre image inside!
This oratorio is listed on the Patriarch of Venice website which says that it has two small rooms inside. Built in 1829 by workers from the Arsenal and dedicated to Beata Vergine Addolorato (Our Lady of Sorrows). Restored in 1995. I've never found it open. It hardly looks big enough to have two rooms.
And this one is in Castello, in Campiello del Figareto, and it isn't on the oratory list so I guess it's a shrine and/or private chapel. There's a Madonna and Child inside that you can barely see and I couldn't photograph because it's so dark in there. The inscription says that it was built in 1842, restored in 1979. In the second photo, you can see where someone has stuck a single long-stemmed rose in the grate of the door.
Comments (12)
Lovely photos!
Thanks for sharing them.
Posted by nancyhol | May 19, 2009 11:04 PM
Posted on May 19, 2009 23:04
He does look just like the guy in the Wizard of Oz! Maybe the people that created the movie were inspired by this shrine :)
So sad that people vandalize property. Beautiful photos!
Posted by girasoli | May 20, 2009 12:44 AM
Posted on May 20, 2009 00:44
Annie: Love this! I am currently reading a book about Venice and thinking about you in one of the author's lines - you could never visit all the churches and chapels in Venice in one's lifetime. My thought - Annie is trying!)
Posted by menehune | May 20, 2009 6:35 AM
Posted on May 20, 2009 06:35
Nancy, thank you.
Girasoli, it's a funny resemblance isn't it?
M, that's a great line! What book are you reading? Yes, one lifetime isn't enough but I'm going for it anyway. :) Actually, I think I have visited every church in the historic center of Venice but finding them open and going inside is a whole different matter.
Posted by Annie | May 20, 2009 8:36 AM
Posted on May 20, 2009 08:36
Lovely shrines, Annie! The orange on baby Jesus's face is a bit unsettling, like he was experimenting with a self-tanning product.
I wonder if many passing tourists mistake some of these shrines for garden sheds or somesuch, especially when the doors closed. I suppose the North American tradition of shrines have them either enclosed in a church, perhaps in a niche, or sort of freestanding by the side of a highway.
Posted by sandrac | May 20, 2009 9:16 AM
Posted on May 20, 2009 09:16
As sandrac noted, I probably walked right by many of the Shrines you have blogged about. Venice has always been at the top of my list to revisit, and your Blog has made it that much more intriguing (sp?).I will certainly be looking for these sShrines!
Posted by sheri | May 20, 2009 2:17 PM
Posted on May 20, 2009 14:17
LOL Sandra, I had a self-tanner fiasco one time myself and it did look that bad but thank goodness it was my legs not my face!
Most of the shrines here in NC are those sad ones by the highway where there's been a wreck. But occasionally I see some kind of garden shrine, usually with St. Francis.
Sheri, I hope you get to revisit Venice soon. I read somewhere that there are over 500 shrines there, which is a lot considering that it's not that big of a city!
Posted by Annie | May 20, 2009 2:27 PM
Posted on May 20, 2009 14:27
Annie: It's Sarah Dunant's In the Company of the Courtesan. Great read - colorful characters! Somewhere in the beginning of the book (which takes place in Rome, then Venice in the 1500's), the author likens Venice and its islands, etc. to the lace of Borano. Quite an entertaining linguistic literary style.
Posted by menehune | May 20, 2009 3:47 PM
Posted on May 20, 2009 15:47
Hi Annie, great post. I feel bad about the second one that is vandalized. That is a strange color on the face of baby Jesus. And you're right the relief above that one does look like the Wizard.
How interesting that there are over 500 shrines in Venice. That's pretty amazing. There are almost as much shrines as there are bridges. Venice is so wonderful.
Thanks for posting about and sharing your wonderful photos Annie!
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | May 21, 2009 8:57 AM
Posted on May 21, 2009 08:57
Menehune, I enjoyed that book! Nice portrait of an interesting time in Venice's history. And you're right, very intriquing characters.
Kathy, that's so great: as many shrines as bridges! I'd never thought about it and it's a great observation.
Posted by Annie | May 21, 2009 10:40 AM
Posted on May 21, 2009 10:40
I think this is the first time that you show us a shrine that doesn’t look very well looked after. If the shrine with the broken window is in a campo, maybe a soccer ball is to blame for the broken glass?
The oratorio almost looks like a miniature chapel. Do you remember if it was free standing?
Posted by María I. | May 23, 2009 12:42 PM
Posted on May 23, 2009 12:42
Maria, it's not in a campo but is at the end of a little corte. I don't remember it being that big but still, a sports accident is a possibility.
Yes, the oratorio is free-standing, I think.
Posted by Annie | May 23, 2009 7:04 PM
Posted on May 23, 2009 19:04