Tucked away on a little calle in Castello north of Via Garibaldi, this lovely 14th century Gothic relief shows the Virgin and Child with saints Peter and Paul. The child is handing a key to Peter and a scroll to Paul.
The relief is over an entrance to a former religious complex that once included a hospice(Ospizio dei Santi Pietro e Paolo) for pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land, a convent, and an oratory dedicated to San Gioachino, father of the Virgin Mary. The hospice was founded in the 11th c. and was later converted to a hospital which was one of the largest in Venice. The complex was closed by the French in the early 19th century; now it's city property and I've never found it open and don't know what (if anything) it's used for today.
Comments (8)
I love this Gothic relief. Great photos, Annie.
Thanks for sharing.
Posted by candi | June 25, 2009 1:51 PM
Posted on June 25, 2009 13:51
Hi Annie, that's a very beautiful and also quite large relief. Seems like there are some really wonderful things to discover in the district of Castillo. Intersting story too behind the
complex which has the relief at its entrance.
Thank you for this wonderful post to read this morning. Have a great day!
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | June 26, 2009 8:14 AM
Posted on June 26, 2009 08:14
Lovely relief and it looks like it is in very good condition, considering its age.
A bit off topic: lately I've been intrigue by this Via Garibaldi. I've never heard of it before until it was mentioned in Leon's books (13 down, 5 more to go!). To my ears it sounds a bit strange to hear the word via to denote a street in Venice.
I just got Catanoso's book from Amazon; I'm starting it tomorrow on the flight to Atlanta.
Happy weekend! :)
Posted by María I. | June 26, 2009 12:02 PM
Posted on June 26, 2009 12:02
Very interesting post, Annie, and as usual beautiful photos. I would love to learn more about that place as a hospital. Having worked in healthcare for so long, I have somewhat of an interest in its' history.
Posted by sheri | June 26, 2009 3:33 PM
Posted on June 26, 2009 15:33
What a lovely relief, Annie, a very interesting find!
Posted by sandrac | June 27, 2009 7:00 PM
Posted on June 27, 2009 19:00
Hard to believe this is a 14c relief, it is so pristine and almost brand new looking. Lovely post, thanks!
Posted by Anne | June 29, 2009 9:46 AM
Posted on June 29, 2009 09:46
I went inside that complex in July, as there were some Biennale exhibits in there. The place is now called the Ludoteca. There was a stack of about a million ex-rental VHS cassettes in the chapel (that was one of the works of art) when I was there.
Posted by Bert | November 23, 2009 11:35 AM
Posted on November 23, 2009 11:35
Hi Bert, Interesting to know that the chapel is still there (though you probably couldn't see much for all the VHS tapes!).
Posted by Annie | November 23, 2009 2:41 PM
Posted on November 23, 2009 14:41