Annie recently posted some beautiful photographs of garden wall Madonnas that she had seen in her many trips to Venice. Her entry reminded me of one of these Madonnas that I saw last October in a quiet campo, named Corte del Volto Santo, located in Cannaregio just off Rio Terrà della Maddalena.
The area around this picturesque corte is known as the Antico Borgo dei Lucchesi (Old Lucchesi District). The unstable political situation in Lucca during the 14th century sent a large number of Lucchesi to many cities in the peninsula, including Venice. This old Lucchesi district is where the artisans and entrepreneurs from Lucca lived and worked their silk craft.
The corte was named after a revered wooden effigy known as Volto Santo (Holy Face) depicting the crucified Christ and contained in the Cathedral of San Martino in Lucca. Medieval tradition attributes the carving of this remarkable image to Nicodemus. The well-head in the corte in Venice is decorated with a carving of the Volto Santo.
A beautiful wall in the corte.
The only business I recall seeing in the corte was the Hotel Eden. In the background, there's the Madonna with Child, high on a ledge and protected from the elements by a metal canopy or umbrella.
Comments (6)
Hi Maria, I enjoyed Annie's post on the Garden Wall Madonnas too... this is a really nice campo and I just love the beautiful color of the wall in the campo. And that is a very beautiful Madonna and baby Jesus. I found the history and background information on the Corte very interesting and enjoyed reading about it a lot.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful photos and more of your experiences to Venice last year. Have a great day today!
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | June 24, 2009 5:55 AM
Posted on June 24, 2009 05:55
Wonderful post! She is beautiful (and I love her little metal umbrella too). It's such a beautiful corte and I love the image on the well too. I enjoyed learning about the Holy Face of Lucca.
Happy Wednesday!
Posted by Annie | June 24, 2009 6:23 AM
Posted on June 24, 2009 06:23
Maria,
Great post! I love this wall Madonna, and the whole corte is so beautiful. Love the red wall and learning about the holy face.
Posted by candi | June 24, 2009 12:01 PM
Posted on June 24, 2009 12:01
Beautiful area. Was the wall in the corte an inspiration for your garden also?
Posted by Marta | June 24, 2009 12:37 PM
Posted on June 24, 2009 12:37
The contrasting wall colors compliment the statues. A lovely reminder of how special the city is.
Posted by Barb Cabot | June 24, 2009 9:28 PM
Posted on June 24, 2009 21:28
This is so cool read! I was blown away by the Volto Santo in Lucca when I saw it for the first time this summer. How interesting to read about a link in Venice! Thanks for posting this.
Posted by girasoli | August 8, 2009 11:21 PM
Posted on August 8, 2009 23:21