Description of the attraction
Santa Maria dei Carmini, also known as Santa Maria del Carmelo or simply Carmini, is a small church in the Venetian quarter of Dorsoduro. She huddles next to the building of the former Scuola Grande di Santa Maria del Carmelo. This religious brotherhood was founded in 1597 and grew out of the women's charity "Pinzocquere dei Carmini". Members of the society were often classified as Carmelite because they were involved in the embroidery of monastic shoulder pads for the Carmelites.
Initially, the church was called Santa Maria Assunta, and the first mentions of it date back to the 14th century. The brick and marble façade contains the sculptural lunettes made by Giovanni Buora, and among the decorations you can see images of the prophets Elisha and Elijah, who are considered the founders of the Carmelite order. The bell tower, built by the architect Giuseppe Sardi, is crowned with the statue of Madonna del Carmine, made in 1982 by the sculptor Romano Vio. This statue is installed in the place of the original one, which was destroyed by a lightning strike.
The altar and side chapels of the church were rebuilt in 1507-14 by the project of the Swiss Sebastiano Mariani from Lugano. Inside you can see the grandiose monument to Jacopo Foscarini, the former procurator of San Marco and naval admiral. The Foscarini family palace is located opposite the church on the other side of the canal. The second altar is adorned with the adoration of the Magi by Chima da Conegliano. Among other works of art, it is worth noting paintings by Pase Pace and Giovanni Fontana, statues by Antonio Corradini and Giuseppe Torritti, bronze angels on the balustrade by Girolamo Campagni, a wooden pediment with carvings by Francesco Bernadoni and the Ark by Giovanni Scalfarotto. Also in the church you can see numerous frescoes and magnificent stucco work and admire the delightful altarpiece of Jacopo Tintoretto from the mid-16th century.
