If you go to Venice, you'll probably want to visit the church Carmini.
This little spot hidden away in the heart of the city is a very popular spot.
However, few tourists visit the site.
Today, I'd like to tell you more about this exceptional place.
Carmini: article summary
The Carmini church: in brief
In the second half of the 1200s, a group of Carmelite friars arrived and settled in Venice.
The urban area on which the new Carmini convent complex was built was located at the end of Campo Santa Margherita.
The church was dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta. It was later named del Carmelo or dei Carmini. Construction seems to have begun in the 1280s, with a much smaller size and height than today.
Alterations and extensions were carried out much later, just at the end of the 17th century.
Around 1290, the building must have been able to accommodate religious functions, since the granting of a special indulgence by Pope Nicholas IV dates back to that year.
The general pattern was that common to all the churches of the so-called mendicant orders, where poverty and simplicity were to be the hallmarks of devotion. So don't expect to see important carvings on the outer structure. With simplicity the watchword, it was decided to leave the church's design as soft as possible.
What can you see inside the Carmini church?
The remaining elements of this building are the brick arches of the nave.
The interior has a basilica plan with three naves, Istrian stone columns and inverted basket capitals in the early Gothic style.
From 1507 onwards, major renovation work began, culminating in the construction of the radically alter the church's original appearance.
The three interventions were :
- construction of a new presbytery, featuring three polygonal apses
- Enlarging the height of the entire central nave and installing large windows have made the environment much brighter.
- The transformation of the facade from its original Gothic form to that of the Renaissance, characterized at the top by a central semicircular pediment and a quarter-circle crown on the sides.
An extension with apsidal chapels
The apsidal chapels were grafted onto the new transept space, extended by the presbytery in correspondence with the main nave, all in Renaissance style with multi-ordered pillars. from which the transept's large semicircular arches rise.
These construction operations were attributed to Giovanni di Antonio Buora, an architect and sculptor from Lugano. Buora was a disciple of Pietro Lombardo and remained active in Venice until his death in 1513.
The altars were rebuilt in the 1600s and decorated with valuable altarpieces such as the Adoration of the Magi by Cima da Conegliano (1509), San Nicolò with Angels by Lorenzo Lotto (1529) and the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple by Jacopo Tintoretto (1543).
The central apse with the high altar, built in 1663, features precious wooden stalls on walls decorated with the heads of saints. in bas-relief by Antonio Raffaelli (1668).
What are the opening hours of the Carmini church?
You can visit this magnificent church:
- April 1 to October 31: Monday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- November 1 to March 31: Monday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
How much does admission cost?
To visit this place, you must count :
- 5 euros per adult
- 4 euros for students under 18
The site is totally free for children under 6.
The church of Carmini is an interesting place to visit. During your trip to VeniceIf you've got a little time to spare after seeing the city's most important monuments, this is the place to go. You'll be able to discover interesting works and sculptures.
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