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| Reclamation at Santa Fosca. |
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| Armorial as garden feature. |
In sixteenth century Venice there was an abundance of churches, scuole and palaces whose buildings' decorations were a sign of their presence in the city. The past has seen many of the emblems and crests detached from their original settings and placed elsewhere, perhaps decorating a garden or courtyard, or for sale in the stone reclamation yard at Santa Fosca.
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| Palazzo Malipiero |
Symbols of Power and Prestige
Approximately 1064 coats-of-arms decorate the walls of Venice - one of the most striking being the crest above the gothic portal of Palazzo Malipiero at Campo San Samuele.
The Malipiero emblem, a talon surmounted by a displayed bird's wing, makes reference to the eagle - a symbol of power and strength derived from ancient Rome.
Reading the Image
The bas-reliefon the facade of this building offers clues to past. The Maddona, under whose mantle the faithful gather, bears the symbol of Scuola Grande della Carità, indicating that the owner was a member of that confraternity. The coat-of-arms with its diagonal bar is that of the Barbarigo family.
Approximately 1064 coats-of-arms decorate the walls of Venice - one of the most striking being the crest above the gothic portal of Palazzo Malipiero at Campo San Samuele.
The Malipiero emblem, a talon surmounted by a displayed bird's wing, makes reference to the eagle - a symbol of power and strength derived from ancient Rome.
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| Palazzetto Barbarigo. |
The bas-reliefon the facade of this building offers clues to past. The Maddona, under whose mantle the faithful gather, bears the symbol of Scuola Grande della Carità, indicating that the owner was a member of that confraternity. The coat-of-arms with its diagonal bar is that of the Barbarigo family.
Blank Stemmi
Wealthier families employed stone carvers to recreate their family crest out of stone or marble to denote ownership of their property. In the event that a new owner moved into the building, the coat of arms would often be removed or carved off.
Freemasons in Venice
The Maddalena is usually associated with Freemasonry as a result of the masonic inscription above its entrance, sapientia aedificavit sibi domum (‘wisdom has built herself a home’). It is also worth recalling the site’s original use as early as 930 as both a monastery and a hospital, the first hospital in Venice. The church is a fair example of how buildings can be put to uses startlingly at odds with their original purpose. In the 2015 Biennale, for example, the artist Christoph Büchel converted the Maddalena into a mosque, an enterprise that had to be shut down by the local authorities.
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| Chiesa Santa Maria Maddalena |
