Conference:
In centro et oculis urbis nostrae. La chiesa e il monastero di San Zaccaria
Venice, 27 – 29 November 2014
Curated by Bernard Aikema, Massimo Mancini, Paola Modesti
The Studium Generale Marcianum is proud to present the symposium dedicated to the Church and Monastery of San Zaccaria in Venice. This is the fourth of a series of conferences related to the project “Chiese di Venezia. Nuove prospettive di ricerca” (The Churches of Venice. New Research Perspectives) aimed at studying some selected Venetian churches. During these conferences, groups of scholars participate to discussions and activities related to the churches and their history, exchanging comparative researches on different fields. The results of each symposium enhance new direction of research and are yearly published in a new series of volumes edited by Marcianum Press. The Benedictine Monastery of San Zaccaria, founded by the Doge of Venice before the church of St. Mark and close to the political and religious centre of the city, was one of the wealthiest Venetian ecclesiastical institutions. The art and architecture of the two fifteenth century paired churches, many aspects of the history of the monastery and the life and artistic patronage of the nuns have been the subject of several researches in the past. The goal of this conference is to integrate and update those contents with new contributions, to address some specific questions which have not been sufficiently investigated yet and to critically analise the events, issues and critical works from a comparative point of view. The focus of this study will be the life of the monastery during the period between the ninth and the sixteenth century: its wide and central urban “territory”; the construction phases of the ancient church; the architecture of the “new” church and monastery; the magnificent wooden choir of the nuns; the rituals, traditions and transformations of the two churches occurred between the fifteenth and seventeenth century and the seventeenth and eighteenth century decoration of the church with some paintings representing the splendor of the monastery.
The last session of the conference will be held in the church of San Zaccaria and in the former monastery (now headquarter of the Comando Provinciale dei Carabinieri) which will be open to the public for this special occasion.
Thanks to the presence and contribute of a group of respondent-guests, some key issues and problems regarding the art and architecture will be taken up and discussed in situ. The officer of the Sovrintendenza, together with some restorers, will illustrate the conservation interventions carried out recently or still going on. For a wider audience than that of the “insiders” a side event will be organized: the concert of the Reverendissime Gentildonne, during which music and readings will alternate in the church of San Moise.
The church and the monastery of San Zaccaria will be open to the public thanks to the contribution of the students of the degree course in Cultural Heritage of the Istituto Superiore di Scienze Religiose San Lorenzo Giustiniani, who will do some guided tours for the participants.
For the full conference programme, see:
http://www.marcianum.it/studi-ricerche/chiese-venezia/chiesa-e-monastero-san-zaccaria
Info:
http://www.marcianum.it
chiesedivenezia@marcianum.it
