Santa Maria Della Salute 1999

Plans and Planning for S.
Maria della Salute, Venice

Author(s): Andrew Hopkins
Source: The Art Bulletin, Vol. 79, No. 3 (Sep., 1997), pp. 440-465
Published by: CAA
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3046261
Accessed: 10-12-2019 21:03 UTC
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms
CAA is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Art Bulletin
This content downloaded from 147.91.1.41 on Tue, 10 Dec 2019 21:03:31 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Plans and Planning for S. Maria della Salute, Venice
Andrew Hopkins
Three of the most important churches of the Italian Baroque In the case of the Salute they provide the clue to unde
were all designed in the 1630s. They are S. Maria della Salute ing the Senate's demand for changes to the original
(Figs. 1, 2), Venice (1631), by Baldassare Longhena (1598- for reasons of ceremonial function.
1682); SS. Martina and Luca, Rome (1634), by Pietro da

Cortona (1596-1669); and S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, The Commission
Rome (1637), by Francesco Borromini (1599-1667). This
article focuses on the earliest and least studied of these
In 1629 the plague, which had been spreading throug
northern Italy, reached Venice.' It lasted through the sum
churches, and its aims are twofold. The first is to analyze the
and showed no immediate signs of waning. The patria
original documents and new drawings, in order to correct the
Giovanni Tiepolo, ordered the display of the sacrament f
accumulation of myth and legend surrounding the church's
September 23 to 29 in the cathedral of Venice, S. Piet
commission and construction, particularly the measurements
Castello.2 On April 26, 1630, the patriarch again ordered
of the building. Between the initial vow and the beginning of
display of the sacrament, for a further twelve days begin
construction eight possible sites were examinedonand the
April 28, to be held successively in six Venetian churc
present one decided on. A competition for the design wasto the Virgin: S. Maria Maggiore, S. Maria
dedicated
held and eleven projects submitted, although only two wereS. Maria Formosa, S. Maria dei Miracoli, S. Ma
Giglio,
ever seriously considered. After Longhena's design was ac- (S. Lucia), and S. Maria della Celestia.3 In J
Annunziata
cepted there were proposals to change the site, but they
1630came
the Venetian Senate followed the patriarch's exam
to nothing. Longhena's design, however, was altered andto fit the
ordered the exposition of the sacrament in S. Marco
site and to suit the requirements of the patrons, as isthree
shown in continuously, together with processions in
days
two recently discovered autograph plans of the Salute. The was followed by further processions for three
piazza. This
second aim is to place the Salute in its historical context as a
to S. Rocco, and another three days to S. Pietro di Cast
church commissioned specifically to accommodate an annual
where supplication was made to the blessed Lorenzo Giust
ducal procession. Although the ceremonies that took place
ian (1381-1456), the first patriarch of Venice.4
before, during, and after the design was accepted determined
Following the patriarch's recourse to Mary, on October
its form, they have hitherto not been considered. Rudolf
1630, the Senate decided to commission a new church, to b
Wittkower dismissed Longhena's statement of the impor-
called S. Maria della Salute.5 It was dedicated to the Vi
tance of the ambulatory for processional purposes inwith
favortheofhope that she would intercede and save Venice f
considering it a device included to determine the beholder's
the plague, just as Christ had been invoked at the church
field of vision. This approach overlooks the impact theof cer-
Redentore, which was commissioned during the 1575
pestilence.
emony on architectural design. In contrast, this article utilizes The Senate also pledged to visit the new ch
the ceremonial books of the Venetian Republic, which were and on October 26, 1630, in order to affirm the
annually,
essentially manuals for the use of the relevant the Venetian
doge and Signoria attended a mass in S. Marco, which
followed
churches, and highlights their scope for architectural history.by a solemn religious procession.6 This was to b
This study is dedicated to the memory of Richard Krautheimer, with 4. STR, 103,
whom I fols. 192r-193r, June 22, 1630. See also BCV, Codice Cicogna
2043,
first discussed Longhena's large plan of S. Maria della Salute published fols. I118-21.
here;
am particularly indebted toJoseph Connors, who made the plan known 5. to
STR,me 104, fols. 363v-365r. The first published chronology of the commis-
and whose comments have been extremely useful. Thanks to Brucesion and construction of the Salute appeared in Flaminio Corner, Eccleszae
Boucher,
Paul Davies, John Newman, Juergen Schulz, and Joachim Strupp,venetae who antzquzs
read monumentzs nunc primum edztzs zllustratae ac zn decades dzstrzbutae,
the manuscript and suggested numerous important alterations. My 18 greatest
vols., Venice, 1749, vII, 1-79; and the most recent in Gemin, 175-262, which
debt is to Deborah Howard, who supervised my Ph.D. thesis, from which containsthisin 35 appendices most of the relevant documents surrounding the
article comes. Research was undertaken with the generous supportcommission
of Jamesof the Salute in 1630-31. Gemin makes almost no use of these
Fairfax A.O. and scholarships from the Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation, documents as a basis for any architectural analysis, but rather to pu
the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, and the British School at Rome. politicalFor reading of the event that is questionable and at any rate exagg
their hospitality in Venice, my thanks to Lorenza Savini and Randolph Gemin's transcriptions are accurate, except in the one instance of Long
Mickelson. first memorandum, 222-25, where part of the document is omitte
Unless otherwise indicated, translations are mine. chronology offered here is based on the original documentation, and a
1. Dates in the text have been converted from the Venetian calendar, which references are given in the first instance, with the most relevant pu
began on March 1, and given according to standard usage. Whenever feet (or reference in the second instance.
piedz in the documents) are referred to, they are Venetian. For the plague, see 6. State Ceremonial, 3, fol. 72v; Gemin, 181-82; Ceremonial of S. Marco 2,
Paolo Ulvioni, II Gran castigo dz Dzo: Carestza ed epzdemze a Venezza e nella terraferma fols. 138r-v, with a fair copy in ASV, Procuratia di San Marco de Supra, Ch
1628-1632, Milan, 1989. Registro 98, fols. 152r-v. The Signoria was the ducal council, which ceremon
2. BCV, Codice Cicogna 2583, fols. 37v-39v, published by Moore, 317 n. 65. I ally represented the government and presided over the main organs
wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to this important study of the musical government, headed by the doge and his six ducal councillors. The Senate w
repertoire for the festa della Salute. the central council of debate and decisions, consisting of about 140 mag
3. Archivio della Curia Patriarcale, Liber Actorum Giovanni Tiepolo, fols. trates. The Signoria and deputies were chosen from the Senate.
108v-109v; Moore, 318, n. 66.
PLANS AND PLANNING FOR S. MARIA DELLA SALUTE, VENICE 441
1 Baldassare Longhena, S. Maria della Salute, Venice, 1631-87, exterior view (photo: author)
442 ART BULLETIN SEPTEMBER 1997 VOLUME LXXIX NUMBER 3
2 Longhena, S. Maria della

Salute, rotunda interior
looking toward high altar
(photo: B6hm)
first of fifteen weekly processions held every Saturday, when new church on that day in 1631, although in the end the date
the Madonna Nikopeia, the most venerated icon of S. Marco had to be changed.9 The descriptions of the first ceremony on
and the republic's most precious image of the Madonna, October 26, 1630, refer to the Virgin's powers of intercession
would be carried around Piazza S. Marco (Fig. 3).' From the with her son to save the city from the plague.'0 In addition,
outset, the architectural commission was integrally linked to much of the iconography of the Virgin had relevance for
ceremonial activity in the governmental spaces of Venice. Venice. Part of the Office of the Virgin, the eighth-century
antiphon Ave Maris Stella represents Mary as the ocean's
The Dedication to the Virgin guide, a function of much importance for this seafaring
The doge and Senate asked the Virgin to intercede for them republic."1 Mary was associated with the moon, which symbol-
because she was one of the city's two patron saints and ized fertility, constancy, and hegemony over the tides, and the
because supplication to her was especially attractive in the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception was usually depicted
context of seventeenth-century Venice. Rather than dedicate suspended in the heavens, clothed with the sun, a crescent
the new church to one of several plague saints, such as moon under her feet, and with a crown of twelve stars upon
Sebastian or Roch, who had little significance for the state,
her head (Revelation 12:1). As such the Virgin is represented
right from the outset the dedication of the Salute was on the dome of the Salute, offering visible protection to this
intended to focus Venetian devotion to the Madonna in a maritime republic from her position overlooking the Dogana
single monument built by the republic.8 According delto
Mare (customhouse), the symbol of Venetian commerce.
chronicles of the city, in the year 421 Venice had beenState devotion to the Virgin, which steadily increased
founded on March 25, the feast of the Annunciation to the during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, focused on
Virgin, which celebrated Christ's conception. The commission- the celebrated icon of the Madonna Nikopeia, which Vene-
ing vow specifically mentioned the birth of the city, and it tians believed could influence the fortune of their city.12
prompted the decision to lay the foundation stone for the Devotion to the Nikopeia increased dramatically in the 1620s
7. State Ceremonial, 3, fols. 71v-72r; BCV, Codice Cicogna 2711 (Proces- 10. STR, 104, fols. 363v-365r; Gemin, 175-76; State Ceremonial, 3, fol. 72v;
sioni della Beata Vergine fatte in San Marco), fols. 99r-100v, Oct. 25, 1630; Gemin, 181-82; Ceremonial of S. Marco 2, fols. 138r-v.
Moore, 313 n. 52. 11. Marina Warner, Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin
8. Literature on the Virgin Mary is extensive. I list here in the Venetian Mary, London, 1976, 256, 261-62, 268. For the text of the antiphon, see Anna
context just David Rosand, " 'Venezia figurata': The Iconography of a Myth," Jameson, Legends of the Madonna, 2d ed., London, n.d., 465.
in Interpretazioni veneziane: Studi di storia dell'arte in onore di Michelangelo Muraro, 12. For a good discussion of the Nikopeia, see William Barcham, Giambat-
Venice, 1984, 177-96; Silvio Tramontin, ed., Culto dei santi a Venezia, Venice, tista Tiepolo: Piety and Tradition in Eighteenth-Century Venice, Oxford, 1989, 104-9.
1965, 78-80. See also Rona Goffen, "Icon and Vision: Giovanni Bellini's Half-Length
9. STR, 104, fols. 363v-365r; Gemin, 175-76; State Ceremonial, 3, fol. 72v; Madonnas," Art Bulletin, LVIII, no. 4, 1975, 487-518, esp. 508-9.
Gemin, 181-82; STR, 104, fols. 598r-599r.
3 Tomaso Contin, altar of the Nikopeia, 1617, with the 4 Longhena and Giusto le Court, high altar, ca. 1670, with the
Madonna Nikopeia (Byzantine). S. Marco, Venice (photo: Madonna di S. Tito. S. Maria della Salute (photo: B6hm)
author)
after the procurators and the primicerio of S. Marco-presented the opportunity to dedicate a new church to the
Giovanni Tiepolo, who subsequently became patriarch ofsecond main figure of Counter-Reformation devotion. The
Venice (1619-31)-decided in 1617 to rehouse the icon new state church became inextricably linked to existing
previously held in the treasury, in a prestigious new altar built governmental devotion to the Virgin because the Madonna
in the northeastern chapel of S. Marco.13 Although rehousing Nikopeia was carried from S. Marco to the Salute in proces-
the Nikopeia provided the state with an important locus for sion each year and worshiped on the high altar at both sites by
worship of the Madonna in S. Marco, apart from S. Maria the doge, Signoria, and Senate on the annual feast day.'5 By
Formosa, there was still no significant church with a tangible the time the Salute was completed it had become the primary
presence in the city that was dedicated to the Virgin and church of the Virgin in Venice, who had become a tangible
associated with the government.14 The major state-commis-presence there with the installation of another important
sioned church of the sixteenth century, the Redentore of icon, the Madonna di S. Tito, in the splendid high altar
1576, was dedicated to Christ the Redeemer; the 1630 plague designed by Longhena and built by Giusto le Court (Fig. 4).16
13. Giovanni Tiepolo, Trattato dell'immagine della gloriosa Vergine dipinta di San of the increasing devotion to the Virgin, in 1613 the doge and Signoria vowed
Luca, Venice, 1618; Moore, 304; Rona Goffen, Piety and Patronage in Renaissance to visit annually the church of S. Maria delle Vergini, but this was neither a
Venice, New Haven, 1986, 142. For the execution of the altar by Tomaso Contin, state church nor in the center of the city. For the visit to the Vergini, see BMV,
see Elena Bassi, Architettura del sei e settecento a Venezia (Naples, 1962) Venice, MS It. Cl. VII 1639 = 7540, fols. 9r-10r.
1980, 67. 15. The importance of icons such as the Nikopeia has been studied, in the
14. Edward Muir, Civic Ritual in Renaissance Venice, Princeton, 1981, 135-56, Florentine context, by Richard Trexler, "Florentine Religious Experience:
pointed out the importance of the doge's annual visit to S. Maria Formosa. The Sacred Image," Studies in the Renaissance, xIx, 1972, 7-41; repr. in Trexler,
There is, however, a considerable difference between this parish church visited Church and Community 1200-1600, Rome, 1987, 37-74, esp. 55-56, 47.
once a year and the state-financed and -built Salute, which was visited once 16. Venezia e la peste 1348-1797, Venice, 1979, 277-78.
annually but was in reality a permanent state monument to the Virgin. As part
Ile
Qg~~';?~b~t~" y~
P.'
&UWA" pod mm
L 0p
it ~ ~ ~ IAjL~'~lP~(hX".~Ybr i~\8
,? ~~I~-t ~ ~ ~ ~l~a ?.a~~ B~3t~~ s~PAL-
CAI
PA6- L
r\O 6P
C.10 LARC
8 Mor
muma cr
yak*..
4z allow(C~?)4~~` L~~
4VLM AAU
p A& d C. ce"Ift,,~lll~ ~S;
,,-
Al- ,?p ?~jC A
'J MO~
Cam %5i~~u :
2~?' ~; s p If LOO 9 C P
4, %ALL
Fl ;r?~l bJp
CP
016 s
3C':2 4 . .
\ c c "m a WOO*?.
It,
filtoa ?? pl~1ILhl F~~~P s~6~;~l.,~"U I~3~ ~~~ (~~' !~U Cr~~Y ~ ~ ~ ~ '
om~o;~ 5~~g~il~j~*6~~ L~:::-;F~PO) OVONK
5 Map of Venice with possible sites for

the new church of S. Maria della Salute
marked
The Choice and Significance of the Site petition from the owners of land there.19 This site would ha
On October 26, coinciding with the first commemorative necessitated the purchase of the adjacent house of t
mass in S. Marco and procession around the piazza, threeMocenigo and would have resulted in too many church
Venetian nobles, Zuanne Marco Molin, Piero Bondumier, and
situated close together. The fourth site was next to th
Simon Contarini were elected to act as deputies overseeing
Hospital of the Mendicanti at SS. Giovanni and Paolo and
the commission for the Senate, to supervise the choice of site from the narrowness of the entrance to the site
apart
and the construction of the new building."7 On November 7,
presented no difficulties. A fifth site in Cannaregio was a litt
they reported on the eight sites under consideration fornarrow
the but otherwise suitable, except that it was considere
new church (Fig. 5).18 The first was near the Hospital oftoothefar from the center of the city, as was also, presumably, th
Incurabili at S. Agnese, but the site was not large enough site
for ajust mentioned at SS. Giovanni and Paolo.20 A sixth site
magnificent and ample church. The second site was that ofS. Simeone Grande near S. Lucia was much too narrow,
near
the CA del Duca, which was large enough, although it hadas an
was a seventh site on the Zattere near the church of the
inconvenient land entrance, a problem expensive to rectify.
Spirito Santo. The eighth and final site was adjacent to t
The third location was on the Giudecca between the Zitelle
church of the Santissima Trinitai to the west of the Dogana d
and S. Giorgio Maggiore, for which the deputies received
Marea (Figs. 6, 7). This last site presented the possibility
C.%NAL. 41~
SL". "NIA~v n D LA 9V~~1--A
A ri /4
AeAvlA De ;r
sc vor
uc r
C"LL. CAh
IC~CICL ho
L. PNT
A"CE
DE L TO NIT
16 0-1rMi)(A OVMNI
6 Jacopo de' Barbari, Bird's-eye View of Venice, 1500, showing a 7 Plan of S.ma Trinita site and Punta della D
detail of S.ma Trinita site and the Dogana del Mare (photo: Piva, II Tempio della Salute, p. 24)
author)
obtaining a spectacular building, located as it was in the sestiere his demands for financial recompense for th
(district) of Dorsoduro, on a thin strip of land, with the Grand and buildings.23 On December 3, despite ano
Canal to the north and the Giudecca Canal to the south. No patriarch, the Senate resolved that the ch
Trinita, officiated by the religious order of
other place offered such possibilities for a highly visible
would stay but that the buildings of the sem
monument that could interact visually with the ducal church
of S. Marco, Andrea Palladio's S. Giorgio Maggiore, and demolished.24
the That same day the preparat
votive church of the Redentore, which had been invoked in were begun and the Senate asked the deputie
the commission for the new church. The Senate undoubtedly Venetian ambassadors in Florence and Ro
wanted to procure the best location for its project, and it was advice about possible architects and sculpt
this last site that was recommended by the three deputies as taining a large piece of white marble with whic
the most suitable because of its spaciousness and location. of the Madonna sculpted.25 On December
Although the site was not vacant, the buildings there were was taken to demolish the Scuola della S.ma
very old. On November 23, 1630, this site was chosen by the to the Grand Canal and relocate it next to the church itself;
Senate.21 onJanuary 2, 1631, the area of the site available for the Salute
The decision to erect the new church there had implica- was remeasured, and the work of clearing it began.26
tions for those buildings and their occupants. Objections On January 8, 1631, final agreement was reached between
were immediately raised by the patriarch, who wrote to the the Senate and the patriarch, who had to approve the project
Senate because the site was owned by the patriarchate and before it could go ahead.27 On February 26, 1631, Frai
housed its seminary.22 On November 23, the Senate directed Fulgenzio, the state theologian, noted that although assigning
the deputies to come to an agreement with the patriarch, the duty of officiating the new church was normally done
who, when summoned to the Senate on November 25, 1630, when a building was commissioned, in this case the doge and
noted the dissatisfaction of his superiors in Rome at the Senate had not done so. This situation was extremely unusual
Senate's current interference. On December 1, the deputies although, it seems, not actually illegal, and may have been
discussed the problem of relocating the seminary and issues planned in order to avoid the problems encountered at the
such as rental values, but ultimately they simply overruled the Redentore, where the Capuchins had complained about the
patriarch's demands, recognizing only the legal necessity of luxuriousness of the new building paid for by the Senate but
17. State Ceremonial, 3, fol. 71v, with the later addition on April 26, 1631, of 2, 1631, SDR, 60, Letter 3, fols. lr-v. The width of the site at the Grand Canal,
Girolamo Cornaro and Paolo Morosini. Giambattista Gallicciolli, Delle memorie from the eastern corner of the Scoletta to the Rio of San Gregorio, measured
venete antiche profane ed ecclesiastiche raccolte, 8 vols., Venice, 1795, II, 231, 184 feet. The width where the facade would be, from the corner of the church
mistakenly lists Simon Contarini, Girolamo Soranzo, and Marco da Molin. of the Trinitk to the Rio of San Gregorio, was 160 feet. The area of the whole
18. SDR, 60, Letter 2, fols. 3r-4v; Gemin, 187-90. terrain, where the main body of the church would be located, from the Rio of
19. SDR, 60, Letter 2, fol. 6r, undated; Gemin, 191. San Gregorio to the garden of the Somascans, was 202 feet. The length along
20. SDR, 60, Letter 2, fols. 3r-4v; Gemin, 189. the Rio of San Gregorio, beginning from the corner at the Grand Canal and
21. SDR, 60, Letter 2, fols. lr-2r; State Ceremonial, 3, fol. 73r. going in a straight line to the corner of the Calle of the Catecumeni, was 250
22. SDR, 60, Letter 2, fol. 9r, Nov. 8, 1630. feet. The length of the whole terrain in the middle, where the church would
23. Ibid., fols. lr-2r; ASV, Collegio Esposizioni Roma, Filza 24, fol. 355, Nov. be located, beginning at the Grand Canal and going to the Calle of the
25, 1630; Gemin, 53 n. 4; SDR, 60, Letter 1, fols. 9r-11r; Gemin, 194-96. Catecumeni, was 235, of which 40 was taken away for the campo (square),
24. SDR, 60, Letter 1, fols. 7r-8r, 15r-16v, Dec. 3, 1630; Gemin, 197-201. leaving for the Salute 195 feet. SDR, 60, Letter 3, fols. 11r-15v; Gemin, 208-11.
25. SDR, 60, Letter 1, fol. Ir, Dec. 3, 1630; Letter 1, fol. 3r, Dec. 3, 1630; 27. STF, 321, STR, 104; Gemin, 213-14. See also CIJ, 410, Jan. 27, 1631,
Letter 1, fol. 5r, Dec. 3, 1630. Fascicolo: "Instrumento di concessione del Seminario Patriarcal di tutto il
26. SDR, 60, Letter 3, fols. 3r-5v, 10r, Dec. 23, 1630; Gemin, 202-7; SDR, 60, luogo vicino alla chiesa della Santissima TrinitA per adempimento
Letter 3, fols. 13r-v. All the previous decisions were then reconfirmed on Jan. fabrica della nuova chiesa della Salute."
officiated by them.28 By not assigning the new church to any of the city suppressed in favor of a state monument and a local
religious order until it was built, the Senate as patron could religious order. Not surprisingly, concurrent with the vote to
obtain a building designed to suit its requirements and taste commission the Salute, the Senate voted to reactivate proceed-
without interference. ings for the canonization of Venice's first patriarch, Lorenzo
Much has been made about the significance of the govern- Giustinian; it also instigated an annual procession to his tomb
ment's choice of the S.ma Trinitat site. It has been linked to and founded a confraternity in his name.34
the political aims of Doge Nicol6 Contarini and the SarpianThe foundation stone for the new church was not laid on
faction of the Venetian government, as well as to the expul- March 25, 1631, because of inclement weather and because
sion of the Jesuits from Venice between the interdict of 1606Doge Nicol6 Contarini was too ill to participate. The post-
and their return in 1657.29 Rather than Sarpian politics, theponed ceremony took place on the octave of the feast, April
most significant issue was the struggle between the patriarch,
1.35 A temporary church was constructed on this occasion, but
who was prevented from maintaining a significant presence again
in Doge Contarini did not participate, and Giulio Conta-
the center of the city, and the government, which consoli-rini, the vice doge, took his place.36 On April 2, Contarini
dated its presence there. The whole debate over the site alsodied, but his vision of a great Venetian state church would
reflects a Venetian preference for local rather than Romansurvive him.37
religious orders. Choosing the site adjacent to the church at
which the Somascans already officiated must be seen as
The Competition
favoring them as custodians of the Salute; it also allowed the A competition was announced for the design of the new
building, probably during December 1630, and there must
Senate to tweak the nose of the patriarch, as it were, by taking
control of the site for its own ends.30 The Somascan Order was have been an original brief, as the later report by the deputies
founded by Saint Girolamo Miani in 1532 at Somasca, nearlisting their criteria makes clear.38 The competition was open
Bergamo. Miani (d. 1537) was a Venetian noble, hence histo anyone. The deputies had not decided that the designer
significance for the Serenissima (Venetian government) as a must be a Venetian or living in Venice. On the contrary, in
local, rather than Roman figure, and the Somascans fulfilled their report of November 7, 1630, they had recommended
in Venice the role of educators, held by the Jesuits in the restwriting to Rome and elsewhere as they doubted that there
of Italy, through their role as teachers both in the seminary were any good Venetian architects: "To Your Serenity finally
and the college they established.31 we should like humbly to note, that it would be good to make
Siting the new state church next to that of the Somascans use of some excellent architect at Rome, or elsewhere if you so
enabled the doge and Senate effectively to downplay the think, to formulate a design and [guide] the construction of
significance of what had been the Jesuits' church, later known the Church, because here, we imagine, to be badly pro-
as S. Maria dell'Umilta, located just behind the church of the vided."'39 On December 28, 1630, there had been a response
Trinita, where they had also opened a school.32 This move to from the Venetian ambassador to Florence asking the particu-
exclude them from the center of the city and a vital role in thelars of the church and what was required.40 Whether any
city's life was reinforced on their return to Venice in JanuaryFlorentines eventually submitted a design is not recorded.
1657. The Jesuits' power remained limited because their During April 1631 the competition came to an end, by
teaching role was performed by the Somascans. The church which time eleven projects had been submitted.41 Only two
of the Umilta was never reassigned to the Jesuits and in 1656 projects were significant enough to be considered further.
the Salute had officially been given to the Somascans to One was by Baldassare Longhena, the eventual winner, and
officiate.33 Thus, the Somascans were favored at the expense the other by the Venetian architect Fracao, whose real name
of the Jesuits, and the Patriarch's presence in the visible heart was Antonio Smeraldi, with Zambattista Rubertini assisting
28. CIJ, Filza 43, fols. 380ff.; Gemin, 177-79; ASV, Dispacci Roma, Filza 12, centenano dalla nascita, Venice, 1986, 55-58. Also see Bianca Betto, Le nove
591, quoted by Wladimir Timofiewitsch, The Chiesa del Redentore, University congregazioni del clero di Venezia (secoli XI-XIV), Padua, 1984.
Park, Pa., 1971, 30, 50 n. 47. Discussed in Howard Burns et al., Andrea Palladio 32. Silvio Tramontin, "Le nuove congregazioni religiose," in La Chtesa dz
1508-1580: The Portico and the Farmyard, London, 1975, 143-45. Venezia tra riforma protestante e riforma cattolica, ed. Giuseppe Gullino, Venice,
29. This theme was first proposed by Michelangelo Muraro, "I1 Tempio 1990, 97. For the Jesuit presence in Venice, see Mario Zanardi, "I 'domicilia' o
Votivo di Santa Maria della Salute in un poemo del seicento," Ateneo Veneto, xI, centri operativi della Compagnia di Gesi nello stato veneto (1542-1773)," in I
1973, 87-119, esp. 96ff., 108ff.; and reelaborated in extremzs by Gemin, based Gesuizt e Venezza: Momenti e problemi di storia veneziana della Compagnia dz Gesii,
on Gaetano Cozzi, Paolo Sarpi tra Venezza e l'Europa, Turin, 1979; idem, II Doge Padua, 1994, 89-179.
Nzcol6 Contanni: Richerche sul patnzzato veneziano agli inizz del seicento, Venice, 33. Bruno Bertoli, ed., La Chiesa dz Venezia nel seicento, Venice, 1992, 299. The
1958, 93-147, repr. in Venezza Barocca: Conflittz di uomini e idee nella crisi del Jesuits were assigned the convent of the Crociferi, far from the center of the
sezcento venezzano, Venice, 1995. It ought to be noted that the apparent polarity
city on the Fondamenta Nuova, at the high price of 50,000 ducats, where the
between the glovani and the vecchi on which much of Gemin's argument is
church of the Gesuiti is still located. See also Giustinian Martinioni, Venetza
based has been modified by the recent scholarship that provides a much more
Cztti Nobilisszma et Singolare, descntta dal Sansovino con nove e copiose aggzunte dz D.
complex view of the period: James Grubb, "When Myths Lose Power: Four
Gzustinian Martinioni, Venice, 1663, 742-43.
Decades of Venetian Historiography," Journal of Modern Hzstory, LVIII, 1986,
43-94; and Manfredo Tafuri, Venice and the Renaissance, trans. Jessica Levine, 34. STR, 103, fols. 261v-262v, Aug. 5, 1630, records the upgrading of the
feast day of Giustinian, which was then decreed on Jan. 2, 1631; STF, 318, Oct.
Cambridge, Mass., 1985, 161-96.
30. The Somascans were officiating at the Salute, probably meaning the 22, 1630; Gemin, 180; STR, 104, fol. 513v, Jan. 2, 1631. See also Silvio
Tramontin, ed., Venezza e Lorenzo Giustiniani, Venice, 1983.
annual ceremony, by 1636, as noted in the report on the state of the Salute and
its officiation, STF, 632, Dec. 29, 1656, [Aug. 19, 1656]; Gemin, 260-61. 35. State Ceremonial, 3, fols. 78v-79r. See also below, n. 36, and BCV, Codice
31. Giovanni Bonacina, "I Somaschi a Venezia," and Antonio Niero, "Per Cicogna 2711 (Processioni della Beata Vergine fatte in San Marco), fols.
l'iconografia veneziana di San Girolamo Miani," in San Gzrolamo Mzani nel V? 131r-132r. The various inscriptions on the foundation stones were recorded in
centenano della nasczta, Venice, 1989, 78-100, 101-21; Antonio Niero, "Le CIJ, 410; Gemin, 218-21.
scuole dei Somaschi a Venezia," in San Gzrolamo Mzani e Venezza: Nel V? 36. His absence was noted in the Ceremonial of S. Marco 2, fols. 5r-7r. The
PLANS AND PLANNING FOR S MARIA DELLA SALUTE, VENICE 447
him. The projects rejected outright were by Alessandro separate the people during the main feast days."" This may
Varotari, called II Padovanino, Matteo Ingoli, Bortolo Belli, not have been a specific criterion, as Fracao, basing his own
and others whose identities and projects remain unknown. design on that of the Redentore, presumably included only
Two of these rejected projects are of some interest for the one door; however, Longhena and Belli may have considered
light they shed on architectural thought and design circa the fact that Palladio's Redentore, with only one door,
1630.
suffered traffic problems moving people in and out of the
The written description of the project by Belli has beenbuilding during the procession each year. It ought to be
published.42 It was to have been much like Palladio's Reden- remembered that the temporary church erected for the first
tore (Fig. 22). Although there is no extant design of theannual procession on November 21, 1631, had three doors on
proposed church, and the estimate Belli submitted is rather the main facade.45
sketchy in details, some useful information can be gleaned A second documented project was presented by Alessandro
from the memorandum. It was to have been a longitudinal Varotari, called Il Padovanino, who also executed a painting
church with a single nave, succeeded by a sanctuary spaceshowing the Virgin and Child with a model church, which
with a central cupola constructed of wood, the main altar
served as the main altarpiece of the Salute until Giusto le
located directly under it. This space was to be flanked by two
Court's sculpture replaced it in the 1670s (Fig. 8).46 While the
choirs, or apsidal spaces like transepts, similar to those at the
painting represents what may be Padovanino's earliest project,
Redentore, in which the doge and Signoria were to sit during
or merely a depiction of a generic church type, the design he
the mass. Behind the high altar was projected a third choir, or
submitted for consideration to the Senate was notably differ-
apsidal space, for the monks, and opening onto this space was
ent (Fig. 9). It consisted of two superimposed equilateral
the sacristy. The whole church was to be raised on a high
triangles and three circles appended to the points of one of
stylobate, as indicated by the presence of stairs leading up to
the main entrance from the riva of the Grand Canal. A few the triangles. As Padovanino explained to the Senate in his
memorandum:
points of interest can be extracted from Belli's description
that bear relation to Longhena's design because, presumably,
I, Alessandro Varotari your very devoted subject
Belli, like all the other entrants, was responding to the brief
given for the competition. The main points to note are the citizen, [propose] the figure of a new Temple, n
before
inclusion of apsidal spaces like transepts modeled on Palla- imagined. ... In order to separate myself there
dio's Redentore design for the sanctuary arrangement that from the ordinary things ... I thought to resort t
housed the Signoria.43 Longhena, as will be seen, did not triangular, or rather to the double triangular, upon w
based the whole construction of this church.
include this design feature in his original proposal but did so
in the church as it was built, in order to conform with a I propose therefore an equilateral triangle, the angles of
request by the deputies after his design had been chosen. which must be the middle of three chapels beneath their
Second, Belli's project included a stairwell between the three domes; as [indicated by] a. b. c.; I propose then the
sacristy and the side chapels, as did Longhena's design. This three points d. e. f. which must be respectively the atria,
was a feature assimilated from Palladio's Redentore design and doors of the said church ... from the crossing of these
and had a practical function in conveying the priest with the two triangles results the hexagon g., which is beneath the
host to the side altars on the feast day when there were many principal dome, and this is the foundation of my idea; and
people in the building. Third, it ought to be noted that Belli because one could see from the design of the plan each
included a side door and staircase in his design proposal, and measurement of the heights and of the widths, I won'
Longhena included two smaller side doors, as he explains, "to therefore enlarge upon this here; recording only that
vice doge was traditionally the "Consilier di maggior eta," or oldest councillor;
Rome was the center of artistic patronage at this time, Cortona, Borromin
Gemin, 215-17. and Bernini had yet to accomplish any major architectural works.
37. State Ceremonial, 3, fol. 79r, [April 2, 1631]. 40. CIJ, 410, Dec. 28, 1630, andJanuary 25, 1631; Gemin, 192-93.
38. STF, 326, fols 2r-6r, June 13, 1631; Gemin, 243-46. Rudolf Wittkower 41. Longhena himself referred to "undeci modelli," STF, 326, fols. llr
was the first person to investigate the significance of the competition, and his 13, 1631, [undated, but date known]; Gemin, 240, 243.
June
examination of the Salute remains the single significant discussion of the
42. CIJ, 410. First published by Antonio Niero, "Un progetto sconosciu
architecture of the building: "S. Maria della Salute: Scenographic Architec-
per la Basilica della Salute e questioni iconografiche," Arte Veneta, xxvi, 197
ture and the Venetian Baroque," Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians,
245-49.
xvi, 1957, 3-10. This was his most useful contribution to the subject because he
43. Niero (as in n. 42), 248: "due cori della Serenissima Signoria" (tw
carefully analyzed the interior and exterior of the building, setting out the
choirs of the Serenissima Signoria).
significance of the architectural vocabulary and expounding the architectural
44. STF, 326, fols. 12r-v, June 13, 1631: "per s[e]perar li popoli nel tempo
meaning of the Salute for the first time. His later work on the subject, of 1963,
della festa"; Gemin, 224. For the importance of two lateral doors for
Wittkower, 33-54, is fundamentally flawed because it relied on the inaccurate
processional purposes, see Paul Davies, "The Madonna delle Carceri in Prat
and partial transcription of documents contained in Francesco Fapanni's
and Italian Renaissance Pilgrimage Architecture," Architectural History, xxxvi
manuscript, BMV, Ms It. Cl. VII 2284 = 9464, and the documents published
1993, 13-14.
inaccurately by Giovanni Antonio Moschini, La chiesa e il semznaro dz S. Maria
45. "Haveva detta Chiesa nella facciata tre porte," Ginammi.
della Salute in Venezza, Venice, 1842; and Vittorio Piva, Il tempro della Salute eretto
46. Padovanino painted this work for the temporary wooden altar con-
per voto de la repubblzca veneta XXVI-X-MDCXXX, Venice, 1930. Other errors have
structed for the laying of the foundation stone of the new votive church on
been noted in reviews by Elena Bassi, "Una domanda a Rudolf Wittkower,"
Critica d'arte, LXII, 1964, 3-7; and Schulz, 458-59. The errors of measurement
Apr. 1, 1631. Marco Boschini, Le minere della pittura, Venice, 1664, 349; Susanna
and chronology in Wittkower are presented below in the Appendix following Biadene, "I projetti per la basilica della Salute," in Le Venezze possibilz: Da
the correct measurements. Palladio a Le Corbuszer, ed. Lionello Puppi and Giandomenico Romanelli,
Milan, 1985, 91-93; and Ugo Ruggeri, "Alessandro Varotari detto il Pado-
39. SDR, 60, Letter 2, fols. 3r-4v, [Nov. 7, 1630]; Gemin, 190. The feeling
that they ought to look elsewhere was perhaps unnecessary, for although
vanino," Saggi e memorie di storia dell'arte, xvi, 1988, 130-31.
Padovanino's submission was little more than a fanciful
project, in that it was not accompanied by a detailed

of the building materials required or their cost, cont
completely with Longhena's project. It was proba
considered seriously because of its abstract nature an
correspondence to the physical conditions of the site.
particularly fascinating about the design is its gen
through the "propagation" of two triangles and the us
geometric figures of the circle and the triangle. Pado
motive for choosing the triangle was a concetto that a
the Trinity with the site because of the existence ther
church of the S.ma Trinitai. Certainly the abstract n
the design gives the impression that the plan was gen
from the formal idea of the triangle. By contrast wi
approach, which assumes that the size of the building
be expanded or contracted at will with no thought gi
structural considerations, was an experienced arc
manipulation of the same geometrical figures, for ex
Borromini's use of the triangle and circle to generate t
of S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane a few years later
Strikingly similar in concept, it is completely diff
terms of the structural reality of the building pr
Likewise, asJoseph Connors has recently demonstrate
Borromini came to design S. Ivo alla Sapienza in th
1640s, he rigorously used the triangular form as a tem
establish the size of the ground plan of the church. T
motif, however, was in no way used to generate the
was rather an attractive image added later to the prese
drawing as a visual ploy to attract the patron. Th
enormous gap between Padovanino's abstract idea and
mini's architectural design process and execution
same distinction holds true for Longhena's Salute des
Of the two designs significant enough to be ex
further, the first to be presented to the Senate, on A
8 II Padovanino, The Virgin and Child with a Model for the Church 1631, was by Baldassare Longhena, whose model was o
of the Salute Held Aloft by Angels, 1630. Venice, S. Maria della
Salute (photo: B6hm)
t9~
although the hexagon g. has the diameter of 72 feet, it ?c~
could nonetheless be enlarged, and diminished to the
d,
6(
proportion of the site and the land without the need to
alter the form, which in every amount will always maintain
the same magnificence. Having said I had as a base the
triangle, it is because I directed all the things to this trinity, f
and constituting it in a way that has a certain and evident
''
propagation of one triangle with the other, for three are e

the chapels, three are the doors, and atria, three are the
[pipe] organs, and three the eyes in the sides above the
a
hexagon; all of which propagating themselves prospec-
tively together make it such that entering through any
door one [sees] into the opposite chapel, which has an
organ equally distant on either of the sides, and opposite
the organ respectively a door and a chapel equally distant 4 c
on either of the sides. The chapel opposite the facade will
have the [?] of the two large niches [apses], in which the
seat for Your Serenity could be erected, and the seats for
f
the Sublime Senate; the orders on the facade could be
altered, so that they are not so meager, as up until now I
didn't find another thing at hand.47 9 Il Padovanino, project for S. Maria della Salute. CIJ, 410
in the Sala dei Pregadi of the Ducal Palace.49 Longhena's

memorandum included the measurements and expenses for
the Salute. A hypothetical reconstruction of the original plan
based on the measurements Longhena quoted, together with 37
others that have been deduced, is presented here (Fig. 10).

The design included a monastery to house sixty conventuals
to be located at the southeast of the site, behind the church of
so
the S.ma Triniti, but Longhena did not furnish further

information about the length or width of the building, so no
reconstruction can be made with precision. The existing
Scuola della S.ma TrinitA in the center, adjacent to the Grand
Canal, was to be demolished and rebuilt at the west of the site. *
TRIN#TA
*
SCUOLA
The new building was to be 32 feet square, with a small
cemetery behind it and a flight of stairs that would lead to the
traditional albergo on the first floor. It was to be set back 43 feet
from the Grand Canal, placed adjacent to the Rio of S.
Gregorio. It was designed to complement the existing church
10 Andr
of the S.ma Trinitat at the east, so that the new votive church
first pro
would be flanked by buildings that together would channel
the view of those people approaching the Salute onto the
principal facade of the church.50
The church facade was also to have been set back 43 feet
from the Grand Canal. It probably was to have had threeThe me

ramps of stairs, with thirteen steps for each, leading up to the
second
landing before the three entrances to the building. Longh- ments g
ena's design proposed a rotunda, an octagonal central spacebut rea
surmounted by a large drum and dome and surrounded by an the Sal
ambulatory. Opening off the octagonal ambulatory were about t
eight subsidiary spaces: six chapels, the entrance, and thesome fi
sanctuary, including the monk's choir. The sanctuary, culmi-ing the
nating in the high altar flanked by two pairs of freestanding
were gi
columns, was to be lit by mezze lune, or "thermal" windows,overall
indicating that a straight-walled rather than a curved-walled
the wal
space was intended.51 This makes the original sanctuary the orig
design very similar to that of S. Giorgio Maggiore, where a propos
square sanctuary, containing the high altar preceding pairs arithm
of
freestanding columns, is lit by thermal windows (Figs. 11, 12).
project
It must be remembered that at this time, straight-walled the kn
choirs were the norm, and that it was Palladio's apsidal Wittkow
sanctuary at the Redentore that was anomalous; there was no
feet do
reason for Longhena to copy Palladio in his Salute design. ambulat
47. CIJ, 410, unda

santuario
pittore designed
Alessandro V
Vicenza, 1904. Disc
Palladio's
48. I am indebted
ovoid, somt
Architectural
were Hzsto
plac
Sapienza: The
also First
simila
Hzstorians,
a LV, 19
slightly
paper presented
wall; at
see
Apr. 20, 1996, for
Carmelita
relationship betwe
Although
concetto. The
drum,earlie
it
49. Gemin, 240.
because Foi
and other aspects
Panoramic
"Longhena before
1970, 73,S
Archztectural
for Histor
all, th
50. STF, Campagn
326, fols. 1
1631, Sanmich
[Apr. 13, 163
nella mezaria tra
thinking la
A retta linea
from di the
ess
51. STF, 326, fols.
request of 1
[April 13,52.1631];
STF, 3
noteworthy [April
that,13 f
13, 1631, [April 13
,x . r4 ......... t
:ii ~i~llk T:"?i"":;.

Ui *
?Is ,s I
*
. . . ..
*,.li.,S
it + . + . . .. p.
? ? f ' + + . .
11 Andrea Palladio,
12 S. Giorgioof
Workshop M
Cicognara et al., 1580,
Lefabbriche,
detail ph
of lo
fabbriche, photo
12 feet for the a very closeagre

ambulatory app
by Longhena himself
1 to 2 for
to 1the ov
acros
The hypothetical reconstruct
traditional basil
an alternative plan
and based
pier group,
on th
original pier,
memorandums, ambulator
the de
mation that are
can becorrect,
gainedthis
fro
Wittkower and
as discussed
originally bel
sta
rotunda was 60 comprises
feet wide, a
thefac
p
12 feet wide, and the
feet chapels,
from the ai
feet wide, being the
and 3 10 interio
additional
feet for the original
exterior measur
wall. This
chapels and the were conceived
ambulatory of
53. Wittkower, 46-47,Crowned fig. 5. MadonnaThe deput

2r-6r, June 13, 1631, 56. "con STF, la 326, sola fols. dist 1
dodeci in circa esso 240-42.
corridor" (with the
around [circa] twelve 57. Marvinfeet
Trachtenberg, "Some[for Observations this co
on Recent Architectur
54. Longhena described
History," Art Bulletin, Lxx, no.the church
2, 1988, 209: "According to Onians, architect
"santuario," with always understood
the further that to build something great meant to build somethin
distinctio
sanctuary behind the
new high
and shocking, altar.
strange and upsetting, Thu
an idea never written down, ye
sanctuary, which always the
is understood byapsidal
builders and public alike space
as part of the invisib b
retrochoir, which architectural
is the contract." In fact, both Padovaninochoir
monk's and Longhena stressed b th
55. STF, 326, fols. 12r-12v,
novelty [23r,
of their designs in their written memorandums as later s
a point in their favor.
[not autograph] [April
58. This is not the place13, 1631];
to begin a discussion of the central-planGe church
Longhena, although whether they referred to interior or another memorandum that provides an insight into some of
exterior measurements of the space was not specified.54 The his reference points for church architecture, which were the
width of the sanctuary was to have been 60 feet and thus the Redentore, S. Giorgio Maggiore, and the "rottonda di
same as the rotunda. The length of the sanctuary was to have Roma"-the Pantheon.59 At the risk of appearing overly
been 37 feet and succeeded by the altar flanked by columns simplistic, it might be stated that as a basis for the design of
with a depth of 10 feet. The choir had a length of 30 feet but a the Salute, Longhena, given the dedication, took the general
width of only 26 feet, although this may have become 30 feet if idea of the Pantheon as a rotunda dedicated to the Virgin and
2 feet were added on either side for the walls. The odd,
then fitted it out in a Palladian architectural vocabulary based
unrelated length of the sanctuary at 37 feet may have been
on S. Giorgio Maggiore and the Redentore.
determined in order to achieve an overall length for the
On April 15, two days after Longhena's presentation to the
church of 188 feet. This left 4 feet between the exterior wall of
Senate, Fracao presented his first design and expenses for the
the church and the confines of the site, allowing access
Salute. It was modeled very closely on Palladio's design for the
around the entire building.
Redentore, except that it was to be larger. Fracao, rather than
The most important information about Longhena's design
emphasizing any novelty of design, chose instead to point out
process for the Salute was furnished by the architect himself
its virtue as being "built with those orders that suit good and
in the memorandum he composed and submitted to the
solid architecture."60 Sometime later, probably when he
Senate on April 13, 1631. Longhena stated clearly:
realized that the Senate preferred Longhena's design, Fracao
presented a second design for a rotunda to match Longhena's
I have created a church in the form of a rotunda, a work of
new invention, not before built in Venice, a work very proposal, despite his assertion that he thought the rotunda as
worthy and desired by many. This church, having the a type an impractical plan because of the difficulties of
mystery of its dedication, being dedicated to the Blessed securely vaulting the dome.61 On April 26, two additional
Virgin, made me think, with what little talent God has deputies were appointed to the committee to oversee the
bestowed on me, of building the church in the form of acommission of the Salute, making five in total, for motives
that are unclear, although it may have been to provide
rotunda, being in the shape of a crown, being dedicated to
the Virgin.55 sufficient guarantee to one of the factions of the Senate that
their interests were being represented.62
In Longhena's second memorandum he reiterated the nov- Probably prompted by the memorandum that accompa-
elty of his design with a significant choice of words: nied Fracao's rotunda design, with its implicit criticism of
Longhena's dome, building experts, called in by the Senate to
Firstly, it is a virgin work, never before seen, curious, give their opinion on May 21, 1631, investigated Longhena's
worthy, and beautiful, made in the form of a round
design and Fracao's two proposals. They reported on the
monument that has never before been seen, nor ever
security of the proposed domes and the spaciousness, light-
before invented, neither altogether, nor in part, in other
ing, and expenses of the three projects. Of the seven experts,
churches in this most serene city, just as my competitor has
the first three believed that Longhena's design, if constructed
done for his own advantage, being poor in invention.56
properly, would fulfill the requirements, and two of these
experts stated that Longhena's rotunda design was better
Thus Longhena summed up two of the principal factors that
guided him when designing the Salute: that the design was than Fracao's. The fourth expert, Marco della Carita, proto
new, and that this novelty was a significant point for its (foreman) to the procurators of S. Marco, quoting two mureri
recommendation.57 The other motive was the decision to (masons), stated that the corridors of Longhena's project
design a rotunda because of the dedication to the Virgin and needed to be widened and that this was impossible without
the concetto of associating her with a centralized church andtaking the land needed for the monastery. Carita favored
expressing in architectural form the symbol of the crownFracao's design, which is not surprising as he was probably
associated with the Immacolata. Longhena's own words offer closely associated with Fracao's father, Francesco Smeraldi,
proof that the Renaissance tradition of designing domed,who had built the facade of S. Pietro di Castello in the 1590s.
centrally planned buildings for churches dedicated to theThe fifth expert agreed that the corridors in Longhena's
Virgin was still valid and widely held.58 design were disproportionate in length and width but that
To anticipate a little, when the possibility later arose of a they needed to be because of the site. He approved Fracao's
change of site for the Salute to the Dogana, Longhena wrote design. The sixth expert thought that both designs were
trocento Centrally Planned Church," Ph.D. diss., Courtauld Institute of Art,

The most important studies are Andre Grabar, Martyrium: Recherches sur le culte
des reliques et l'art chritien antique, 2 vols., Paris, 1946; Rudolf Wittkower,
University of London, 1992. For the symbolism of the dome in relation to the
Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism, London, 1949; Richard Krauthei-
Virgin, see Baldwin Smith, The Dome: A Study in the History of Ideas, Princeton,
mer, "Sancta Maria Rotunda," in Arte del millennio, ed. Edoardo Arslan Turin,
1950, 95-98.
1953, 21-27; Staale Sinding-Larsen, "Some Functional and Iconographic 59. STF, 326, fols. 13r-v, June 26, 1631: "cossi vi e una sol porta, alla Chiesa
Aspects of the Centralized Church in the Italian Renaissance," Acta ad
del Redentor, et San Zorzi Maggiore, et cosi nella Rottonda di Roma"; Gemin,
Archeologiam et Artium Historiam Pertinentia, 11, 1965, 203-52; Wolfgang Lotz, 248. Gemin, 106-13, discusses extensively the Pantheon.
"Notes on the Centralized Church of the Renaissance," in Studies in Italian 60. STF, 326, fol. 15r, June 13, 1631, [Apr. 15, 1631]; Gemin, 229-30.
Renaissance Architecture, Cambridge, Mass., 1977, 66-73; and Meg Licht, 61. STF, 326, fols. 17v-18r, June 13, 1631, [undated: after Apr. 15 and before
L'edificio a pianta centrale, Florence, 1984. For a recent review of the issue with May 21]; Gemin, 234-35.
many new insights and hypotheses, see Paul Davies, "Studies in the Quat- 62. STR, 105, fol. 81r-v, Apr. 24, 1631.
S.
rco
CANAL GRANDE
Solute
Maggiore
/
11 ./.'tr/ /
s Go, g
II Redacton
13 Diagram of churches on the bacino of Venice (fr
1975)
14 Workshop of Palladio, facade of S. Giorgio Maggiore, ca. 1610, seen from the Punta della Dogana (photo: B6hm)
acceptable. The seventh expert agreed with Carita's criticisms designs by Longhena and Fracao, the deputies felt obliged to
and also believed that Longhena's dome would not be point out the criticism raised, summarizing it as a "patent and
supported sufficiently because the ambulatory spaces were, insuperable defect, understood and affirmed by everyone."
only twelve feet wide, and thus presumably too narrow and The deputies nevertheless went on to suggest that the real
weak, according to his estimation, to sustain the lateral thrust decision to be made was about the form of the church,
of such a large drum and dome, but that these corridors whether it should take the form of a rotunda or should be
could not be enlarged because of the site restrictions.63 longitudinal, and that the actual dimensions of the chur
Longhena responded to the report with a second memoran- could then be altered, thus leaving open the choice
dum explaining further points about his project and append-
Longhena's model with the proviso for him to then redesig
ing the names of different stonemasons who affirmed that the
the building.65 This was followed by a ballot, which approv
building would be absolutely safe.64 The damage, however, Longhena's design by 66 to 39 votes with one abstention an
had been done, and on June 13, when reporting on the two 20 undecided votes.66
A Possible Change of Site

After Longhena's design had been chosen, despite the difficul-
ties of his model and its possible inability to fit the site, the
Senate, probably prompted by the deputies soon after the
June 13 vote, considered changing the location of the church
to the Dogana del Mare, an even more spectacular site
occupied by the government warehouses, which were some-
what decrepit.67 Between June 13 and 20, Longhena pre-
sented a third memorandum regarding the suggested trans-
fer.68 He submitted that if the church were to be located on
the site of the Dogana, he would wish to alter his design to
adapt it to the new site by including decoration of the lateral
chapel facades because they would be more prominent, and
rather than three doors, he would prefer only one larger
principal entrance because there would not be enough space
at the new site for stairs leading to the side doors. A one-door
design would mean that the Salute would then match the
churches of S. Giorgio Maggiore and the Redentore, with
which it would be more closely linked if located at the Dogana
(Figs. 13-15). There followed a report by two proti, but
actually written by Longhena himself, regarding the transfer,
which they thought would entail great costs, and to this was
added the presentation of three more reports made on June
20. Ultimately, the idea was rejected for numerous reasons,
not least among them the insurmountable expenses that
would be incurred.69 Longhena himself probably did not
support the change because of the necessary alterations to his
design, and also because he may have feared that the
expenses involved in obtaining the site could prevent his
church ever being finished. Nevertheless, the desire of the 15 Palladio, the Redentore, Venice, 1577-92, facade (photo:
Senate for the ideal rather than the practical site indicates the Sarah Quill)
patrician mentality that also chose Longhena's ideal, if
perhaps impractical design rather than Fracao's practical but
dull copy of the Redentore. Virgin.74 On that day the proclamation of liberation was
On August 8, the role of Deputies to oversee the building of made, and once again a procession was held.75 Doge Franc-
the new church was formally established. Each deputy would esco Erizzo, the Signoria, and the Senate attended mass in S.
serve a term of two years before being replaced by another Marco, followed by the first of the annual processions to the
senator, thus acknowledging the considerable length of time site of the Salute with the Madonna Nikopeia. No mass was
that would be needed for construction of the Salute.70
said, but the Te Deum was performed twice, and then the
Preliminary preparations were made on the site under Long-
procession returned to S. Marco. Piazza S. Marco was festively
hena's direction beginning August 21, 1631.71 Throughout decorated and Bernardino Prudenti's painting, executed in
1631 the processions in Piazza S. Marco had continued, being
the four preceding days and probably depicting Longhena's
reconfirmed regularly by the Senate.72 On October 21, original
the model of the church, was displayed from a platform
Senate, believing the plague would soon end, ordered proces-
located in front of the porticoes of the Procuratie Nuove
sions for October 25 and 26.73 On November 13, 1631, it took
(Figs. 16, 17). This painting is important because it proves
the decision to announce the city free from plaguethat
on Longhena's rotunda was built and exists today substan-
November 21, 1631, the feast of the Presentation of the tially as originally designed, with the main rotunda preceded
63. STF, 326, fols. 7r-10r, June 13, 1631, [May 21, 1631]; Gemin, 237-39. published by Gemin, 249-56. That Longhena actually wrote the report himself
64. STF, 326, fols. 11r-v, June 13, 1631, [undated, but date known]; Gemin, strongly suggests that he was against the change of site.
240-42. Longhena's memorandum was a response to the building experts'70. STR, 105, Aug. 8, 1631; Gemin, 183-84.
doubts about the security of his proposed dome based on Fracao's criticisms,71. ASV, Collegio Notatorio Registro, 91, fol. 42r-v.
but a second memorandum by Fracao after the June 13 vote, as assented by 72. Orders were given to continue the Saturday processions between Feb.
Wittkower, 35, does not exist. and Aug., indicating that they continued every Saturday throughout 1631;
65. STF, 326, fols. 2r-6r,June 13, 1631; Gemin, 243-46. until the first annual procession. STR, 104, fol. 626r, Feb. 11, 1631; STR, 105,
66. STR, 326, fol. lr,June 13, 1631; Gemin, 247. See also STR, 105, fol. 178v, fol. 42r, March 27, 1631; STR, 105, fol. 92r, May 1, 1631; STR, 326, June 30,
June 13, 1631. 1631; STR, 105, fol. 265r, July 26, 1631; STR, 105, fol. 323r, August 30, 1631.
67. For the suggested site change, see STF, 326, fol. 15r, June 26, 1631; 73. STR, 106, fols. 415v-416r, Oct. 21, 1631; Moore, 323 n. 87.
Gemin 249, with wrong date; STR, 94, fol. 109v, July 18, 1624; STR, 117, fols. 74. STR, 106, fols. 445v-446r, Nov. 13, 1631.
364v-365r, Dec. 1, 1637. Details in STF, 404; STR, 119, fol. 227r, Sept. 25, 1638. 75. State Ceremonial, 3, fols. 83r-v, Nov. 21, 1631; Gemin, 257-59. Gin-
68. Gemin, 248. ammi.
69. STF, 326, fols. Ir, 2r-v, 3r-6r, 7r-8r, 9r-v, llr-v, June 26, 1631; partially
16 Bernadino Prudenti,
The Virgin and Child, with
Saint Mark the Evangelist, the
Blessed (later Saint) Lorenzo
Giustinian, Saint Roch, and
Saint Sebastian Making the
Plague Flee from the City of
Venice, 1631. Venice, S.
Maria della Salute (photo:
B6hm)
by a pedimented facade, flanked by smaller lateral facades, brought it to the perfection known by the most Excellent
and succeeded by the second dome and two campanili.76 A Senate.... And because the most Illustrious and Excellent
temporary church, of different design and by an unknown Signori Deputies of this building also gave me the obliga-
designer, was built at the site of the Salute for the feast day, tion to punctually adjust this model ... I must assiduously
just as one had been erected there for the laying of the attend to this job of Architect so that which has been
foundation stone on April 1, 1631. This was described by approved by Your Serenity will not be altered in any way.79
Marco Ginammi as being built of wood and erected in only
four days: Revising his plan must have been no easy matter; in order to
accommodate the necessary changes Longhena experi-
The church had three doors on the facade, and there were
mented with various alterations, which are documented in
seats for the Doge and for the other Senators. The riches,
two designs that postdate his original model. The first is a plan
the decorations, the lights that adorn the interior were
of the Salute held in the parish archive of S. Maria in Vallicella
costly beyond compare. One saw above the main altar the
in Rome, drawn before March 1632, when Longhena stated
image of the Blessed Virgin under whose feet there was the
model of the church that was to be built. 77 that the design had been altered and then perfected (Fig.
18).80
Longhena's Later Salute Designs This plan is particularly interesting because of its apparent
When the Salute was reallocated to the original site, the role as a presentation drawing showing Longhena's new
design, and its status as the only known complete plan of the
Scuola della S.ma Trinitai was dropped from the project in
order to liberate more space for the church, which was to be Salute by Longhena. He presumably made the drawing to
situated further west.78 Longhena responded to the previous show the Senate how the redesigned building would look.
criticism that had arisen, and at the request of the deputies Several features point to its autograph status. The first is the
changed several aspects of his design, as he stated in March handwriting, at the top left of the sheet, of "Scala di Piedi
1632: numero 25," which accompanies the scale. This is unmistak-
ably in Longhena's hand, as a comparison with the many
Much time has gone by in order to see this design to estimates written by him and conserved in the state archives of
perfection, according to the site where it must be built, Venice attests. The second feature is the presence on this plan
and finally with much effort and time and expense I have of twin sacristies (labeled E), which were never executed as
76. Venezia et la peste (as in n. 16), 263. Puppi, "Nuovi documenti sul Longhena," Notizie da Palazzo Albani, xII, 1983,
77. Ginammi. Niero, 306. 187-88.
78. It should also be noted that the deputies realized as early as 1633, when 80. The plan of the Salute in Rome was made known to me by Joseph
the foundations for the Salute were being built, that the church of the Trinitai Connors, to whom I am immensely indebted. It is located in the Archivio
would have to be demolished. The decision was postponed until the new Parrochiale di S. Maria in Vallicella, Rome, Cartella 2, VIII, disegno 170. It is a
church was ready to be officiated, and the Somascans previously at the Trinit~a single sheet of paper with great wear over the fold, which occurs between the
were given the Salute. STR, 144, fol. 366v, Aug. 17, 1652. The filza for the same rotunda and the sanctuary. The sheet is 71 cm high and 44 cm wide and has a
decision, STF, 580, Aug. 17, 1652, contains a Senate document ofJune 9, 1633, fleur-de-lis watermark, which indicates that the paper was manufactured in
which already recognized that the church of the Trinita would have to be Milan around 1600. See C. M. Briquet, Lesfiligranes, II, 2d. ed., repr., NewYork,
knocked down.
1985, 391, col. 1, Fleur de Lis 7069. The plan is outlined in dark brown ink and
79. ASV, Collegio di dentro, Busta 23, (Atti VI), March 17, 1632; Lionello
shown. They are probably what Longhena originally planned,

but the left-hand sacristy had to be redesigned again later and
bent in order to squeeze it onto the irregular site because the
whole church was still too long. The third feature is the
position of the two windows in the choir (labeled O), which
were later executed in different locations. Marco Boschini's
engraving shows Longhena's original conception for a sculpted

figure of the Virgin flooded by light streaming in from these
two windows and the mezza luna above them in the southern
wall of the choir (Fig. 19). The fourth feature is the presence
of construction lines on the plan indicating that this is
certainly not merely a copy of Longhena's plan but instead
shows active design (Fig. 20). These lines reveal the process
Longhena used to construct his plan and how he thought
about the building. The fundamental lines are, not surpris-
ingly, the eight radii or four axes that extend from the center
of the rotunda marked A and that correspond to the lines of
vision in the building. It may be just coincidence, but the
arrangement of the lettering proceeds from A to H and then
from L to O, omitting I, J, and K, resulting in Longhena's
initials, B L, being repeated around his prized invention: the
rotunda-a sure sign that Longhena was not the mute
stonemason many people consider him to have been, but in
fact a witty and urbane architect, the term Longhena used for
himself when inscribing his staircase and library at S. Giorgio
Maggiore.
There are several important differences between Longh-
ena's initial project, the autograph plan, and the building as
17 Detail of Fig. 16: model for S. Maria della Salute
executed. In redesigning the Salute there were three things
that Longhena probably needed to achieve. The first was to
increase the width of the ambulatory, the second was to
redesign the sanctuary, and the third was to fit the new design In his memorandum regarding the possible change to the
onto the existing site, with its restricted area. In the deputies' Dogana site, Longhena stated that he wished to alter his
final report it had been pointed out that increasing the width design to include more extensive decoration of the lateral
of the ambulatory would increase the overall width of the chapel facades since instead of being shielded from view by
rotunda, and this would take up the area necessary for the the flanking buildings of the S.ma Trinitat and the Scuola, they
construction of the monastery.8s However, once the Scuola would be much more visible. The autograph plan shows the
della S.ma Trinita was dropped from the project, Longhena incorporation of this idea in the depiction of two additional
was able to widen the corridors of the ambulatory from what pilasters on both lateral chapel facades, which correspond to
was recorded as 12 feet in the original project to 15 feet, as the chapel facades as they were built, although the niches
seen in the autograph plan. Although this was still short of the present on the existing building were not shown on the plan.
17 feet or so recommended, any further increase would have Longhena had also explained that for the narrower Dogana
entailed a radical redesign of the exterior elevation to take site the stairs would have to be reduced to a central flight
into account the additional height of the ambulatory vault- only.82 It is not known how many flights of stairs Longhena
ing. Apart from the wider ambulatory, the piers were in- had originally envisaged for the present site but it was
creased in width to 6 feet and the chapels in interior depth to probably three, as in the autograph plan. Although Longhena
12 feet from the original 10 feet, which resulted in an overall in his first memorandum had foreseen a grade of thirteen
width for the rotunda of 130 feet, 12 feet more than the steps, the autograph plan shows only ten. Eliminating steps
original plan and 4 feet more than the present width of 126 was probably one way in which he hoped to reduce the length
feet. of the building to fit it onto the site. In the autograph plan
the solid walls of the structure are indicated in blue wash. There are numerous will not be discussed here. See Elena Bassi, "Episodi dell'architettura ve
construction lines, the most important of which are the four axes through the
nell'opera di Antonio Gaspari," Saggi e memorie di storia dell'arte, III, 1
central point of the rotunda, which provide the means for constructing 88-93.the
The third drawing, Vienna, Albertina, no. 298, is unlikely to be by
eight sides of the octagon that constitute the rotunda, just as Longhena, architect
in his because of notable inconsistencies between Longhena's intentions
known in his memorandums and the architectural features depicted. I
original costing of the project, sets out his prices per section of the octagon,
STF, 326, fols. 14r-v, June 13, 1631, [April 13, 1631]; Gemin, 226-28.not There
been able to consult this drawing in the original, so a definitive statem
are, altogether, five drawings that have been attributed to Longhena for regarding
the its status cannot be made. All three are reproduced in Lione
Salute project. In my opinion only the Rome plan discussed here and Puppitheet al., Longhena, Milan, 1982, 104-6.
sketch plan in the ASV are wholly autograph. Of the three other drawings, 81. STF, 326, fols. 7r-10r,June 13, 1631, [May 21, 1631]; Gemin, 237-39.
the
two held at the Museo Correr, Venice, Raccolta Gaspari, I, 9 (ca. 1650), 82. II, STF,
70 326, fols. 13r-v, June 26, 1631; Gemin, 248.
(ca. 1680), are a design for the cupola decoration and a pavement design and
. ..................
i!!ri;iiii~iii~i: -i iii_ -.-:
4?r
iiii: !!ili
?~ii::i~i~ii- ....::~::~-_ ..... .....................
18 Longhena, S. Maria della Salute, plan of

Vallicella (Photo:Joseph Connors)
sanctuary, which was completely redesigned (Fig. 21).84 The

apsidal sanctuary as it appears in the autograph plan has an
internal width of 80 feet, which corresponds to the existing
building, but the length was increased by approximately 5V
feet to 42? feet, which is very slightly longer than the existing
building. The choir was increased in length approximately 3
feet to 33 feet, so the reduction in the number of stairs may
have been a first attempt to maintain the overall length within
acceptable limits. The new sanctuary space was modeled on
that of the Redentore, which was an important prototype for
the Salute from its initial invocation in the commissioning
vow (Fig. 22):
Because of the memory of the fruits received by our

Republic in the last plague of 1576 with the vote to build
the church that was dedicated to the Redeemer, we are
secure in our confidence of receiving with a similar act of
piety further similar grace at the present time.85
This importance was also underscored in the memorandum

presented by Antonio Fracao for his second project. He said:
It would be useful for Your Serenity to be served and

informed by knowing the quantity of lengths of ground
that are occupied by the church of the Redentore, so that,
being well informed, with your prudence you can reach a
resolution about the many designs that will be presented
by us and by others.86
Longhena's first design proposed a sanctuary and choir

significantly smaller and distinctly different from those of the
19 Detail of Fig. 27
Longhena intended to decrease the length of the church

frontage and stairs, retain the twin sacristies, and increase the
length of the sanctuary. Eventually, after redesigning the
sanctuary yet again, he augmented the number of stairs to
sixteen, thereby amplifying the grandiose approach to the
church facade. He also altered the number of flights from the
three depicted in the plan to the five that exist today. This was
a brilliant change, transforming the interesting but relatively
ordinary three ramps seen in the plan into what is surely one
of the most striking and magnificent flights of stairs, as the
two additional flights at either side respond to the greater
angle from which the church was to be visible and also turned
the staircase into an independent sculptural element.83 20 Longhena, plan of revised project (construction lines
The most important change occurred in the area of the indicated by author)
83. Longhena also designed an important staircase in the Benedictine between Palladio's and Longhena's work have been made before by Miche
monastery of S. Giorgio Maggiore in 1644; see Puppi et al. (as in n. 80),gelo Muraro, "Palladio et l'urbanisme v6nitien," in L'urbanisme de Paris
134-35. 'Europe 1600-1680, ed. Pierre Francastel, Paris, 1969, 211-17; and especi
between
84. The change in design of the plan of the sanctuary did not occur in 1656, the Redentore and the Salute by Niero, 294-98.
as suggested by Schulz, 459. 86. STF, 326, fols. 17v-18r, June 13, 1631, [undated: after Apr. 15 and befo
May 21]; Gemin, 234-35.
85. STR, 104, fols. 363v-365r, Oct. 22, 1630; Gemin, 175-76. Comparisons
21 Longhena, S. Maria della Salute, western apse of sanctuary (photo: B6hm)
22 Palladio, the Redentore, plan (Cicognara et

al., Lefabbriche, photo: BCV)
Redentore, in contrast to Fracao's rejected proposal.87 The The sanctuary was eventually scaled down to measure only 72
autograph plan probably shows Longhena's first attempt at feet, or 74 feet including the external wall, and the whole
incorporating the newly designed sanctuary into his existing church as built measures only 189 feet, just one foot more
plan for the rotunda. The execution of this presentation than the length of his original project.
One may hypothesize why this drawing did not remain in
drawing in such accurate detail was probably done in order to
Venice and ended up in Rome. The most plausible suggestion
convince the deputies that the design of the new sanctuary
that they required could be successfully integrated with is that the increased size of the projected building made the
Longhena's rotunda. Notably, the scale represented adjacent plan unsatisfactory and it was set aside. Its presence in the
to the sacristy is upside down, suggesting that it was this end of archive of S. Maria in Vallicella may have been the result of a
the plan that Longhena was working on. But the building as request by either Francesco Borromini or Virgilio Spada to
designed here was too large for the site, as the entire Longhena for a copy of his design for the Salute. It would
sanctuary measured 77 feet and the whole church 191 feet. certainly have been of interest to the architect or his patron
87. STF, 326, fols. 12r-12v, [23r, later substituted with] 13r, June 13, 1631,
[not autograph] [Apr. 13, 1631]; Gemin, 222-25.
23 Longhena, S. Maria della Salute,

pencil sketch of second sanctuary plan
(photo: ASV)
and well-known architectural enthusiast. Spada was heavily feet, and an internal width of 80 feet, with a choir 30 feet deep
involved in the building of the Casa dei Filippini, adjacent to and 42 feet wide.93 That the interior space rather than the
S. Maria in Vallicella, begun in 1621. Hejoined the congrega- exterior was the focus of attention can be seen from the
tion in 1622, was appointed to the building committee in drawing itself, where only the interior of the principal wall was
1627, and followed its construction from then onward.88 In sketched. The exterior wall was included in the measure-
1631 S. Maria della Salute was the most notable new church ments as indicated by the second line drawn outside the right
commission in Italy, and it would not be surprising if Spada apse and distinguished by a second arrow, but the passageways
had written to Longhena for information about the Salute. Its around the sanctuary were completely omitted. It was the
presence in the archives of S. Maria in Vallicella remains an exterior that suffered most from the alteration, as the two
anomaly, however, as almost all the other drawings there have units were shoved together with orders of uneven heights, and
to do with the church, the Oratory, or properties belonging to because no model for the redesigned church was built, the
the Oratorians, and Spada's own papers are held at the two southernmost volutes of the main rotunda had to be
Vatican.89
amputated in order to accommodate the drum wall of the
The second important drawing regarding the Salute is a sanctuary when it was finally built from 1661 onward (Fig.
recently discovered sketch design by Longhena for the 25).94
sanctuary and choir alone, which is held in the Venetian state In altering the Salute design Longhena must have been
archives (Fig. 23).90 It is found among the estimates for the confronted with serious difficulties, several of which were
construction of the walls of the sanctuary, which were built resolved in a rather unsatisfactory way. Given that the new
between 1634 and 1636.91 On September 1, 1635, Longhena sanctuary probably had to approximate that of the Reden-
wrote an estimate for the building of six windows there and tore, the restricted space available would have made a
two windows in the choir.92 On the reverse is a pencil sketch of successful resolution of the rotunda and sanctuary quite hard
the sanctuary. The document dates from 1635 but the to achieve. In fact, as the building stands, there is not enough
measurements on the sketch correspond to the sanctuary and room between the two units; instead, they have been pushed
choir as they were actually built (Fig. 24). The sanctuary together unsuccessfully, and the two southernmost windows
represented thus postdates the autograph plan but, in concep- of the rotunda admit no light to the ambulatory because the
tion, dates no later than March 1632, when Longhena stated sanctuary walls block them. Longhena did this presumably
that the design had been perfected. because he did not wish to bring the church further toward
The sketch depicts the readjusted measurements for the the Grand Canal, as the space of the campo (square) was
revised sanctuary of 42 feet in length, an external width of 88 needed for the participants in the procession arriving from
88. Joseph Connors, Borromini and the Roman Oratory: Style and Society, New and S. Vitale," in Architectural Studies in Memory of Richard Krautheimes ed. Cecil
York, 1980, 13ff., 101ff.
Stryker et al., Mainz, 1996, 43-48, esp. 47-48. I would be grateful to hear of any
89. My thanks to Joseph Connors for this information. For Spada's papers, possible solutions to this mystery.
see Francesco Ehrle, "Dalle carte e dai disegni di Virgilio Spada (d. 1662) 90. I have published the sketch design contained in CNF, 295, Feb. 1, 1636,
(Codd. Vaticani lat. 11257 e 11258)," Atti della Pontificia Accademia Romana di Sept. 1, 1635, in Andrew Hopkins, "Longhena's Second Sanctuary Design for
Archeologia 3d, ser., memorie 2, 1928, 1-98. The other possibility is that the S. Maria della Salute," Burlington Magazine, cxxxvi, 1994, 498-501, although
drawing came to the Vallicella via Borromini who obtained it from Fra two errors in the reconstruction have been corrected in the present text.
Benedetto Castelli, for which see Joseph Connors, "Borromini, Hagia Sophia
A ilk, jo iol loj ! k Z X
M11
( - ,80 f (
I
, .lq Ll
I
N - ' W k -
*1 li1Mol- W
5-)"5)t- <- 60 )' --(21
u L _? IL , rU
n1l (4) i
GRAND CAN
24 Longhena, S. Maria della Salute, plan as built (m
1990, adapted by author)
the pontoon bridge. and

The the
space edge
was alsoof the si
needed b
of and at either side comparable
of the Saluteto
inthat of
order
necessary impression of much wider
grandeur but
on could
its no
approa
added the new sanctuary width
in theof the of
place ambulat
his ori
and it is here that theincreased
problem length of 6 fe
lay, because
for
design the total length of the
the sanctuary
sanctuary had
and to
cho
to fit on
which left only 4 feet between thethe site, and
southern wale
93. The interior

91. CNF, 289,July 4, 1634, [Mar. measurement of CNF,
1, 1634]; 80 feet is deduced
289, from the assumption 4
July
that the
1634]; CNF, 289, Aug. 11, 1634, figure of 28 feet
[May 11, refers to the length to the
1634]; outer wall of the
CNF, sanctuary Ma
292,
1, 1635]; CNF, 294, Sept. 29, indicated
1635, by the second
[Aug. arrow, i.e.: 9,
that the entire external width is 88 feet (as
1635].
92. CNF, 295, Feb. 1, 1636, built) approximately1,
[Sept. and ca.1635]:
95 feet in width"Volendo
with the inclusion of the...
finestre per il santuario et passageways
chore encompassing
dithe sanctuary.
esse chiesa ... far
santuario larghe in luse piedi94.numero
See Schulz, 459. My thanks
cinque to Juergenet
Schulzalte
and Paul Davies
fino for s
numero dodeci e mezo ... far le dui fenestre nel choro." Confirmed: ASV, pointing out the significance of the mutilated scrolls.
Collegio Notatorio Registro, 94, fols. 173r-174r, Feb. 1, 1636.
dated the annual feast day ceremonies. Longhena actually

stressed this functionality in terms of ceremonial use in his
first memorandum, a fact overlooked or dismissed in the
previous literature.95 His first submission included the follow-
ing points:
Then there will be a staircase of 13 stairs to ascend to the

level of the church and one will enter by the main door of
the facade, the door of which will be 15 feet wide and 32
feet high, [it] will be extremely majestic and extremely
convenient, then there will be two small, secret doors, one
on either side, to separate the people during the main feast
days. Sixth, there will be six chapels with six altars enclosed
by small columns with [a] corridor which will serve for
going around from chapel to chapel extremely conve-
niently for passing with the host without going [into] the
church ... then, between the large nave of the church and
the chapels, there will be space for being able to go around
and around with the processions of the main feast days
without the impediment of the people that one finds in the
middle of the church.96
This memorandum reveals that Longhena had a clear idea of

how his rotunda design would function, especially during the
feast day ceremonies. He had also responded to the origina
brief as set out by the deputies, whose three principal criteria
had likewise stressed the functional and experiential nature
25 S. Maria della Salute, southernmost scrolls joining sanctuary
of the building they desired:
drum (photo:Juergen Schulz)
We proposed three conditions which we desire and must

the terrain. The sanctuary and choir as they were built procure in the work as of principal importance; the first is
measure 74 feet, a reduction of 5 feet, which compensated for that the understanding of the church is such that from the
the increased ambulatory width. The angle of the site at the entrance, the dominion and spaciousness of the whole
rear resulted in the left-hand sacristy being built on an angle church will be seen with ease, and comfort of Your Serenity
to conform with the site boundary. This newly designed and the Most Illustrious Senate when visiting it, and so that
sanctuary and choir are still much smaller in length than the people in gathering together will not trample upon
those of the Redentore, which together measure 99 feet, but one another because it is too narrow. Second, a well-
the site restrictions meant that Longhena simply could not proportioned and bright light equally disposed, so that
increase their size any further. It must be assumed that part of the church would be less richly decorated or les
Longhena, not willing to alter significantly the rotunda itself, poorly lit than another. Third, an ensemble such that t
which was his prized invention, except for an increase in the altars are well disposed in the body of this church, that t
width of the ambulatories, decided to replace his first sanctu- would be as rich on the right as on the left part, with
ary design with the type that the deputies wanted even if it elevation of the main altar with much majesty, and in su
resulted in an inharmonious exterior relation between the
a position that from the entrance it can be well seen an
rotunda and the sanctuary, which at least had the merit of notappreciated, and together one can, when proceedin
being visible either from the front of the church or from a toward it, enjoy the view of all the altars.97
distance (Fig. 26).
The main reason Longhena did not wish to alter the Longhena's design brilliantly fulfilled these requirement
stipulated by the deputies, but it seems that they had not
rotunda was probably that he believed it cleverly accommo-
d'essa Chiesa et s'intrerA per la porta principale della facciata qual p

95. Wittkower, 48, following Pietro Selvatico, Sulla architettura e sulla scultura
in Venezia dal medio evo sino ai nostri giorni, Venice, 1847, 413, dismissed saranno larga piedi numero quindici alta piedi numero trentadue sara maestossi
Longhena's own discussion of the importance of the ambulatory for proces- et comodissima ii sara poi due portetine una per parte secrete per s[e]perar ii pop
sional purposes, saying that "it seems unlikely that these were the primary tempo difeste principali. Sesta li sari sei capelle con sei altari serati di colo
considerations in determining the choice of the ambulatory plan." This con iscoridor il qual servirA per andar attorno di capella in capella comod
contrary to the whole history of the ambulatory, and in Venice there mamente
is an per passar con le messe senza passar per Chiesa ... et essendo
important earlier example at S. Zaccaria, 'as pointed out by Herbert Dellwing,mezo della cuba grande cio! nel mezo d'essa chiesa si goderA benissimo t
le capelle, et altari li saranno poi tra la nave grande di essa chiesa et
"Die Kirche San Zaccaria in Venedig: Eine ikonologische Studie," Zeitschriftfiir
Kunstgeschichte, xxxvI, 1974, 224-34. capelle sito per potersi andar attorno attorno con le processioni del te
96. Gemin 224; STF, 326, fol. 12r-12v, [23r, later substituted with] 13r, delle
Junefeste principali senza impedimento delli popoli si attroveri nel me
13, 1631, [Apr. 13, 1631]: "La nova Chiesa sarA ... in forma ottangolare essa
comeChiesa nemeno le messe sarA alli altari .... Vi sarA poi il santuario dov
nel modello si vede li sarA poi una scalinata di scalini tredici per salir al sarA
piano posto l'Altar Maggiore della Beata Vergine ... li sarA poi il coro d
26 S. Maria della Salute, exterior from

the Molo (photo: author)
out any specific criteria regarding the sanctuary. Longhena The redesigned sanctuary also meant that the liturgical and
must have assumed that his regular boxlike sanctuary would ceremonial arrangements accompanying the feast day masses
suitably house the doge and Signoria. Yet, from the point of at the Redentore and the Salute could be distinguished from
view of the deputies, who were members of the Senate andall the other annual visits to churches not connected with the
thus regularly accommodated in the churches visited annuallystate that the doge and Signoria made. A correspondence was
by the government, the disposition of the sanctuary mustexplicitly made between the two churches in the commission-
have been of particular importance. ing vow, and the procedural details of the annual ceremony as
Longhena may have designed a relatively small sanctuaryit was established by Doge Erizzo in the Ceremonial of S.
because, unlike the Redentore, the Salute was not a "Trium- Marco were directly modeled on those of the Redentore:
phal" visit, and therefore fewer government members had to "Each year one makes the procession to the new church of
be seated there. The first sanctuary design would certainlythe Salute and there a low mass is said in the presence of the
have accommodated the doge and the twenty-one dignitaries
most serene Signoria, and when this mass is finished one takes
listed below, but it is doubtful that there would have been
up the Madonna returning in procession to S. Marco."99 The
enough space for the sixty members of the Senate who usually
distinct nature of the ceremonial arrangements for these two
accompanied the doge and the Signoria into S. Marco and the
churches was also clearly set out in Giambattista Pace's later
other churches visited during Andate Ducali (ducal visits or
ceremonial book for the canons of S. Marco of 1678, where he
processions to Venetian churches).98 A larger sanctuary of
noted that unlike the other churches visited annually,
some sort was required, but, as stated before, the apsidal
sanctuary of the Redentore was at this stage an anomaly. Yet
On the day of the Presentation and the third Sunday ofJuly
the Deputies, as patrons, opted for this type, presumably to
accommodate themselves in the same ceremonial seating [in the Redentore] ... because the pews are short, and of
curved formation, the Signoria is divided henceforth: on
arrangement for the feast day mass at the Salute, the underly-
ing motivation being that only the Redentore and the Salute the right hand side of the Doge is the Papal Nuncio, the
were state-financed, votive churches, built because of plagues, Giudice del Proprio, the six ducal Councellors, and the
for which an annual visit was accompanied by the building of three Capi di Quarantia; on the other side the Ambassador
a pontoon bridge. The parallel sanctuaries to house the doge of France, the three Avogadori di Comun, the three Capi
and Signoria underlined the similarity between the two churches del Consiglio di Dieci, the two Censors, and the Grand
and emphasized the state's role in building them both. Chancellor.100
l'altar Maggiore.... [The following item was later substituted] Nono vi sara processione alla nove chiesa della Salute et ivi dice la Messa bassa presente la
l'Altar della Beata Vergine fabricato in Isola se li ander5t attorno attorno con serenissima Signoria, che finita essa messa si leva la Madonna ritornandosi con
ascesa de scalini numero sei o vero otto fino il piano della predella d'esso la processione a San Marco." For the relationship between the Signoria's
Altar. " annual visit and the sanctuary design of the Redentore, see James Ackerman,
97. Gemin 243; Wittkower, 35. "Observations on Renaissance Church Planning in Venice and Florence,
98. Giovanni Stringa's additions to Francesco Sansovino, Venetia cittd nobilis- 1470-1570," Florence and Venice: Comparisons and Relations, 2 vols., Florence,
sima, et singolare, Venice, 1604, fol. 35r: " [il] corpo del Senato, cio? trenta de i 1979-80, 11, 303-4. The connection between the Redentore and the Salute has
sessanta, detti Ordinarii, e trenta de'sessanta dell'Aggiunta ... [che] sono tutti been recently stressed by Niero, 294-98.
obligati ad accompagnar il Prencipe in questa Chiesa, 6 in qualunque altra se 100. Ceremonial of S. Marco 3, ms It. Cl. VII, 396 = 7423 [1678] fol. 193,
ne vada, eccettuate alcune." published in Hopkins (as in n. 90), 500, where liturgical practices such as the
doge kissing the Gospel are also discussed.
99. Giulio Cattin, Musica e liturgia a San Marco, 3 vols., Venice, 1990-92, IXI,
173, quoting the Ceremonial of S. Marco 2, fol. 51r: "ogni anno si fa la
27 Marco Boschini, Procession to S. Maria della Salute, etching and engraving, 1644 (photo: Den Kongelige Kobberstiksamling, Statens
Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen)
PLANS AND PLANNING FOR S MARIA DELLA SALUTE, VENICE 465
Unlike all the other churches visited annually, where only this, and Longhena's second memorandum is most likely a
temporary seating was arranged, at the Redentore Palladio reply to Fracao's second project for a rotunda, as can be
had provided a permanent architectural setting to house the readily understood from looking at the chronological arrange-
members of government who were also the patrons of the ment of the original documents. P. 37, table, item g. 43 should
church. Longhena, at the request of the deputies, who were be 42, as in Longhena's design. Item j. 26 should be 30. Item
again the patrons, provided a similar architectural setting at k. 30 should be 26. P. 38, the assertion that Longhena's
the Salute. Just as Longhena's original memorandums and original model had an ambulatory of 15 feet is incorrect. It
the deputies' report had stressed functional requirements in was in fact only 12 feet wide. The change to 15 feet occurred
relation to ceremony for the Salute design, so, too, ceremo- after Longhena's design had been chosen in June 1631. P. 38
nial considerations prompted the changes to Longhena's n. 40. The figure 12 for the wall and entrance cannot actually
original sanctuary design, as the descriptions in the ceremo- be deduced; 15 for the ambulatory is wrong; 26 for the choir
nial books of the Venetian Republic make clear. Any doubt should be 30. In addition, there is no record that the
about this is dispelled by the very first visual record of the supposed oration by Doge Nicol6 Contarini, beginning wit
building, Marco Boschini's engraving, which records the the words "Ave stella del Mare" and published by Giovann
ceremonial splendor of the annual procession to the Salute Casoni, La peste di Venezia nel MDCXXX: Origine della erezione de
(Fig. 27). tempio S. Maria della Salute, Venice, 1830, 30-32, ever too
place. Gemin, 53 n. 8, following Niero, 291, n. 48, thinks th
this was probably an invention of the nineteenth-centur
centennial, an opinion with which I concur. The claims made
Appendix by Gerhard Goebel-Schilling, "L'idea originaria e le propor
Table of measurements for S. Maria della Salute, Venice zioni della chiesa di Santa Maria della Salute," Eidos, x, 1992,
Original project 72-82, cannot be sustained as they are based on a synthesis o
records the measurements furnished by Longhena in two memo- incorrect measurements compiled from old plans of th
randums for his original project design. Salute by Antonio Diedo in Leopoldo Cicognara, Antonio
Rome plan Diedo, Giovanni Selva, Le fabbriche e i monumenti cospicui d
records the measurements that can be ascertained from the plan Venezia, II, Venice, 1838, 89-92, plus four preceding engrav-
by Longhena found in the parish archive of S. Maria in Vallicella, ings; the documentation of Piva (as in n. 38); measured
Rome.
ASV sketch
drawings by Carlo Santamaria, "Santa Maria della Salute,
L'architettura: Cronache e storia, I, 1955, 53-57; and the tabl
records the measurements given by Longhena, together with
others that can be ascertained from the sketch plan of the associated text of Wittkower, 37. Goebel-Schilling mistak
and
sanctuary found in the state archives, Venice. enly based his analysis on the measurements of the church a
Actual execution built, which were notably different from those of the churc
records the actual measurements of the Salute as built. as originally planned.
All measurements except those for stairs are given in Venetian feet.
Original Rome ASV Actual

project plan sketch execution Frequently Cited Sources
Stairs (number ofsteps) 13 10 - 16
Entrance width 15 13.5 - 15 ASV: Archivio di Stato di Venezia; CIJ: Consultore in Jure; CNF: Colleg
Notatorio Filza; SDR: Senato Deliberazioni Roma; STF: Senato Terra Filza
Entrance height 32 - - 35/37 STR: Senato Terra Registro; State Ceremonial: Collegio Ceremoniale;
Rotunda width 60 60 - 60 BCV: Biblioteca Correr Venezia.
Pier width 5 6 - 5 BMV: Biblioteca Marciana Venezia: Ceremonial of S. Marco 2; Ms Lat. Cl. III
172 =2276 [1555]
Ambulatory width 12 15 - 15 Gemin, Massimo, La chzesa di Santa Maria della Salute e la cabala di Paolo Sarp
Chapel, interior length 19 18/21 - 19 Abano Terme, It., 1982.
Ginammi, Marco, La liberatione dz Venetza, Venice, 1631.
Chapel, interior depth 10 12 - 10
Moore,James, " Veneziafavorita da Maria: Music for the Madonna Nicopeia and
Rotunda, whole width 118 130 - 126 Santa Maria della Salute," Journal of the American Musicological Soczety, xxxvii
Church, whole length 188 191.5 - 188/9 1984, 299-355.
Niero, Antonio, "I templi del Redentore e della Salute: Motivazioni teolog-
Sanctuary, interior width 60 80 80 80
iche," in Venezia e la peste 1348-1797, Venice, 1979, 294-98.
Sanctuary, exterior width ? 88 88 88 Schulz, Juergen, "Review of Wittkower 1963," Journal of Aesthetics and Art
Sanctuary, exterior width Critzczsm, xxiv, 1965-66, 458-59.
Wittkower, Rudolf, "S. Maria della Salute," Saggi e memorie dz storia dell'arte, III,
including passageways ? 95 95 95 1963, 33-54.
Sanctuary, interior length 37 42.6 42 42
High altar space, depth 10 10 10 10
Choir, interior width 26? 43 42 42
Andrew Hopkins received his B.A. from the University of Melbourne,
Choir, interior length 30 33.3 20 20
and was awarded his Ph.D. by the Courtauld Institute of Art at the
University of London. He holds a postdoctoral research fellowship at
Errors of measurement and chronology. In Rudolf Wittkower
the Mackintosh School ofArchitecture, Glasgow, and is writing a book
P. 35, item 15. It is asserted that Fracao wrote a second on S. Maria della Salute. [Mackintosh School ofArchitecture, 177
memorandum afterJune 13. There is in fact no evidence for Renfrew Street, Glasgow G36RQ Scotland].

Santa Maria Della Salute 1999

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Santa Maria Della Salute 1999

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Plans and Planning for S.

Maria della Salute, Venice

1682); SS. Martina and Luca, Rome (1634), by Pietro da

2 Longhena, S. Maria della

om~o;~ 5~~g~il~j~*6~~ L~:::-;F~PO) OVONK

5 Map of Venice with possible sites for

SL". "NIA~v n D LA 9V~~1--A

Padovanino's submission was little more than a fanciful

project, in that it was not accompanied by a detailed

propagation of one triangle with the other, for three are e

in the Sala dei Pregadi of the Ducal Palace.49 Longhena's

others that have been deduced, is presented here (Fig. 10).

the S.ma Triniti, but Longhena did not furnish further

from the Grand Canal. It probably was to have had threeThe me

47. CIJ, 410, unda

:ii ~i~llk T:"?i"":;.

12 feet for the a very closeagre

53. Wittkower, 46-47,Crowned fig. 5. MadonnaThe deput

trocento Centrally Planned Church," Ph.D. diss., Courtauld Institute of Art,

A Possible Change of Site

shown. They are probably what Longhena originally planned,

engraving shows Longhena's original conception for a sculpted

i!!ri;iiii~iii~i: -i iii_ -.-:

?~ii::i~i~ii- ....::~::~-_ ..... .....................

18 Longhena, S. Maria della Salute, plan of

sanctuary, which was completely redesigned (Fig. 21).84 The

Because of the memory of the fruits received by our

This importance was also underscored in the memorandum

It would be useful for Your Serenity to be served and

Longhena's first design proposed a sanctuary and choir

Longhena intended to decrease the length of the church

21 Longhena, S. Maria della Salute, western apse of sanctuary (photo: B6hm)

22 Palladio, the Redentore, plan (Cicognara et

23 Longhena, S. Maria della Salute,

A ilk, jo iol loj ! k Z X

5-)"5)t- <- 60 )' --(21

the pontoon bridge. and

93. The interior

dated the annual feast day ceremonies. Longhena actually

Then there will be a staircase of 13 stairs to ascend to the

This memorandum reveals that Longhena had a clear idea of

We proposed three conditions which we desire and must

d'essa Chiesa et s'intrerA per la porta principale della facciata qual p

26 S. Maria della Salute, exterior from

Original Rome ASV Actual

You might also like