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Venice
in Peril has often turned its attention
to parts of the city off the tourist routes.
Its work at the beautiful but little-known
church of Santa Maria Mater Domini is a
good example; thanks to the Fund's efforts,
the church was reopened in 1981 after ten
years of closure. It is now the headquarters
of the Marian cult, but is no longer a parish
church -the parish having been amalgamated
since Napoleonic times with nearby San Cassiano.
It can be visited any morning except Sunday.
Founded in the 11th century on an aisled
plan with an entrance portico, this small
church was rebuilt between 1504 and 1520
to the design of an unknown Renaissance
architect, possibly Giovanni Buora (who
also worked at the Madonna dell'Orto), Pietro
Lombardo or Mauro Codussi just before his
death. It was then splendidly furnished
and consecrated in 1540; the campanile was
rebuilt in 1740. The plan of the pure interior
is a Latin cross with a nave, two side aisles
-two steps higher than the nave and articulated
by Corinthian columns- a dome and three
apses.
The Fund's involvement began in 1980 with
the roof and the renewal of beams and tiles
and insulation; eaves, gutters and lantern,
all of Istrian stone, were waterproofed.
Windows were repaired and protected and
other parts made good; the façade
has been left untouched. A complete restoration
of the Scoletta, embedded in the same complex
on the right of the sanctuary, followed
in 1984-89.
Among the works of art remaining in the
church, Venice in Peril paid to restore
the Vision of Santa Cristina (1521) by Vincenzo
Catena, on the Filomato altar, and Francesco
Bissolo's badly damaged painting of the
Transfiguration on the Contarini altar opposite.
The third work repaired was a polychrome
terracotta relief of the Madonna and Child
on the high altar, which is a reminder of
the influence of Tuscan artists in Venice.
As elsewhere, modern lighting and alarm
systems were installed in 1988-89. Much
remains to be done, since the interior has
so long suffered from the effects of rising
damp, and now the campanile is being proposed
for repair.
DIRECTION OF WORKS: Superintendency for
the Environmental and Architectural Heritage
and the Superintendency for the Artistic
and Historical Heritage
CONTRACTOR
Church: Sergio Bari
WORKS OF ART
Paintings: Antonio Bigolin of Treviso
Terracotta: Ferruccio Volpin |
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