I Gesuiti, Venice


The church of Santa Maria Assunta, known as I Gesuiti, is a religious building in Venice, northern Italy. It is located in the sestiere of Cannaregio, in Campo dei Gesuiti, not far from the Fondamenta Nuove.

History

According to some sources the construction of the church was financed by a certain Pietro or, according to Doge Andrea Dandolo, by Cleto Gussoni in 1148 and was surrounded by grounds, bodies of water and wetlands. In 1154 Cleto turned it into a hospital for the poor who were ill, both men and women. Another Gussoni, by the name of Buonavere, relative and heir of Cleto, ultimately provided vineyards and some of his other estates in the districts of Chioggia and Pellestrina. In the monastery of I Gesuiti a member of the same family, Marco Gussoni, took his vows, miraculously cured by the then Blessed, later Saint Luigi Gonzaga. It is said that in 1601 Marco, struck down by a grave illness, was healed instantly on the invocation by the saint. However, on 1 August 1631 he contracted the plague and died in Ferrara whilst working to help the plague victims there; he became known as "uomo di somma pietà". A portrait of him entitled Marco Gussoni blessing the plague victims at the Lazzaretto of Ferrara is exhibited in Ca' Rezzonico.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola visited the city of Venice for the first time in 1523 to embark on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He returned to I Gesuiti in 1535 with a group of friends, who already called themselves the Society of Jesus, and here they were ordained as priests. It took just two years for the group to fully establish themselves in the lagoon of Venice and to gain a large following. They left for Rome in 1537.
In 1606, due to the quarrels between Pope Paul V and Venice, the city was placed under interdiction, and as a consequence, the Jesuits were exiled until 1657. During these years, Venice was involved in a consuming war with the Ottoman Empire and Pope Alexander VIII decided to provide the services of the Betlemitani, an order created to assist the Knights of the Cross who were under the control of this pope.
Venice then sold the whole estate to the Jesuits, including a church, a hospital and a convent, for fifty-thousand ducats. However, the Betlemitani church was not large enough for the Jesuits. So in 1715 they knocked it down and built their own temple. The church was given the name of Santa Maria Assunta. It was financed by the Manin family; an aristocratic Friulan family from 1651. The church was consecrated in 1728.

Description

The Jesuits in Venice determined that Domenico Rossi, who designed the Church of San Stae, was the ideal architect to do the work they needed. It was not an easy task for him as he had to follow strict plans, which were defined for the Jesuits by the Council of Trent.
The facade is in two tiers: the lower of which is formed around eight columns, on which rests the rough and cracked architrave of the second tier. The columns support eight statues, which, along with four others in various niches, represent the "twelve apostles". Four other statues on the sides of the main entrance represent Saint James the Greater, Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Matthew the Evangelist. Among the sculptors is Filippo Catasio. and Giuseppe Ziminiani. Lining the Tympanum are statues by Giuseppe Torretti, forming his work L'Assunzione della Vergine Maria . In recent times some work of Francesco Bonazza has been lost. A green and white marble banner, positioned in front of the central window.
The layout of the church is typical of Jesuit churches, in the form of a Latin cross with three chapels in the longest wing. The transept and chancel are alongside two other chapels. The six chapels on the sides of the nave are separated by small rooms which were probably once used for confession. Between the second and third chapels stands the remarkable pulpit created by Francesco Bonazza and along the entire corridor there are "corretti", grates that visitors to the convent could look through. The nave of the church pales in comparison to the altar, which is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, due to the presence of four pillars which support the cross vault. These pillars were decorated with green and white marble between 1725 and 1731.
The campanile is almost entirely the original that was erected for the church of the Betlemitani, the only addition is the belfry from the eighteenth century.
The ceiling is adorned with frescoes. In the chancel, Angel musicians in Glory, and on the vaulted ceiling The Triumph of the Name of Jesus, were painted by Ludovico Dorigny. On the ceiling of the nave, Abraham and Three Angels and Vision of St John Evangelist were painted by Francesco Fontebasso in 1734. The chancel is decorated with statues of cherubs, little angels, angels and archangels by Giuseppe Torretti. Around the altar, designed by the Jesuit father Giuseppe Pozzo, ten columns support a green and white dome. A chapel in the church has the monument to Doge Cicogna by Campagna.

Counter-façade

The funeral monument of the Da Lezze family by Jacopo Sansovino. This monument already existed in the ancient church of Crosechieri and was rebuilt by the Jesuits on the site of origin. It is the result of two orders, respectively 4 and 8 columns, on the busts of the sarcophagi of: Priam De Lezze, Andrea De Lezze and Giovanni Da Lezze. It is chronologically the first example of a monument erected to celebrate a patrician family in Venice.

The left side of the nave

; First Chapel - Chapel of Saint Lawrence
The altar was used by the schola dei passamaneri.
; Second chapel - Chapel of Our Lady.
;The pulpit
; The third chapel - The Chapel of the Sacred Heart

The left transept

;The organ
;Altar of the Assumption of Mary
;The Funeral Monument of the Doge Pasquale Cicogna

The Sacristy

On the ceiling is a fresco by Louis Dorigny, The triumph of the name of Jesus , . At the four corners adorning the pilasters the marble statues of the Archanges Michel, Gabriel, Raphael and Sariel by Giuseppe Torretti.

Right transept

; The chapel of Ignatius of Loyola
Erected at the expense of Vettor Grimani Procurator. In the center is the altarpiece, the statue of the founder of the Society of Jesus, Saint Ignatius, who shows the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus. On the wings of the pediment on each side of the great statue Faith and charity.
On the front side of altar are bas-reliefs showing from left to right: Saint Ignatius giving these clothes to a poor man; Ignatius at Manresa; The vision of La Storta.
;The organ of the right transept
It is the only functional one, its contralateral counterpart is artificial.

Choir

; The apse chapel on the left is dedicated to St. Joseph.
; The High Altar
; The apsidal chapel on the right is dedicated to Saint Francis Xavier

Right side of the nave

;The chapel of the three Jesuits
; The Chapel of St. Barbara
;The Chapel of the Guardian Angel