Christian Venice - Essay Example

Venice - Cities of the Renaissance Christian Venice and the Contributions of the Mendicant Orders to Venetian Thought and Architecture Venice has aunique cultural history that has been shaped by the contributions of many people who arrived to live in the city for various reasons. This was also necessary to maintain population levels (Lane, 1973: 20). Among them were the Mendicant orders that defined new values for Christian piety and in terms of architecture, helped to develop the Gothic style in Venice in the thirteenth century (Howard, 1981:69). This study will examine the background of the Christian presence in Venice and their role in Venetian community life, the arrival of the Mendicant orders, and the expression of their piety, and their style of architecture. In particular, this study looks at how the Christians maintained social stability, and to illustrate the contributions of Mendicant friars in detail, focus is given to the distinctiveness of the Mendicant order churches, the Santi Giovanni e Paola and the design of the San Francesco della Vigna and the related mystical-philosophical expression of their thoughts. Venice had long been accommodating an influx of migrants as during the Lombard invasion of Italy in 568 A.D. (Lane, 1973: 4). Early communities were settled around parishes in their central squares (Lane, 1973: 98; Mumford, 1968: 322), and although there was diversity in terms of the wealth of families, the communities were integrated, as the rich and the poor “lived check by jowl” (Lane, 1973: 11-12). Sanudo (1493) describes each sestier and its church in detail in his work ‘Venice, A Documentary History: In Praise of Venice’, and in one of them called Dorsoduro, he specifically mentions the existence of monasteries as well (ibid: 15). However, each community had its own variant customs, festivals, parish priest and chief, and patron saint. Nonetheless, social stability was a hallmark of the Venetians, and one of the ‘foundation stones’ of this was the harmony between the parishes. Lewis Mumford also noted this ability to preserve ‘neighborhood spirit’ and considered it an ideal feature of city planning. The Parishes were also well connected by footpaths and wooden bridges in addition to ferries (Lane, 1973: 12). Another thing in common to all the parishes noted by Sanudo (1493) was the performance of daily mass. In reality, there were some periods of factional violence, as pointed out by Lane (1973: 88), which even resulted in the burning and then rebuilding of the San Marco church, but overall the communities were coalesced and religious. It can be said that, in the beginning at least, Venice “was truly shaped by Christian needs and interests” (Mumford, 1968: 320). Sanudo (1493: 4) even goes as far as claiming that it was built by Christians, and more so by people who were rich and powerful. The religious allegiance of the Venetians was to Rome while Greek orthodoxy was considered as heresy for some centuries (Lane, 1973: 7), but at the same time, they also expressed a strong feeling of independence as through the cult of Saint Mark (Lange, 1973: 88). The Venetians adhered to both the ascending and descending theories. That is, they acknowledged that “all rightful power was handed down by God to the pope and emperor and passed on by them to those below … [and simultaneously that] lawmaking and similar political powers resided in the community and could be handed over by it to those it designated” (Lane, 1973: 90). Following the decline in religiosity after the savagery perpetrated during the crusades, there emerged several ascetic orders in Venice. The reverend Patriarch while having authority over parishes and most nunneries did not have authority over the friars who had their own generals (Sanudo, 1493: 16). This lack of state control over the male religious orders enabled them to express themselves architecturally in imaginative ways (Howard, 1981: 157). The Mendicant friars as their name suggests were renowned for their piety through leading an ascetic way of life although relying on alms for their material needs. At the same time however, they were active members of the community dedicated to serving others. Their traditions differed from other monastic communities such as the Benedictines and the Cistercians. Among the mendicant orders to which the friars belonged were the Franciscans founded by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1210 in Izio; also called the Frati Minori (Lesser Friars), and the Dominicans known as the Preacher Friars (Howard, 1981:70). The Mendicant order churches had more open sites around them; had greater heights, and were better lit in comparison to older parish churches. Although no Mendicant order church is found in the Rialto-Merceria-San Marco area (ibid: 70), there are several such churches around Venice, which are also marked on maps. The Santi Giovanni e Paola is a good example in regards to which Howard (1981) describes the light entering the clerestory windows, lancers and side aisle roundels as serene. This was an unusual feature in Venetian churches at the time. She also notes that in line with Gothic tradition, "The hefty stone piers which separate the nave from the side aisles are simple cylinders" (Howard, 1981:73). Brasca (1480: 21) mentions a pilgrims’ impressions visiting this church as well as San Francesco in the fifteenth century. He describes them both as “very large and beautiful”, and the tomb contained in the latter as “the most beautiful … in the whole of Venice”. Howard (1981: 152) delves in further detail on the Gothic style in ‘The Architectural History of Venice’. For example, he mentions the re-emergence of the ‘wall surface’ “as an expressive architectural component in its own right”. The San Francesco della Vigna for example, was built for the Franciscan monks in 1534 by Sansovino while the façade was designed by Palladio. Sansovino himself was a secular architect, but the “observant Franciscans exerted strict control over the architecture of their churches” (Howard, 1981: 157-158). Palladio’s contribution helped to add the element of grandeur. The friars are described as observant because of their adherence to the ideals of humility and poverty. Their control over the architecture was demonstrated by the substantial modifications asked for by the scholar-friar Fra Francesco Zorzi “in the light of his views on proportion, acoustics and the need for austerity” (Howard, 1981:158). His ideas in turn were influenced by neo-platonic philosophy such as making all important dimensions multiples of three, this being considered the most perfect number, which “also, conveniently, symbolized the Trinity in Christian thought” (ibid). Furthermore, it was also modeled on another one of the order’s churches in Florence. Earlier, the Camaldolese friars also embodied Renaissance theories in their designs. A view of the inside of San Francesco della Vigna Source: Howard (1981). Asolani (1505) wrote about a hermit on the topic of spiritual love in Venice. The significant connection between what follows and the above mentioned architectural observations is, from the perspective of western scholarship, the inherent neo-platonic thought in both, and from the perspective of universal mysticism, expression of divine proportions in earthly manifestations through architecture and a discussion of the nature of reality in the former, which provides a context for the architectural expressions. The hermit is described as a white-haired bearded old man “clothed in a material like the bark of the young oaks surrounding him” studied sacred books and spent his time in contemplation. The figure Lavinello greets the old man, and after being surprised by his recognition of him, the old man reveals some mystical truths. These include the division of the soul; the four elements of the material world; the nature of love and desire; the erring in following the senses; the imprisonment of the soul within the body; the immortality of the soul and how to “lift the world’s dark veil aside in order to learn wisdom from gazing on the truth”. Further, he continues on the yearning of the soul for the divine and eternal loveliness; the nature of the pure world beyond the material and what it contains, and virtuous love i.e. in which the ‘true beauty’ is desired. These descriptions define the views and perspective of ascetics in general, including those of the Mendicant orders in Venice and their objectives during earthly life. It is within this framework that they expressed their lifestyle; their deeds and their architecture. Venice also gave them the necessary freedom in which to flourish and make their mark on others’ lives as well as on buildings to best support their earthly lives. The early Christians were positioned to dictate city planning aspects and where and how churches should be located, but it was the Mendicant orders that gave the qualities of beauty, grandeur and perfection to churches in Venice. Bibliography Asolani, Gli. 1505. Brasca, Santo. A Pilgrim’s Impressions. 1480. In Chambers, David and Pullan, Brian (Ed’s). 2001. Venice: A Documentary History, 1450-1630. University of Toronto Press in association with Renaissance Society of America. Howard, Deborah. The Architectural History of Venice. Holmes & Meier. 1981. Lane, Frederic C. Venice: A Maritime Republic. The John Hopkins University Press. Illustrated edition. 1973. Mumford, Lewis. The City in History: Its Origins, Its Transformations, and Its Prospects. Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. 1968. Sanudo, Marin. 1493. Praise of the City of Venice. In Chambers, David and Pullan, Brian (Ed’s). 2001. Venice: A Documentary History, 1450-1630. 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