Scuola di San Fantin
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The Scuola di San Fantin, whose members accompanied condemned criminals to their place of execution, was also known as the Scuola dei 'Picai' ('of the hanged men'), the Scuola della Buona Morte and the Scuola della Giustizia.
Before it acquired its own premises, the scuola met in the neighbouring church of San Fantin. The building dates back to the the last decade of the 16th century and Lorenzetti ascribes the design to Antonio Contin with advice from Alessandro Vittoria. The pediment is crowned with statues of the Virgin Mary and two angels, the work of Andrea dell'Aquila and Agostino Rubini, both pupils of Vittoria. The relief of the Crucifixion is by Andrea dell'Aquila. The wooden ceiling of the main room on the ground floor is decorated with thirteen panel paintings by Palma il Giovane. Once furnished with two altars, the room acted as the oratory of the scuola. The Albergo Piccolo (now the Sala Tommaseo), on the upper floor, was built between 1664-65. The adjoining room, the Albergo Grande, is now the reading-room. In 1806 the Scuola di San Fantin was dissolved, its altars removed, and the building became home to a medical society. In 1812 the society merged with other scholarly associations into a single organisation called the Ateneo Veneto. As its statute declares, the Ateneo Veneto exists to promote science, literature, art and culture in all their forms. |
Scuola di San Fantin
Scuola di San Fantin
Relief by Andrea dell'Aquila
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