Scuola Grande di S. Marco

Founded in the 1260, originally the brotherhood used to be nearby the actual Santa Croce Church. Then moved here at San Marco School only starting from the fifteenth century (1437).
During the years in fact the needs of the School grew up with their influence so that in the space of few decades the new School was built following the project of the earlier Scuola della Misericordia. A coronare il tutto, anzi, vi erano 3 edicole marmoree le quali successivamente vennero poste sul fronte verso la laguna (come appare correttamente dalla pianta cinquecentesca del de' Barbari).
Sadly a fire destroied the Shcool in 1485 and even if nothing remained of the original project, the rebuilt School was immeditely decided. Author of this first phase of reconstruction was Pietro Lombardo whom, thanks to some chisel workforce, thought an original project based on the use of friezes, columns splitting, prospectical game with insertion of windows, polichrome marbles, that immediately gives a strong visual impact to the viewer. It was not Lombardo the finisher of the works but Mauro Codussi, who also built the internal stairs, called to complete the upper part of the facade. Unfortunately the precious internal stairs wal destroied in the 1819, when was decided to transform the building in the principal Hospital of Venice, function kept nowadays. Probably the project of this stairs should have been similar to the one of S.Giovanni Evangelista.
Embellished works took place during the years but the main attraction of this School were the paintings that many famous artists gave as a present to commemorate San Marco:  Bellinis  (Giovanni e Gentile), a young  Tintoretto,  Palma il Vecchio.  Works that strongly signed the popular imagination.
This story came to an end with the austrian domination that built the militar hospital making some changements also on the facade. Anyway the visitor will still be able to admire one of the most fascinating building in the entire Venice.