Scuole Grandi of Venice
Encyclopedia
The Scuole Grandi were confraternity
or sodality
institutions in Venice
, Italy
. They were founded as early as the 13th century as charitable and religious organizations for the laity.
Unlike the trade guilds or the numerous scuola piccola, they included persons from many occupations and ethnicities, although citizenship was required. Unlike the rigidly aristocratic Venetian governmental Grand Council, which for centuries only admitted a restricted number of noble families, membership in the Scuole was open to all citizens, and did not permit nobles to gain director roles. Citizens could include persons in the third generation of residency in the island republic, or persons who had paid taxes in Venice for fifteen years.
The Scuole proved to be one of the few outlets for non-noble Venetian citizens to control powerful institutions. Their activities grew to encompass the organization of processions, sponsoring festivities, distribution of money, food, and clothing to poorer members, provision of dowries to daughters, burial of paupers, and the supervision of hospitals. The Scuole were regulated by the Procurators of Venice, who set forth a complex balance of elected offices, mirroring the structures of the Republic
. Paying members could vote in the larger Capitolo, which in turn elected 16 members to a supervisory Banca: a chief officer, Vicario (first deputy), Guardian da Mattin (director of processions), a scribe and twelve officers known as the Degani (two for each sestieri). A second board, known as the Zonta was meant to examine the accounts of the Banca.
By 1552, there were six Scuole Grandi:
Typically the main building consisted of an androne, or meeting hall for the provision of charity; the upper floor contained the salone was used for meeting of the Capitolo and a smaller room, the albergo, used for meetings of the Banca and Zonta. They often had an affiliated hospital and church. The Scuola often sheltered relics, commissioned famous works of art, or patronized musicians and composers.
Confraternity
A confraternity is normally a Roman Catholic or Orthodox organization of lay people created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Church hierarchy...
or sodality
Sodality
In Christian theology, a sodality is a form of the "Universal Church" expressed in specialized, task-oriented form as opposed to the Christian church in its local, diocesan form . In English, the term sodality is most commonly used by groups in the Catholic Church, where they are also referred to...
institutions in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. They were founded as early as the 13th century as charitable and religious organizations for the laity.
Unlike the trade guilds or the numerous scuola piccola, they included persons from many occupations and ethnicities, although citizenship was required. Unlike the rigidly aristocratic Venetian governmental Grand Council, which for centuries only admitted a restricted number of noble families, membership in the Scuole was open to all citizens, and did not permit nobles to gain director roles. Citizens could include persons in the third generation of residency in the island republic, or persons who had paid taxes in Venice for fifteen years.
The Scuole proved to be one of the few outlets for non-noble Venetian citizens to control powerful institutions. Their activities grew to encompass the organization of processions, sponsoring festivities, distribution of money, food, and clothing to poorer members, provision of dowries to daughters, burial of paupers, and the supervision of hospitals. The Scuole were regulated by the Procurators of Venice, who set forth a complex balance of elected offices, mirroring the structures of the Republic
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
. Paying members could vote in the larger Capitolo, which in turn elected 16 members to a supervisory Banca: a chief officer, Vicario (first deputy), Guardian da Mattin (director of processions), a scribe and twelve officers known as the Degani (two for each sestieri). A second board, known as the Zonta was meant to examine the accounts of the Banca.
By 1552, there were six Scuole Grandi:
- Scuola Grande della Carità (founded 1260) now part of the AccademiaAccademiaThe Accademia is a museum gallery of pre-19th century art in Venice, northern Italy. Situated on the south bank of the Grand Canal, within the sestiere of Dorsoduro, it gives its name to one of the three bridges across the canal, the Ponte dell'Accademia, and to the boat landing station for the...
- Scuola Grande di San Giovanni EvangelistaScuola Grande di San Giovanni EvangelistaThe Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista is a confraternity building located in the San Polo sestiere of the Italian city of Venice. Founded in the 13th century by a group of flagellants it was later to become one of the five Scuole Grande of Venice. These organisations provided a variety of...
(founded 1261) - Scuola Grande della Misericordia (founded 1308)
- Scuola Grande di San MarcoScuola Grande di San MarcoThe Scuola Grande di San Marco is a building in Venice, Italy. It originally was the home to one of the six major sodalities or Scuole Grandi of Venice. It faces the Campo San Giovanni e Paolo, one of the largest squares in the city....
(founded 1260) - Scuola Grande di San RoccoScuola Grande di San RoccoThe Scuola Grande di San Rocco is a building in Venice, northern Italy.-History:The Scuola di San Rocco was established in 1478 by a group of wealthy Venetian citizens, next to the church of San Rocco, from which it takes its name.In January 1515 the project of the building was entrusted...
(founded late 15th century) - Scuola Grande di San Teodoro (founded 1530 or 1552)
Typically the main building consisted of an androne, or meeting hall for the provision of charity; the upper floor contained the salone was used for meeting of the Capitolo and a smaller room, the albergo, used for meetings of the Banca and Zonta. They often had an affiliated hospital and church. The Scuola often sheltered relics, commissioned famous works of art, or patronized musicians and composers.