News & Stories

Dear Friends,

With a new season now upon us, I thought that it would be an opportune moment to share the exciting developments that have taken place with Save Venice over the past few months.

The board of Save Venice gathered in June for our annual meeting in the city of Venice. In addition to celebrating the great successes of our many initiatives for Tintoretto 500, at the Church of San Sebastiano, and with Carpaccio’s Saint Ursula Cycle at the Accademia, a lot of new business was discussed, particularly in light of our fast approaching 50th Anniversary in 2021. I am proud to say that the board has voted to adopt two new and exciting major projects as part of the commemoration of this important milestone: the restoration of the mosaics and walls of the central and diaconicon apses at the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta at Torcello, and the restoration of the Italian Synagogue (“Scuola Italiana”) in the Ghetto of Venice. Our fundraising efforts over the next two and half years will be geared primarily towards these two projects.

The first of these could not be a more appropriate marker of Save Venice’s own foundation nearly 50 years ago. The Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta on the island of Torcello represents the very origins of Venice itself. Torcello was one of the first islands settled by the people that would later become known as “Venetians” and it was an active community until Venice as we know it today became to form in earnest. Founded in 639 and finally reconfigured in 1008, the Basilica itself is the oldest surviving structure in the Venetian lagoon. The importance of Torcello as a site and the Basilica as a monument of world art has been long understood, and Save Venice has undertaken restoration projects there before, including an on-going current restoration of the Byzantine style iconostasis in honor of John Julius Norwich, together in partnership with Venice in Peril.

Recent examination of the building itself, however, revealed that a large-scale urgent conservation treatment was needed. The bricks and mortar in the back wall of the church have begun to crumble. The resulting structural issues also directly effect the mosaics on the inside of the apse walls, including the monumental image of the Virgin Hodegetria, as well as those in the adjacent diaconicon apse.

Save Venice will of course be working with a team of experts for this project, including the very passionate mosaicist Giovanni Cucco, who many of you may remember from our project in the Church of SS. Maria and Donato in Murano. It is a major project, but one of the most important for Venetian history that we have ever committed to.

Similarly, the Scuola Italiana represents another fundamental and unique aspect of Venice’s history. Although the Jewish community in Venice is documented in and around the city at a much earlier date, it was granted official status in 1516, when the Republic ordained that a certain quarter of the city in the Cannaregio district be set aside for them.

Dating to 1575, the Scuola Italiana was the last of the five surviving synagogues to be built. It is situated at the top of a building on the Campo del Ghetto Novo, undistinguished from the outside. However, generations of the faithful have added their own touches to the beautiful decoration of the synagogue’s interior. In addition to elegant survivals from the original design, such as the late 16th-century ceiling, there are 18th and even 19th century additions. The ark is particularly elaborately decorated with rococo scrollwork on the exterior and beautiful marquetry inlaid with mother of pearl on the inside doors.

The Jewish Community of Venice is planning a major restoration of the Jewish Museum and the synagogues, and the restoration of the Italian Synagogue is a critical part of this effort. The Italian Synagogue is not currently part of the Jewish Museum tour due to its poor condition and problems of public access created by private residences on the floors beneath. With the restoration of the synagogue, which would remove modern and harmful restorations and overpainting, as well as deal with some structural issues, Save Venice and the Jewish Community of Venice plan to bring the synagogue to a level where it can be visited as part of the tour, meaning it would no longer be a “hidden treasure,” but rather an important public monument to the Jewish community in Venice, and to the history of the city itself.

Our 50th Anniversary is something for us all at Save Venice to celebrate and enjoy. These two projects which mark this momentous event demonstrate all of the things we do best, bringing history, art and community together in a way that resonates not just with those of us from the outside who love Venice, but with Venetians themselves. You will hear more about how you can participate in our 50th Anniversary campaigns and celebrations in the coming months and in the meantime, I want to thank all of our members, supporters, donors, patrons, friends and staff for all of what they have done to make these and so many of the magnificent restorations—past, present and future—possible. And I cannot think of a better “birthday present” for us all to share.

Christopher Apostle
Project Director