Restored in 1999 with funding from Mr. and Mrs. Dennis C. Stanfill in honor of Countess Anna Maria Cicogna and Lady Carla Thorneycroft.

These two Baroque holy water fonts are located near the central portal of the church of Santa Maria della Salute. The water basins are set on bases that are richly decorated with ornate putti carved to resemble the keystone decorations of an elaborate portal. Vegetal motifs abound as well, with leaves appearing to burst forth from behind the volutes, and fruit gathered into bundles that are tied with elegantly draped ribbons.

A bronze statue surmounts each font: one portrays Saint Mark, and the other Saint John the Baptist. In his role as Venice’s beloved patron saint, Mark is depicted as a handsome and bearded young man, but without his winged lion. He holds the book of his Gospel in his left hand. John the Baptist is a fitting adornment for a holy water basin, as the fonts serve as a reminder to the faithful that baptism is the initiation to Christianity. He is dressed in his characteristic hairshirt, with a lamb at his feet, the symbol of Christ. John holds a cup in his raised right hand and is captured in the act of pouring holy water.

The holy water fonts were restored by conservator Ernesta Vergani, with the guidance of project director Grazia Fumo of the Superintendency of Monuments of Venice.

For select projects, conservation dossiers in Italian containing limited textual and photographic documentation may be available for consultation by appointment at the Venice office of Save Venice and the Rosand Library & Study Center. For inquiries, please contact us at venice@savevenice.org.

Unidentified artist
Holy Water Fonts with Statues of Saints Mark and John the Baptist
Late 17th century, Greek marble (basins), bronze (statues)