Restored in 1998 with Save Venice general funds.

This horizontal bas-relief depicting the reclining body of Saint John the Almsgiver originally formed the lid of the box containing the relics of the saint, which were given to the church of San Giovanni in Bragora in 1249 by Lorenzo Bragadin. Despite the fact that there was another church in Venice already dedicated to the saint, located near the Rialto bridge, the relic remained in the Bragora church because of its miraculous power and the growing devotion surrounding it. The relief carving is the work of Lardo (also occasionally known as Leonardo) Tedesco, while Leonardo Boldrini was responsible for the polychromy and gilding.

The work was restored by conservator Maximilian Leuthenmayr, with the guidance of project director Sandro Sponza of the Superintendency of Fine Arts 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.

Lardo Tedesco (active 1490s) and Leonardo Boldrini (active 1452–1493)
Reliquary Cover of Saint John the Almsgiver
1493, wood with polychromy and gilding
62 x 203 cm

San Giovanni Battista in Bragora: Homepage (in Italian)

San Giovanni Battista in Bragora: Chapel of Saint John the Almsgiver (in Italian)