Scuola San Rocco or the Brotherhood of Saint Roch:
Scuola San Rocco is a church in Venice, founded in 1549 by the Brotherhood of San Rocco and belongs to one of the 6 great Venetian schools.
This brotherhood provided charitable assistance to the sick. Scuola Grande di San Rocco, once a charitable institution for the sick, was founded in honor of Saint Roch, a saint whose power against disease made him popular in plague-stricken Venice.
The 16th-century building that houses the museum belonged to one of the most powerful Venetian religious brotherhoods, aimed at instilling piety and mutual aid in the faithful.
The most interesting thing about the church of Scuola Grande di San Rocco is the cycle of 54 paintings by Tintoretto, which make a strong impression. But within the walls of the basilica, you will also find interesting carved wooden figures and a beautiful gilded ceiling.
The school of the Brotherhood of Saint Roch rightfully bears the definition of the Sistine Chapel of the great 16th-century artist Jacopo Tintoretto.
Here, the artist is represented by his best works. Many of the master’s canvases impress us with their pathos, multi-figure compositions, sizes, and variety of angles, the power of talent, and the unity of the concept. On his canvases, the people, the crowd, and collective action dominate, and the human figure becomes part of nature. You will also see works by Giordano and Tiepolo.
In the upper hall of the palace, you can see the works of the woodcarver Francesco Pianta, a virtuoso of wood carving, a fantasist, an intellectual, and a storyteller. Each figure made by his fine chisel is a symbol, a characteristic of human vice or virtue. This is a true alphabet for instructive and entertaining reading.
Open every day except Monday, December 24, January 1, May 1.
