A Jewel In Venice — A Look at the Basilica of Santa Maria Della Salute
Standing where the sea kisses the canals of Venice lies a magical white pavilion, erected in honor of St. Mary of Health.
Located just at the entrance to the Grand Canal, it immediately gives the onlooker a perfect sense of theatrical timing and spacing as it rises from columns of white and pastel orange to greet the hundreds of boats coming in and out of the city.
Taking a closer look, we see the main facade, emphasized by its wide staircase, which highlights the immense portal or main door which is framed by heavy columns and crowned with a tympanum, numerous statues and multiple volutes — it resembles a triumphal arch-design. The main door is only open on the Salute’s Feast Day every November 21. Starting from the top, the balustrade and the cupola, although imposing, lighten the whole exterior of the basilica. The ideal of a centralized domed temple was a Renaissance favorite, but Longhena was the first architect since the early Middle Ages to centralize his temple in the form of an octagon surrounded by an ambulatory. This unique shape is made obvious from the exterior (and made more observable once viewed from a higher angle), marked by the smaller Palladian-style facades of the chapels and the wonderful scroll. These seemingly small details give the Salute a very lively and festive appeal. All in all, there are nearly 100 statues around this church which included works of Josse the Court, Francesco Cavrioli, Michele Ungaro, and Tommaso Ruer. Incredibly, almost as if it were a theatre, the columns and arches are placed so as to guide the visitor’s eyes to the smaller chapels and other units of design. Basilica of Santa Maria Della Salute by Baldassarre Longhena is one of the most famous religious buildings in Venice, wittingly built at the entrance bank of the Grand Canal. It will be a location that will never be unnoticed!
Taking a look inside while admiring the central Octagon, we see that the seven chapels and high altar seem even deeper than they really are. It truly gives you a sense of depth and space inside. One of the reasons for this is Longhena’s use of white and grey interior. He intelligently used these materials to guide a visitor’s eyes aside from simply outlining the building which is a manipulative visual trick inspired from the Renaissance period. The sanctuary can be reached by steps, and is almost separate from the main body. A great arch, supported by four ancient Roman columns from Pola, spans the high altar, with its large remarkable sculpture “The Queen of Heaven Expelling the Plague” which was designed by Longhena and sculpted by Juste Le Court. In the centre is a 13th century version of the painting “Madonna and Child” which shows Mary holding the baby Jesus in her arms. This piece of Baroque theatre is made more effective by the shadow reflected by the rectangular choir behind the altar, visually united to the rest of the composition by its tier of three more arches. The three altars on the right are by Neapolitan Luca ‘fa presto’ Giordano, and the third altar on the left is by Titian. To the left of the high altar, works by the surgeon saints SS. Rocco, Sebastiano and SS. Cosma and SS.Damian depict liberation of the previous plague that swept across Europe prior to the church’s construction. Finally, on the ceiling, three restored canvases of Old Testament scenes in violent perspective can be seen: Cain and Abel, David and Goliath and Abraham and Isaac.
As an infrastructure built to symbolize health and salvation, did the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute by Baldassare Longhena exhibit the function/s intended given all these present forms? To answer this question, we have to fully understand the influences — both social and cultural — present during the time when Longhena created the basilica as a tribute to the Marian devotion. According to The Western Undergraduate Journal of Art and Visual Culture (2008), Baldassare Longhena’s masterpiece, in the form of the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute, was greatly influenced by Andrea Palladio’s Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore and San Giorgio Maggiore. Whether these notable works of architecture were built to venerate the Virgin Mary or to commemorate resilience, Palladio’s works became an inspiration for Longhena in terms of incorporating function into form. One example of how Longhena was inspired by Palladio’s works were shown through Longhena’s adaptation in the use of circular shapes, and the minor and major orders. Another factor which heavily influenced Longhena’s “masterpiece” was the culture and heritage present in and around Venice, Italy. Usually, the pieces of architecture within Venice, Italy were built together with infrastructures which serve as memorial buildings tied with martyria which is known as the honor given towards the dead, hospital and plague related churches, churches dedicated to the death and resurrection of Christ, and churches dedicated to Madonna (Hopkins, 2000). This factor also affected how Longhena built the basilica in a way that it should incorporate well with the central plan of Venice, Italy.
Having established the different factors which influenced Baldassare Longhena, what really is the function intended for the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute to perform or represent? One purpose is to venerate Mary. It was believed that the bubonic plague, which hit and caused the death of 46,490 citizens of Venice, was solved and cured with the help of the Marian Devotion. This caused Longhena to be commissioned, with the initiative of the Venice’s senate, to create the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute. Inside the basilica, white marbles were used for the altars in order to further give emphasis to the purity tied up with Mary, specifically the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception. This coincides with their tradition of giving importance to the Virgin Mary. As they say, UNDE ORIGO INDE SALUS, which directly translates to “Whence our Origin Hence our Salvation.” This suggests the amount of reverence and veneration they give towards the Marian devotion under all kinds of circumstances in life, which is shown through the use of Longhena, still in inspiration to Palladio’s works, of minor orders as medium to direct and lead to major orders by manipulating the use of space. As a way to put light into how culture influenced Longhena’s work, it is important to know that the basilica’s components or forms are closely related to vital aspects of Christianity. The use of the eight-sided shape — octagon — is Longhena’s way of giving regards to “scriptural figures”, such as the 8 prophets from the Old Testament, which is relevant to the story of the Virgin Mary. Another instance where culture played a vital role in the creation of Longhena’s piece is when he incorporated crowns and lanterns.. The use of such elements like the octagonal plan and ambulatory were also utilized in the Dome of the Rock which is an islamic shrine located in Jerusalem. These give emphasis on the greatness and sanctity of a certain person which strongly supports the primary function of the basilica — to venerate the Virgin Mary. Longhena said that “…the mystery contained in the dedication of this church to the Blessed Virgin Mary made me think, with what little talend God has bestowed on me, of building the church in the form of a rotunda, being in the shape of a crown, since it is dedicated to the Virgin.” Given this dialogue from Longhena himself, we can see his intentions in creating such a beautiful piece. With the intent to utilize the space provided and to turn it into a medium to praise and give thanks, we can say that the function/s intended for the piece were clearly accomplished. Through the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute, Longhena was able to integrate culture, other artist’s works, its true purpose, the concepts of “interior and exterior relationship and form”, “form follows function”, “continuity” and “within”, and the vision of creating an important piece of Venice’s history. “The Salute, a votive church dedicated to the Madonna, can be interpreted as a powerful symbol of the renewed self-confidence and economic strength of the Republic and was to remain a sign of the Venetian devotion to the Virgin.” Thus, the success of Baldassare Longhena in integrating and successfully delivering his personal intentions alongside the intentions imposed by the people in position and Venice’s culture through the creation of the basilica strongly supports the fact that the above mentioned functions are present up until today. Not only does the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute show how important Christianity is, particularly to the Venetian citizens, it also shows how art could become a vessel in incorporating things both tangible and intangible while not subjecting it to the effects of time.
References:
Blair, Sheila S., and Jonathan M. Bloom. “The Mirage of Islamic Art: Reflections on the Study of an Unmeldy Field.” The Art Bulletin, 85.1. Mar. 2003: 152–184. Print.
Hopkins, Andrew. Santa Maria della Salute: Architecture and Ceremony in Baroque Venice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Print.
Howard, Deborah. Venice and the East: The Impact of the Islamic World on Venetian Architecture 1100–1500. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000. Print.
Su, J. (2007/2008). The Octagon From East to West and Back Again: Baldassare Longhena’s Santa Maria della Salute and the Transference of Architectural Forms. Bon À Tirer: The Western Undergraduate Journal of Art History and Visual Culture, (Second).
— -. “S. Maria della Salute: Scenographic Architecture and the Venetian Baroque.” The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 16.1 Mar. 1957: 3–10. Print.
— -. Palladio and Palladianism. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 1974. Print.
