Scuola Grande di San Marco

This school is not the most important hospital in Venice

This is actually Venezia's hospital. You can walk in and check out the museum with the old medical equipment and the gardens inside, full of cats!

What a gem! The hospital has a nice facade and the museum inside is amazing. They have vintage surgeon tools on display in a beautiful (and spine-chilling) setting with classical music - and under a golden ceiling.

Impeccably curated small museum collection at the upper level to the right of the beautiful hospital’s entrance! Only 3€ for students. The exhibits comprising old pages of anatomical/medical books and equipment were wonderfully laid out in a magnificent room. There aren’t English explanations besides most of the exhibits except for the nobles’ book collection but they’re all visually intriguing enough that i spent a good 45 minutes there despite it’s compact size.

Already from Calle Larga Giacinto Gallina we saw the outlines of the beautiful Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo. From the last bridge leading to Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo overlooking the facade of Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo and the facade of the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo we were left breathless, in wonder. Standing in this place and enjoying the beautiful architectural masterpieces is a real privilege. Of course, the rich history of buildings in us evokes admiration and awe. Scuola Grande di San Marco is a Renaissance palace and the former seat of the Venetian confraternities in Sestiere Castello. The Great Brotherhood of San Marco was founded in 1260 and had its headquarters near the now demolished church of Santa Croce (next to Piazzale Roma in Papadopoulos Park). The Dominicans of the church of San Giovanni e Paolo near Castello ceded their land to the fraternity in 1437 to build their new headquarters. Construction work was led by Pietro Lombardo and Giovanni Buora, but the palace burned down in a fire in 1485. Work on the erection of the new and larger palace was entrusted to Mauro Codussi, who built it in 1505, and after that the palace was extended in 1523 towards the Rio dei Mendicanti canal, thanks to the occupation of the architect Jacopo Sansovino. The rich polychrome marble facade of the palace, with numerous reliefs, has an asymmetrical structure that reflects the internal division of space, with a saloon on the left and the so-called hotel lounge (sala dell’albergo) on the right. From the very beginning, the brothers of the School decided to limit the reconstitution of the cycles of paintings, leaving out the vast spaces of the Chapter Room, to dedicate every resource to the smallest walls of the Sala dell'Albergo with a cycle of six canvases dedicated to episodes of life of San Marco. The Hall became one of the most spectacular complexes of the Venetian Renaissance, an attraction for European scholars and experts, thanks to the works of Gentile Bellini ("Sermon of San Marco"), Giovanni Bellini ("The martyrdom of San Marco"), Giovanni Mansueti (" Healing of Aniano "and" Baptism of Aniano "), Paris Bordon (" The fisherman gives the ring to the Doge "), Jacopo Palma il Vecchio (" Saints Mark, George and Nicholas save Venice from the storm "). From 1807 Scuola was turned into a military hospital and it has remained for the entire time of the Austrian administration until today, when it operates as the city hospital Ospedale Civile SS. Giovanni e Paolo.

Amazing historical facade, as much as the interior. The "Scuola" hosts the Museum of History of Medicine, 5 centuries of pieces and textbooks . The direction of the Museum organizes a big amount of cultural events. Closed on Monday. Not to loose.

Great way to dive into a great collection of medical archives by the hospital. The halls in which the collections are housed, as well as their ceilings, could be a reason to visit.

If you enjoy medical history, this is definitely a stop for you. They have antique medical books and equipment galore. The ceiling is worth a visit alone. Entrance is 5€, 3€ for students. The information is all in Italian. We do not speak Italian but enjoyed it all the same.