San Giorgio Monastery, Former monastery on San Giorgio Maggiore island, Venice, Italy
San Giorgio Monastery is a Renaissance monastery complex on an island facing Venice, designed by Andrea Palladio and Baldassarre Longhena. The buildings include a spacious library, refectory, grand staircase, infirmary, guest quarters, and cloisters that form a cohesive architectural ensemble.
Giovanni Morosini founded the monastery in 982 on swampy ground that Doge Tribuno Memmo had donated to him. Over the centuries, this marshy site transformed into a major religious and cultural center.
The monastery once held Paolo Veronese's Wedding Feast at Cana, a masterpiece of Renaissance painting that hung in the refectory. Though removed to Paris in 1797, the painting's presence shaped the spiritual identity of this island for centuries.
The site now serves as headquarters for the Cini Foundation and offers visitors access to an extensive library and cultural events throughout the year. Plan to spend several hours exploring the rooms and collections at a comfortable pace.
In 1799, cardinals used the monastery's spaces to elect Pope Pius VII while Rome was under French occupation. This unexpected event briefly made this island a center of the Catholic Church.
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