The first case study

The insula of SS. Giovanni e Paolo faces north toward the island of San Michele (Venice’s cemetery). It was chosen as the first case study for Visualizing Venice (July 2010), on the basis its historical complexity and the layering of various institutions and uses from the twelfth century on: the complexes of the Dominican Order and the Mendicanti, the Scuola Grande di San Marco, the church of S. Maria dei Derelitti (dell’Ospedaletto), the Byzantine and Gothic residential buildings overlooking the canal from the south, the spaces for storing lumber on the Barbaria de le Tole, and, most recently, the social housing project in the area of the Ospedaletto. In the late sixteenth century, the insula was also the site of a major urban redevelopment and land reclamation project, which resulted in the construction of the Fondamente Nuove—a paved pedestrian walkway that solidified the city’s northern border. The island’s greatest transformation, however, took place after Napoleon’s occupation (1797), when the religious orders were suppressed (1806) and the complexes of SS. Giovanni e Paolo and the Mendicanti were converted into hospital facilities. The insula has continued to undergo constant transformation since that time.

The research on the insula of SS. Giovanni e Paolo (July 2010/July 2011) produced different forms of output, including 2D maps, 3D models, and videos. These results have been presented at international conferences and workshops, attesting the potential of new technologies in transmitting new knowledge on urban history both within the academic community and to the public at large.

A particular study focused on Campo SS. Giovanni e Paolo. The campo itself is defined by the homonymous church, the Scuola Grande di S. Marco, the rio dei Mendicanti, and a row of residential buildings. At its center, erected on a pedestal, stands the equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni. The Scuola Grande di S. Marco presents a Renaissance facade, the lower order of which—through the extensive use of polychrome marbles and false perspectival views—creates a pictorial effect that gives it depth. It and the other buildings of the campo were one of the most represented areas of Venice, second only to St. Mark’s. Of particular renown are the many paintings and engravings by Canaletto (second half of the eighteenth century).

The study on Canaletto’s work verified the documentary potential of the artist’s paintings and engravings of the campo. Canaletto’s knowledge of perspective and his use of the camera obscura made accurate perspective restitutions possible. These, in turn, proved what art historians had maintained about the tricks Canaletto used to create emphasis or, through the use of multiple points of view, to make the parts of the city he represented more dynamic. Perspective restitution also made it possible to draw out elements that were useful in metrically recomposing the buildings of the campo and in understanding why and according to what logic Canaletto gave priority to or left out specific information about the city and its architecture.
(December 2012)

 

People

Alessandra Ferrighi (team coordinator 2011-2012)

Gianmario Guidarelli (team coordinator 2010)

Alexandra Dodson

Joseph William Chandler

Isabella Friso

Andrea Giordano

Mattia Grosso

Gianmario Guidarelli

Cosimo Monteleone

Erica Sherman

Ines Tolic

Matthew Woodworth