Discovering Venice with alequandro! #11 - Visit to the largest church in Venice and the famous funeral monument of Antonio Canova

Hello guys! Finally I found some time for Steemit.
It has been a long time since I wanted to return to Venice, so I took advantage of another effort to continue with my photographic project: "Discovering Venice with alequandro!"

For those unfamiliar with the project, I'm visiting the most interesting places in Venice trying to tell them with my photo and through my feelings.

This time I decided to start my visit to Venice starting from the largest church in Venice:

The "Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari"

The church is in Venetian Gothic style and is made of brick and Istrian stone.
You immediately notice its size, in fact it measures 102 meters in length, 48 meters in the transept and is 28 meters high!

The beginning of the construction dates back to 1250 and ends in 1338.
The Franciscan friars reclaimed the area where once there was Lake Badoer, which had a marshy land. In this place they decided to raise the first church dedicated to the Madonna.

The bell tower is of Romanesque style, reaches 70 meters and is the tallest in Venice after that of S. Marco.
Unfortunately you can not climb the bell tower which is the second highest in Venice after that of Piazza San Marco.
It was started by the Venetian Jacopo Celega (1361) and finished by his son Pier Paolo in 1396.
The interior has two pipes, linked by a ramp that served to bring up the material for construction; they are like two bell-towers, one inside the other, lightened, one inside, with large round windows, while small single-lancet windows allow a faint light to penetrate inside.
It is all in terracotta, except for the white stones that divide the three orders, the columns, the arches of the belfry and the columns of the loggia above.
In 1490 it was damaged by lightning and modified in the still present terminal cusp: instead of the lead pyramid.

After passing through the ticket office the difference in temperature from the outside is the first thing I noticed, the interior dimensions of this spectacular church are noticeable.

I look around and are bewildered by the size and wealth of monuments I see.

In this church there are 17 monumental altars and inside there are many works of art, including two paintings by Titian. It also houses the tombs of many artists linked to Venice, including Claudio Monteverdi and Tiziano Vecellio.

Among the many works one draws my attention.
It is the tomb of Antonio Canova.
It's been 20 years but I remembered it very well.
This is the power and meaning of art, which strikes you and becomes part of you, of your memories, because art has the power to speak to a person's soul.

It differs from other works mainly because it belongs to a different historical period compared to the others present.
In 1794 Antonio Canova designed and built a model for the tomb of Tiziano Vecellio, but there were many difficulties in collecting the funds necessary for the construction, so that in 1822, the year of Canova's death, it was still in the project state.

Canova was buried in Possagno, his birthplace. I visited Canova's temple in Possagno a few months ago, I made a post where I photographed the outside of the temple.
The Academy of Fine Arts in Venice decided to build a monument to preserve the porphyry urn containing the artist's heart; the work was undertaken by six of his students and completed in 1827.

It is a pyramidal cenotaph enriched with mythological figures.
Eros and Psyche (representing Love, Desire and Soul), Perseus and Medusa (representation of the victorious Hero on earthly trials) and the three Graces, symbol of the theological virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity.
Under the central medallion a door opens to which the funeral procession directs.

The veiled character of Death, who wears a canopy, is followed by the young half-naked who holds a lighted torch, to represent Immortality that comes symbolically after death.
Two women with a crown of flowers follow, symbol of hope in the love of immortal life.
Two young men holding lighted torches close the procession.
The torches indicate the Faith that is renewed.
On the first of the three steps there is a sleeping winged lion (Power, Wisdom, Justice with a reference to the Apocalypse of John in which the Winged Lion opens the Book of Life).
Here the lion means that Canova died carrying Wisdom and Faith to God. On the second step stands an Angel with open wings, melancholic, representing the guardian Angel of the soul.
A strip of the tunic slides to the third step where a laurel wreath rests, the crown of victory abandoned by the one who in life was glorious even though he knew how to keep away from the vainglory of the world.
Without tunic, the Angel is stripped naked like the naked Truth.

There would be many details of this work to study and observe for a long time but I do not have much time so I decide to continue with the visit of the church.
However, it is difficult to dwell. The more you look ahead, the more you walk, because every step reveals something great before my eyes!

Two monumental columns frame a treasure of the painting that is hidden in the back of the church, like a last surprise, in the presbytery.

It is the Assumption by Tiziano Vecellio.

I hope you enjoyed this new post on Venice.
It is really challenging to propose these photographic visits.
Venice is not a comfortable city to visit. However I do it with pleasure and interest.
I hope to be able to also arouse curiosity and interest in you to these unique places in the world.

Please let me feel if you like this project.

If you have any questions do not hesitate to ask, I will be happy to answer you and to help those who want to come and visit Venice.

The visit of this incredible church continues, follow me to learn more about Venice!

I wish everyone a wonderful day!!