Giovanni Scalfarotto - architect

Grandiose church renovation is one of Venice’s best-known sights

The church of San Simeon Piccolo is situated
opposite Venice's Santa Lucia railway station

Giovanni Scalfarotto, a Venetian architect remembered essentially for just one project, was born on this day in 1672.

The son of a bricklayer, Scalfarotto spent much of his career as a site foreman or supervisor around Venice and nearby towns, usually involved with relatively minor restoration work, although he advised on the domes of San Giorgio Maggiore and San Marco as a consultant.

The exception was his work on the church of Saints Simeone and Giuda Apostoli, also known as San Simeon Piccolo, on the Grand Canal, in a restoration project that spanned 20 years between 1718 and 1738 and created what is today arguably one of Venice’s most recognisable visual symbols. 

Likely originally to have been a three-nave basilica built parallel to the canal, the church was transformed under Scalfarotto, who created a central rotunda beneath an enormous oval dome in green copper topped by a temple-shaped lantern, accessed through a Corinthian portico mounted on a flight of steps leading to the water’s edge.

The design had echoes of the Pantheon in Rome, of Antonio Palladio’s Redentore in Venice and his Tempietto in Maser, Baldassare Longhena’s Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute in Venice and the twin churches of Piazza del Popolo in Rome, designed by Carlo Rainaldi.

When the age of the railways reached Venice with the construction of Santa Lucia railway station in the 1860s, the position of San Simeon Piccolo on the Grand Canal, directly opposite the entrance to the station, meant that for hundreds, and ultimately thousands of tourists who arrive in Venice by train every day, it was the first thing their eyes were drawn to as they stepped out into the sunshine.

Given that he was in his 40s when he began work on the church and had only a relatively modest career behind him, many experts have cast doubt on whether the design can be reliably attributed to Scalfarotto.

The twin churches of Piazza del Popolo in Rome
possibly influenced the design of San Simeon Piccolo

But even if he had been merely executing ideas put forward by others, the successful completion of a project of such complexity was a notable achievement in itself.

Scalfarotto - sometimes spelled Scalferotto or Scalfurotto - was born in the parish of San Pantalon, the second son of Tommaso, a bricklayer originally from Valmarino, about 80km (48 miles) north of Venice, in the province of Treviso.

By his early 20s, Giovanni Scalfarotto was himself working in Venice as a bricklayer or mason. His training was probably provided by his father and his older brother, Bartolomeo. He is thought likely to have become interested in architecture and design through his friendship with Andrea Musalo, a Greek mathematician, engineer and architectural theorist who was based in Venice.

His career appeared to move to another level after he had travelled to Rome in 1711 with a group of Baroque artists and craftsmen that included Domenico Rossi, a Swiss‑Italian architect whose major designs included the magnificent, sculpturally theatrical façade of the church of San Stae, the Jesuit church of Santa Maria Assunta and Ca’ Corner della Regina.

On his return to Venice, Scalfarotto began to take on bigger projects involving his own designs, although few of them saw fruition. He also married Domenico Rossi’s daughter, Caterina, with whom he had three children. When Caterina died, he was married for a second time to Marina, daughter of the architect Andrea Tirali, who recommended him to be elected as ‘proto’ of the monasteries - a kind of master builder or chief engineer in charge of appraisals and reports on the state of churches and monasteries in Venice.

Scalfarotto’s name is engraved on the internal architrave of the portico in front of church of San Simeon Piccolo, which remains known as such even though the nearby church of San Simeone Grande was dwarfed by the 'smaller' church's rebuild. 

It is known that, in 1721, he was appointed foreman of the restoration project at San Simeon Piccolo by the church chapter, raising doubts about his role as an independent designer of the building. There are suggestions that, as foreman, he may have received suggestions about design from his client and drafted the project based on those ideas, rather than executing his own original ideas. 

Information about Scalfarotto in later life became sparse, although it is known that, between 1748 and 1750, after having lived in the parish of Sant’ Agnese in a house possibly owned by Andrea Musalo’s brother, he moved to Santa Maria Formosa, where he lived comfortably until his death in October, 1764. He was buried in the church of Santa Maria Formosa.

Campo Santa Maria Formosa, with its church
of the same name, offers a taste of Venetian life

Travel tip:

Campo Santa Maria Formosa, at the heart of the parish where Giovanni Scalfarotto spent his later years, is one of Venice’s most atmospheric squares, one in which the city’s layers of history bump into daily life in a generous open space. It is rare among squares in Venice, often tight and enclosed, in that it opens out in multiple directions, creating a sense of breadth and light that feels unexpected in the dense fabric of Castello. Palaces sit shoulder to shoulder with humbler residential buildings amid the commanding presence of the church that gives the square its name. The church of Santa Maria Formosa, where Scalfarotto is buried, is said to have been founded in the seventh century and rebuilt in the 15th century as a landmark of early Renaissance architecture in Venice. The church is unusual in having two façades, each addressing a different side of the square, one serene and classical, the other more theatrical, adorned with sculptural flourishes.  The Campo feels like a crossroads of Venetian life, with children playing, local people going about their daily business and visitors enjoying a break from the crowds of Piazza San Marco, which is barely five minutes’ walk away. 

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Castelbrando, which now contains a luxury hotel,
stands guard over the village of Cison di Valmarino

Travel tip:

Valmarino - Cison di Valmarino to give its full name - is a village about 40km (24 miles) north of Treviso in the characterised by arcaded streets, stone houses, and a landscape shaped by vineyards and wooded hills. It sits at the foot of the Prealps along the Strada del Prosecco, and today is recognised as one of I Borghi più belli d’Italia and a Touring Club Bandiera Arancione destination. Its position gives it a distinctive blend of Venetian, Alpine, and agricultural character. The village was once the seat of the historic County of Valmareno, which included two castles and 20 villages. From 1439 it belonged to the Brandolini family, who shaped the area’s political and architectural identity for centuries. Part of their legacy is perched above the village on a limestone ridge in the shape of Castelbrando, one of Veneto’s most imposing castles, enclosing nearly 2,000 years of history. Today it functions as a hotel, museum complex, and cultural venue, accessible by funicular. The village lies in the heart of the Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG zone, with numerous cellars offering tastings. Local food specialities include spiedo, a traditional slow‑roasted meat dish cooked for at least seven hours, and local speciality biscuits called Buzholà.

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More reading:

Andrea Palladio, the stonecutter who became a giant of architecture

How Giorgio Massari built on Palladio’s legacy in Venice

The magnificent Venetian church built to commemorate deliverance from the plague

Also on this day:

1598: The birth of astronomer Giovanni Riccioli

1923: The birth of tenor Gianni Raimondi

1927: The birth of soprano Graziella Sciutti

1954: The birth of racing driver Riccardo Patrese

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Nino Sanzogno – conductor

Orchestra leader introduced audiences to new composers

Nino Sanzogno in 1951,
during his time at La Scala

The talented conductor and composer Nino Sanzogno, who was much admired for his elegance and the precision of his conducting, was born Giovanni Giuseppe Luigi Sanzogno on this day in 1911 in Venice.

He led the premieres of many important operas at Teatro alla Scala in Milan and also became well known for championing new music.

Sanzogno learnt the violin and developed a love of music from a young age. He went on to study under musicians such as Hermann Scherchen and Gian Francesco Malipiero and later went to Vienna to learn more about conducting from Scherchen.

His career took off when he was given the opportunity to lead the Gruppo Strumentale Italiano, who performed at concerts in Italy and abroad.

In 1937, Sanzogno became the main conductor at the opera house Teatro La Fenice in Venice. He then went on to work with the Rai Milan Symphony Orchestra and, in 1939, he began conducting at La Scala. 

There, he led the first performances of many operas, including David by Darius Milhaud, Dialogues des Carmelites by Francis Poulenc, and Troilus and Cressida by William Walton.

He also introduced Italian audiences to works such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Benjamin Britten, and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by Dmitri Shostakovich.

In Britain and in other countries he introduced new Italian composers such as Malpiero, Luigi Dallapiccola, and Ildebrando Pizzetti.

In 1955, Sanzogno helped to open the Piccola Scala theatre, which he inaugurated with a performance of Domenico Cimarosa’s Il Matrimonio Segreto. This was a smaller theatre where he brought back works from the 1700s by composers such as Niccolò Piccinni, Giovanni Paisiello and Cimarosa.

He took the Piccola Scala company to perform at the Edinburgh Festival in 1957.

Sanzogno inside the Piccola Scala theatre in Milan,
where he would play a major role

Sanzogno was married to the harpist Zeffira Galeati, with whom he had a son, Giampaolo, who also went on to become a highly regarded conductor. After his first wife’s death, Sanzogno married the soprano, Giannina Buniato.

He also composed his own music, writing symphonic poems, concertos and music for solo instruments and small groups of instruments. At the age of just 23, he wrote the soundtrack for the film Il canale degli angeli, a 1934 production directed by Francesco Pasinetti and filmed in Venice.

In 1961 Sanzogno conducted the first full studio recording of Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto, featuring the soprano Joan Sutherland, for Decca Records.

During his career Sanzogno was widely respected for his perfect timing and the discipline and precision of his conducting.  He was admired for the clarity, economy and poise of his conducting style. His movements were unfussy, projecting calm authority rather than theatricality, which often contrasted with the more flamboyant Italian conductors of his generation.

He died in Milan in 1983 at the age of 72. 

A typical street in the Castello district,
which is known as working-class Venice

Travel tip:

Nino Sanzogno was born in the Castello district of Venice, which is the largest and most diverse of the city’s six sestieri, stretching across the entire eastern portion of Venice, from the edge of San Marco to the green spaces of Sant’Elena. It encompasses monumental architecture near San Marco to laundry‑lined alleys further east.  Unlike the heavily-tourist areas around Rialto and San Marco, Castello remains largely residential. Locals outnumber tourists in many parts and it is often described as the area of the city where Venice still lives, day to day. Castello grew around the Arsenale, once one of Europe’s largest naval complexes and the industrial heart of the Venetian Republic. This history still shapes the district’s identity, which shows in its functional architecture, wider streets, and a sense of purposeful design rather than ornamentation. The eastern section is characterised by working‑class residential zones, quiet canals, and dilapidated but picturesque buildings, but also contains some of Venice’s rare greenery, including the Giardini Pubblici and the leafy island of Sant’Elena.

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The final scene from the Piccola Scala's 1956-57
production of Mozart's opera Così fan tutte

Travel tip:

The Piccola Scala, where Sanzogno led the opening night performance of Cimarosa’s Il Matrimonio Segreto, was a 600‑seat opera house built between 1949 and 1955. It stood on Via Filodrammatici, directly beside the main Teatro alla Scala, and was designed by Piero Portaluppi and Marcello Zavellani Rossi.  It was conceived during the post‑war reconstruction of La Scala, which had been heavily damaged in the 1943 bombings. The idea was to create a second, more intimate hall within the theatre complex - one suited to smaller‑scale works and experimental programming. Its initial focus was on Baroque and late‑18th‑century operas that were too small in scale for the main house, or chamber‑sized productions requiring reduced orchestras or minimalist staging.  Notable productions included Mozart’s Così fan tutte (1956), conducted and directed by Guido Cantelli, and Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (1972), conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt.  Despite its artistic successes, the theatre had an unexpectedly short life. In October 1983, regular programming was suspended due to changes in safety regulations for public venues and it was officially closed in 1985. The building itself was demolished in 2002.

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More reading:

How Arturo Toscanini became a great conductor by chance

Bruno Bartoletti, the Italian who led Lyric Opera Chicago for more than 50 years

The celebrated career of maestro Riccardo Muti

Also on this day:

1519: The birth of Catherine de’ Medici, Queen of France

1808: The birth of engineer and inventor Antonio Meucci

1920: The birth of ill-fated banker Roberto Calvi

1928: The birth of racing driver Giannino Marzotto

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Antonio da Ponte – architect

Builder who designed the most enduring image of Venice

Da Ponte's Rialto Bridge, completed in 1591, is
one of the best known images of Venice

The designer Antonio da Ponte, sometimes called dal Ponte, who is remembered for creating one of Venice’s most celebrated landmarks, the Rialto Bridge, died on this day in 1597 in his home city.

The Rialto Bridge over the Canal Grande (Grand Canal) has appeared in countless paintings and photographs of the city over the centuries since it was completed in 1591 and it is now a popular spot from which to take photographs when visiting the city.

Ponte’s design for the stone bridge, a broad single arch span covered with arcaded shops, won him a competition held in Venice in 1587 and it also ensured him a place in the history books.

Previously, a wooden bridge, Ponte da Moneta, built in 1178, was used as the way of crossing the Grand Canal at its narrowest point, but this bridge collapsed and had to be rebuilt several times over the centuries.

The Venetian authorities decided to replace the wooden bridge with a more permanent structure and held a competition for the design for the new bridge in 1587. 

Da Ponte’s idea for a bridge made out of stone was eventually picked as the winner by the judges acting on behalf of the Venetian authorities, who were led by the Doge at the time, Pasquale Cicogna.

When it came to constructing his design, Da Ponte was helped by one of his relatives, Antonio Contin, sometimes referred to as Conte, who went on later to design the famous Bridge of Sighs - il Ponte dei Sospiri - in Venice.  

Da Ponte had previously worked on other building projects in Venice, including warehouses, a hospital, the Doge’s Palace, and the Arsenal. 

Da Ponte, a respected designer, built
the bridge after winning a competition 

Documents from the time show that his opinions as a builder and designer were respected by the Venetian authorities.

Between 1577 and 1592, Da Ponte collaborated with Andrea Palladio on the construction of the Church of the Redeemer on the Giudecca, which was built by Venice to honour a pledge made after the plague of 1576 in the city came to an end.

Even though many other proposals for rebuilding the Rialto had been made by famous architects at the time, Pasquale Cicogna still chose to announce a competition, which he then decided to repeat after all the designers who entered suggested a classical design with many arches.

After the second competition, it is believed Da Ponte’s design was chosen by the Doge over the one submitted by the architect Vincenzo Scamozzi because Da Ponte had proposed building a bridge with a single arch.

The new Rialto Bridge, built of stone and looking exactly as it does now, was completed by 1591. Da Ponte was in his seventies by then but was able to look proudly on his work for a few more years. 

Da Ponte was in his early eighties when he died. He is buried in the Church of San Maurizio, which is in the San Marco sestiere of Venice.

The English playwright William Shakespeare, who is known to have been fascinated by Italy, may have read about the newly-built Rialto Bridge. In his play, The Merchant of Venice, there are several mentions of the Rialto district in Venice, notably the famous line: ‘What news on the Rialto?’, a question that is asked by a character called Solanio near the beginning of the play.

There is no evidence that Shakespeare ever visited Italy himself, but he may have mixed with Italians living in London and it is known that he read books in Italian so he must have had some understanding of the language. 

The play is believed to have been written by him at some time between 1596 and 1598 and the merchant referred to in the title just happened to be called Antonio.

The Ca' Rezzonico, built in Baroque style,
is a notable palace on the Grand Canal

Travel tip:

The Canal Grande (Grand Canal) sweeps through the heart of Venice, following the course of an ancient river bed. Since the founding days of the Venetian empire, it has served as the city’s main thoroughfare. It was once used by great galleys and trading vessels, but nowadays is teeming with vaporetti - the city’s water buses - as well as water taxis, private boats, and gondolas. The palaces bordering the winding waterway bear the names of the old Venetian aristocratic families and represent the finest architecture designed for the republic over its many centuries of history. When the ambassador to Charles VIII of France visited Venice in 1495, he afterwards referred to the Grand Canal as ‘the most beautiful street in the world.’ Its most notable palaces include the gilded Ca' d'Oro, the Baroque Ca' Rezzonico, the Renaissance-style Ca' Vendramin Calergi, the iconic Ca' Foscari University, and the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, which houses the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

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The former Church of San
Maurizio is now a museum 

Travel tip:

The Church of San Maurizio in Venice, where Antonio da Ponte was buried, was rebuilt in the sixteenth century on the site of a previous church in the Campo di San Maurizio in the sestiere of San Marco. The church was modified again in 1806 by the architect of Teatro La Fenice, Gianantonio Selva. It has now been deconsecrated and is home to the Museo della Musica, a museum dedicated to the Baroque music of Venice, which displays examples of period instruments and documents relating to Vivaldi and other Venetian composers of the same period.  The Artemio Versari collection of instruments recounts the golden epoch of stringed instrument making in 18th century Venice. Visitors can experience the sound as well as the sight of these instruments. As well as Venetian instruments, there are examples by such makers as Amati, Guadagnini and Goffriller, among the greats in Italy’s proud tradition of luthiers. 

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More reading:

Vincenzo Scamozzi, an architect whose legacy can be seen in Venice and Vicenza

Andrea Palladio, the humble stonecutter who became architecture’s biggest name

Jacopo Sansovino, the Florence-born designer whose masterpiece competes for attention with the Doge’s Palace

Also on this day: 

43BC: The birth of Roman poet Ovid

1898: The birth of society jeweller Fulco di Verdura

1934: The birth of football coach Azeglio Vicini

1940: The birth of racing driver and entrepreneur Giampiero Moretti

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Antonio Buzzolla - composer, choirmaster and conductor

Output included operas, religious music and Venetian dialect songs

An illustration of Antonio Buzzolla, thought
to show him at the age of 25 in 1840

Antonio Buzzolla, a composer who was at various times a musician, conductor and choirmaster, was born on this day in 1815 in Adria, a town in the southern part of the Veneto region, situated between the mouths of the Po and Adige rivers.

Buzzolla, who was once a student of the opera composer Gaetano Donizetti, composed five operas of his own, as well as producing a substantial catalogue of religious music while serving as maestro di cappella at St Mark’s Basilica in Venice.

Yet during his life he was best known for composing ariette and canzonette - brief songs of a melodic, playful or sometimes sentimental nature - written in Venetian dialect. These songs became popular in the city, both for the light-hearted entertainment they provided and for the contribution they made to Venice’s musical identity.

It was a sign of the respect in which Buzzolla was held among his peers that he was invited by Giuseppe Verdi to contribute to a requiem mass he was organising for his fellow opera giant Gioachino Rossini following the latter’s death in 1869.

Buzzolla was born into a musical family. His father, Angelo Buzzolla, was maestro di cappella - choirmaster - at what was then Adria's cathedral. Angelo, who was also an accomplished violinist, provided his son with a well-rounded musical education that saw him become proficient on a range of instruments, including violin, flute, organ, piano and piccolo, by the age of 16. 

At this point, he left Adria to live in Venice, a city rich in opportunities to further his career. He had not been studying there long when he was invited to play in the orchestra at the Gran Teatro La Fenice, the city’s principal opera house, at first as a flautist before being promoted to second violin.

At the same time, he began to try his hand at composition, leading him to write his first opera, Il Ferramondo, which premiered at the Teatro Gallo, formerly the Teatro San Benedetto, in Venice in December, 1836, and was also performed in Trieste and Mantua.

The reception for Il Ferramondo was positive enough to persuade Buzzolla to go to Naples to study composition at the Conservatory of San Pietro a Maiella. His teachers included Donizetti and, later, Saverio Mercadante. His output there included a cantata for the Neapolitan court and vocal pieces performed at the Teatro San Carlo. 

Teatro La Fenice in Venice, where 
Buzzolla was an orchestra member

On returning to Venice, Teatro La Fenice premiered both of Buzzolla’s second and third operas, Mastini I della Scala in 1841 and Gli avventurieri the following year, which also saw his first works of sacred music performed. 

With his reputation now extending beyond Italy, Buzzolla took up a position as director of Italian Opera at the Berlin court of Frederick William IV of Prussia, to whose children he became tutor. From Berlin he toured Russia, Poland and France before being appointed director of the Théâtre de la comédie italienne in Paris, in 1846.

He returned to Venice again in 1848, directing two more operas, Amleto and Elisabetta di Valois, at Teatro la Fenice. He also conducted his own Requiem for four voices and large orchestra at the Basilica di San Marco.

In 1848, Venice briefly became an independent state following the uprising against the occupying army of Austria, and Buzzolla demonstrated his commitment to the cause by co-directing a patriotic concert at La Fenice in November of that year, featuring excerpts from Verdi's Macbeth and Attila alongside works by Rossini and Donizetti. 

Buzzolla’s operas were respected by his fellow composers and well received by audiences, yet his output was small. It was dwarfed, in fact, by his catalogue of short songs, which were mostly performed in Venice’s salons or at domestic gatherings in middle-class homes.

Written in the tradition of bel canto opera, which emphasises the beauty of the voice, these lyrical pieces had light-hearted themes based on everyday life in Venice, highlighting romance and nature in particular.

Buzzolla’s Canzonette Veneziane, a collection of 12 light-hearted songs in Venetian dialect, was published by Ricordi in 1852.

After the successful staging of Elisabetta di Valois in 1850, Buzzolla announced it would be his last opera. Where other composers of the mid-19th century, such as Giovanni Pacini and Errico Petrella, relentlessly exploited the popularity of opera by composing literally dozens of them, Buzzolla was less commercially driven and decided to devote himself to sacred music, the culmination of which was his appointment in 1855 as maestro of the Cappella Marciana, the choral and instrumental ensemble that provides musical service at Basilica di San Marco.

He held the prestigious position until his death in 1871, after which his body was interred in a tomb on the Isola di San Michele, the island in the Venetian Lagoon that houses the city’s main cemetery.

Adria in the Veneto, once a thriving seaport on
the Adriatic coast, is now several miles inland

Travel tip:

Adria, where Antonio Buzzolla was born and grew up, is a town in the Veneto about 23km (14 miles) east of Rovigo and just over 60km (36 miles) south of Venice. It is situated between the lower courses of the Adige and Po rivers. Today it lies inland, but in antiquity it was a major port on the Adriatic Sea, so influential that the sea itself took its name from the town. It thrived in particular during the Etruscan and Greek civilisations but fell into decline during the Roman era as the Po and Adige progressively silted up, pushing the coastline further east and robbing Adria of its direct maritime access. Over time it was absorbed into the territories of Ravenna and Venice before coming under French and Austrian rule. After incorporation in the new Kingdom of Italy in 1867, the late 19th and early 20th centuries brought land reclamation, new road networks and agricultural expansion. The Adria of today, with a population of around 19,500, is a relatively modern town with an economy based on agriculture, commerce, and light manufacturing. As a town boasting one of the longest continuous settlements in the whole of Italy, going back perhaps to the 12th century BC, it is home to the huge collection of relics preserved at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Adria. The Conservatorio Statale di Musica Antonio Buzzolla was established in Adria in 1975, and named in his honour. 

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The cemetery island of San Michele, with the
neighbouring island of Burano in the distance

Travel Tip:

The Isola di San Michele, where Buzzolla was buried, has been the home of Venice’s principal cemetery since the early 19th century. Situated between Venice and the island of Murano, it had previously been home to a Camaldolese monastery, built in the 13th century, and the Chiesa di San Michele in Isola, which was designed by the architect Mauro Codussi and built in 1469 as the first Renaissance church in Venice. The island was also used as a prison at one time. In 1807, when Venice was occupied by the French under Napoleon, the neighbouring island of San Cristoforo was designated as the city’s cemetery, only for it to become clear after only a few years that it was not big enough. In 1835, work began to fill in the narrow canal between the two islands to create one much larger island. Annibale Forcellini, an architect and engineer, was given the task of designing the cemetery complex, which retains the Chiesa di San Michele near the entrance and includes a domed chapel built in memory of the ancient Chiesa di San Cristoforo, which had been demolished during the construction of the original cemetery. As well as housing the remains of ordinary Venetian citizens, the cemetery has a sufficient number of illustrious occupants to have become a tourist attraction. In addition to Buzzolla, the remains of the poet Ezra Pound, the entrepreneur and Venice Film Festival founder Giuseppe Volpi, the psychiatrist Franco Basaglia, the writers Carlo and Gasparo Gozzi, the football manager Helenio Herrera, the avant-garde composer Luigi Nono, and others, are buried there.

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More reading:

How the overlooked work of Giovanni Pacini has enjoyed a revival

Nabucco - the Verdi opera that became a symbol of the Risorgimento

The Venetian lawyer who led fight to drive out the Austrians

Also on this day:

1603: The birth of Sicilian painter and architect Pietro Novelli

1886: The birth of football manager Vittorio Pozzo

1939: The election of wartime pontiff Pope Pius XII

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Pietro Gnocchi – composer

Influential musician was inspired by geography

Pietro Gnocchi studied
music in Venice

Baroque composer and writer Pietro Gnocchi, who is remembered for the unusual titles he gave to his music, was born on this day in 1689 in Alfianello in the province of Brescia in the region of Lombardy.

As well as writing a large quantity of sacred music and being choirmaster at Brescia Cathedral, Gnocchi, who has come to be regarded as a polymath because of his wide knowledge, wrote about history, geography, and archaeology. His works included a treatise on memorial tablets in the Brescia region, and a 25-volume history of ancient Greek colonies.

Gnocchi was the second of four sons born into a middle class family and he grew up to study music and to train as a priest. He then went on to study music in Venice and later travelled to Hungary, Vienna, and Munich.

After returning to Brescia, he was appointed as maestro di cappella at the cathedral now known as Brescia's Duomo Vecchio in 1723. Ten years later he applied to be the organist there, but was unsuccessful. He also worked at an orphanage, Orfanelle della Pietà, where it is thought he may have been a music instructor.

Although Gnocchi’s music was never published, it still exists in manuscript form and is regularly performed today. His choral music, which reveals the influence of his early training in Venice, included more than 60 masses, with surprising titles, such as Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. He also composed Requiems, sets of Vespers, various settings of the Magnificat and settings of the Miserere, as well as hymns and motets.

One of his settings for the Magnificat is entitled ‘Il Capa di Buona Speranza’, The Cape of Good Hope, reflecting his interest in geography.

Gnocchi also wrote some secular music, which included concertos and sonatas for stringed instruments, and some songs.

Most of his music manuscripts are now stored in the archives of Brescia Cathedral and the Church of Madonna delle Grazie in Brescia.

In 1762, Gnocchi successfully reapplied for his old position as maestro di cappella at Brescia Cathedral, as well as for the position of organist. He was to hold both these appointments until his death at the age of 86 in 1775 in Brescia, where according to his wishes, he was buried in the Church of San Giorgio. 

Brescia's Duomo Vecchio, also known as the 
Rotonda, where Gnocchi was maestro di cappella

His treatise on memorial tablets in and around Brescia, and his history of ancient Greek colonies, were bought by Prince Faustino Lechi of Brescia, who was a student of Gnocchi, and later became his friend and patron. Many of Gnocchi’s manuscripts are still preserved in the Bibliotheca Civica Queriniana di Brescia.

Gnocchi influenced Italian music through teaching other musicians in Brescia and passing on Venetian traditions to them. The pupils he mentored adopted his musical style and went on to occupy key ecclesiastical roles themselves, continuing to evoke the atmosphere of choral music, as it was performed in St Mark’s Basilica, throughout Lombardy.

Scholarly interest in Gnocchi’s music has grown in the 20th and early 21st centuries and studies have been written comparing Gnocchi’s sonatas and concertos with those of Vivaldi, noting the shared Venetian traits as well as the differences.

Ensembles specialising in Baroque music have played Gnocchi’s sonatas using period instruments and released recordings of his works, which have also enabled contemporary listeners to make comparison with the music of Vivaldi. A CD of sacred music written by Gnocchi for the churches of Brescia, performed by the Coro Claudio Monteverdi, is currently available. 

Brescia is a mix of Renaissance architecture
and ruins from its Roman past

Travel tip:

Brescia, the birthplace of Pietro Gnocchi, is a town of great artistic and architectural importance but, although it is the second city in Lombardy after Milan, and has Roman remains and well-preserved Renaissance buildings, it is not well-known to tourists.  Brescia became a Roman colony before the birth of Christ and you can still see remains from the forum, theatre, and a temple. The town was fought over by different rulers in the middle ages but came under the protection of Venice in the 15th century. There is a distinct Venetian influence in the architecture of the Piazza della Loggia, an elegant square in the centre of the town, which has a clock tower remarkably similar to the one in Saint Mark’s square in Venice. The Santa Giulia Museo della Città covers more than 3000 years of Brescia’s history, housed within the Benedictine Nunnery of San Salvatore and Santa Giulia in Via Musei. The nunnery was built over a Roman residential quarter, but some of the houses, with their original mosaics and frescoes, have now been excavated and can be seen while looking round the museum.

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Brescia's Cattedrale di Santa Maria Nuova,
known also as the Duomo Nuovo

Travel tip:

The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Brescia, known as the Duomo Nuovo (new cathedral) stands next to the Duomo Vecchio (old cathedral) in Piazza Paolo VI in the centre of the city. The unusually shaped Duomo Vecchio, also known as la Rotonda, is open to the public.  Designed by architect Giovanbattista Lantana, who took over the commission after it was originally given to Andrea Palladio, the Duomo Nuovo, which has a Baroque facade in Botticino marble, was built on the remains of the old basilica of San Pietro de Dom starting from 1604. Financial constraints caused the construction of the new cathedral repeatedly to be delayed. It was not completed until 1825, with the addition of Luigi Cagnola’s dome, at 80 metres (262ft) the third tallest in Italy.  The present dome was rebuilt after destruction during the Second World War. The interior contains a monument to the Brescian Pope Paul VI, found on the left transept. The circular Duomo Vecchio, on which construction began in 1100 and where Gnocchi was maestro di cappella, is regarded as a Romanesque triumph.  Brescia was named as a Capital of Culture, along with the nearby city of Bergamo, by the Italian Government as a symbol of the hope and rebirth following the devastating effects on both cities caused by the volume of death during the Covid 19 pandemic. 

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More reading:

How Brescia businessman Giovanni Treccani used his wealth to encourage learning and culture 

Alessandro Bonvicino, the Brescia painter acclaimed for outstanding altarpieces 

Success and sadness in the life of Antonio Vivaldi

Also on this day:

1935: The birth of soprano Mirella Freni

1950: The birth of fashion designer Franco Moschino

1964: Italy's appeal for help with Leaning Tower

1973: The birth of singer and actress Chiara Iezzi

1978: The birth of dancer Simone di Pasquale

(Brescia photographs by Wolfgang Moroder via Wiki Commons)

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Austria takes control of Venice

Soldiers restored calm but became unpopular with the Venetians 

The French troops of Napoleon, pictured arriving
in St Mark's square, looted Venice's treasures

Austrian troops took over Venice and her territories on this day in 1798 and put an end to the destruction and looting caused by Napoleon Bonaparte’s soldiers in the city.

The Venetian Republic had proclaimed itself neutral during the Napoleonic Wars, knowing it could not afford to get involved in conflict. But Napoleon wanted to acquire the city anyway, and in May 1797 had provoked the Venetians into attacking a French ship, which he then used as an excuse to declare war against Venice.

The Venetian Grand Council and the last of its Doges, Ludovico Manin, voted the Republic out of existence and surrendered, putting the city under French rule. It was humiliating for Venice as it was the first time foreign troops had occupied the city in its 1,100 years of history.

But worse was to come as the French soldiers began systematically stripping Venice of its assets. 

The Lion of Venice, which sits on top one of the two granite columns that stand guard at the lagoon end of the Piazzetta adjoining St Mark's Square, was lifted down and taken to France and Napoleon’s soldiers seized many art treasures and large quantities of gold and silver. 

In October 1797, the French and the Austrians signed the Treaty of Campo Formio and Venice was awarded to Austria, in return for France getting Lombardy and the area of Belgium then known as the Austrian Netherlands. 

But before the city was handed over to the Austrians, the French destroyed the Venetian navy, sending some of the ships back to France, and deliberately scuttling others.

Workers at Venice’s Arsenale were dismissed and the whole complex was burnt down. Churches, convents, and palaces were emptied of valuables and artworks. The state mint and the treasury of the Basilica of St Mark were confiscated and the Doge's ceremonial galley, the Bucintoro, was stripped of all its sculptures. These were then burned on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore to recover their gold leaf. 

The abdication as Doge of Ludovico Manin, which
spelt the end of the Venetian Republic

The famous bronze horses of Saint Mark were removed from the Basilica and taken to Paris, while many ordinary citizens were imprisoned and then forced to hand over their wealth in exchange for being given their freedom.

On the same day the French left Venice in January 1798, the Austrians arrived and ended the plunder. But their rule over Venice lasted only until 1805, when the city once again came under French control. It was returned to Austrian rule in 1815 and became part of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, until its incorporation into the Kingdom of Italy in 1866.

Even though the Austrians had brought an end to the appalling ravages caused to the city by the French, the Venetians came to dislike their Austrian invaders. However, the new rulers were instrumental in building the railway that connected the city to the mainland, which opened the way for a new era of prosperity for Venice.

The Venetians rose up in rebellion against the Austrians in 1848, staging a general strike and recruiting a militia of 4,000 men, briefly driving their invaders out. The new Republic of San Marco declared its independence in March 1848 and a year passed before the Austrians reclaimed the city. The Austrian navy sailed into the lagoon and laid siege to the city, until its inhabitants were starving, and suffering from a cholera epidemic, and had no choice but to surrender.

The Austrians were finally driven out of Venice by the army of Victor Emmanuel II during the wars of Italian unification, at which point Venice became part of the Kingdom of Italy as a result of the Treaty of Vienna. 

During the 19th century, while Venice was under Austrian rule, coffee drinking became popular in the city and Austrian pastries, such as strudel and krapfen, were served in the coffee houses. 

The Habsburgs added new dishes to the traditional seafood diet with their own recipes that used meat,  cream, and knedel (dumplings). Their army officers, officials, and academics, also brought their own cooks with them to Venice, which enriched the city’s culinary tradition, and some traditional Austrian dishes can still be found on menus in Venice.

Caffè Quadri became the coffee house of choice
for the Austrian occupiers of the city

Travel tip:

Caffè Quadri in St Mark’s Square in Venice became the preferred coffee house for Austrian army officers during their 19th century occupation of the city. Originally founded in 1775 by Giorgio Quadri, who introduced Turkish coffee to Venice, it was taken over and restored in 1830, and a restaurant was added upstairs, the only one still in existence in St Mark’s Square today. It became a central hub for Austrians to meet and socialise, discuss politics, and read newspapers in the Viennese coffee house tradition. In 2011, the management of Quadri was taken on by the Alajmo family, headed by the Michelin-starred chef, Massimiliano “Max” Alajmo. Its rival on St Mark's Square, Caffè Florian opened its doors for the first time on this day in 1720, predating Quadri by 55 years. Florian’s nowadays occupies a long stretch of the arcades on the southern side of Piazza San Marco, its seats stretching out across the square with a permanent orchestra in residence to entertain clients. Yet the original consisted of just two rooms.  It became known as Florian’s after the owner, Floriano Francesconi, and claims to be the oldest still-active coffee house in Italy.

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Santa Lucia railway station is one of the few
modernist buildings facing Venice's Grand Canal

Travel tip:

Construction of Santa Lucia railway station in Venice was started in 1860 while the city was still under Austrian occupation. The Church of Santa Lucia and a convent were demolished to make room for the new station and its forecourt, and the station took the name Santa Lucia as a result. The current station building is one of the few modernist buildings facing the Grand Canal and was based on plans started by the architect Angiolo Mazzoni in 1924. The station building was constructed between 1936 and 1943 and the train hall, also designed by Mazzoni, was built after the end of World War II. The station is used by about 82,000 passengers per day, adding up to around 30 million per year. Every day, approximately 450 trains stop at the station, which is the terminus of several famous services, including the Venice Simplon Orient Express.

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More reading:

Ludovico Manin - the last Doge of Venice

The Venetian lawyer who led the fight to drive out the Austrians

When Venice was the target of history’s first air raid

Also on this day:

1543: The birth of madrigal composer Alfonso Ferrabosco

1880: The birth of Cardinal Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster

1946: The birth of soprano Katia Ricciarelli 

1950: The birth of basketball star Dino Meneghin

1994: The launch of Silvano Berlusconi's Forza Italia political party

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Paolo Renier - Doge of Venice

Penultimate head of Most Serene Republic

The 1779 portrait of Renier, by Lodovico
Gallina, hangs in Venice's Museo Correr

Paolo Renier, the politician and diplomat who served as the penultimate Doge of the Venetian Republic, was born on this day in 1710 in the San Stae parish of the lagoon city.

After a long political career, Renier was already 69 years old when he was appointed as Doge in 1779, an advanced age to be taking up such a position. He was not a popular choice.

He was a skilled orator but seen by many as manipulative and opportunistic. By the time of his appointment, La Serenissima (the most serene) - as 'Repubblica di Venezia’was officially prefixed in medieval and Renaissance times - was in sharp decline, its strength as a military and trade power largely a thing of the past.

The Venetian nobility was riven with factionalism and there was widespread discontent among the ruling elite and the broader public. Renier is said to have received numerous threats, warning him against accepting the role.

He did not help his reputation by appearing to change his position on a number of issues once elected. Having previously aligned with reformist factions in the Venetian government, advocating for administrative and economic modernisation, once elected he shifted toward a more conservative stance, opposing many of the reforms he had once supported.

In doing so, Renier alienated both reformers and traditionalists, who saw him as untrustworthy or self-serving.  Venice was desperate for an inspirational leader who could recreate the belief in future prosperity the city once enjoyed. Yet historians suggest that Renier's speeches, while polished, sometimes emphasised the Republic’s decline in a tone that bordered on defeatism, which did little to inspire confidence.

This was exemplified in a public speech he made in April 1780, in which he lamented Venice’s lack of military strength, alliances, and economic vitality, concluding that the Republic survived only by “chance and the prudence of its government.” 

Paolo Renier was born into a patrician Venetian family prominent in the 16th and early 17th centuries. His father, Andrea, held numerous positions in the Venetian government, most prominently as a member of the Consiglio dei Sei, a panel of six officials who advised the Doge. Five of Paolo’s brothers also played a part in Venetian political life.

Renier was admired for his oratory
but seen as an opportunist

Renier’s own political career spanned more than 50 years, his rhetorical finesse and political tact eventually earning him two of the most critical and prestigious foreign posts in the Venetian diplomatic network. He served as ambassador to the Habsburg court in Vienna (1764–1768) and later as bailo (ambassador) to Constantinople (1769–1773).

But, skilled in political manoeuvring, he acquired enemies along the way, as well as a feeling among many that he was a man who could not be trusted. When he was elected Doge on January 14, 1779 in the first ballot, with 40 votes out of 41, it was popularly rumoured that he had bought the election using the money earned in Constantinople.

In any event, as the 119th Doge of Venice, he inherited a state in decline at a time of public disillusionment with the Republic’s leadership im general. The once-mighty maritime republic had lost its dominance in Mediterranean trade and was increasingly marginalised in European politics. He faced a tide of decline that, despite his diplomatic experience and rhetorical prowess, he was ultimately unable to reverse.   

Away from the political arena, Renier was twice married, first in 1733 to Giustina Donà, who died in 1751, and later Margherita Delmaz, who outlived him by nearly three decades, dying in 1817.

Despite the political turbulence of his reign, Renier remained a man of culture and intellect. It was said that he knew the Iliad and the Odyssey by heart and he was known to have translated works of Plato into Venetian, reflecting his humanist education and engagement with classical thought.

His tenure ended with his death in February 1789, from rheumatic fever, just months before the French Revolution would begin to reshape Europe. He was succeeded by Ludovico Manin, who would become the last Doge of Venice before Napoleon’s forces brought an end to the Republic in 1797.

The stunning Chiesa di San Stae opens on
to the Grand Canal in the heart of Venice

Travel tip:

San Stae, where Paolo Renier was born, is part of the Santa Croce sestiere, a quieter, slightly less congested quarter of Venice compared with tourist-heavy San Marco. Nonetheless, it has some important attractions, not least the parish church, the Chiesa di San Stae. A stunning Baroque church on the Grand Canal, redesigned in the early 18th century by Domenico Rossi, its façade - facing the Grand Canal midway between Rialto and Santa Lucia railway terminus - combines regimented Palladian lines with some elaborate sculptural decoration. Inside, there are works by Tiepolo, Piazzetta, and Ricci.  No more than two minutes’ walk from the church, walking away from the Grand Canal, the Palazzo Mocenigo houses a museum exploring Venetian fashion, perfume, and textiles. From there, it is just another three or four minutes to reach Campo San Giacomo da l’Orio, a peaceful square that has the authentic feel of residential Venice. The church from which the square takes its name is one of the oldest in the city, with a history going back to the 10th century.

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The pink Verona marble of the striking Doge's Palace
is a prominent feature of the Venice waterfront

Travel tip:

Standing beside the Basilica di San Marco - St Mark’s - facing the Venetian lagoon to the south and the Biblioteca Marciana to the west, across the Piazzetta, the Doge’s Palace is one of the most striking sights in Venice. Built in Venetian Gothic style, with its open arcades, delicate stonework and pink Verona marble, the imposing palace dates back to around 810 and was the political and ceremonial heart of the Venetian Republic for over 1,000 years. The first structure was thought to have been a fortified building with towers, reflecting the Doge’s military and executive authority. It was rebuilt in the 14th century, under Doge Pietro Gradenigo, as an opulent palace to reflect Venice’s growing wealth and power. During its time as the seat of Venice’s government, the palace housed the Senate, the Council of Ten, and State Inquisitors, as well as the Hall of Justice and Archives. The city’s prison, including the infamous Piombi and Pozzi cells, was connected to the palace by the Bridge of Sighs, added in 1600, which came to symbolise the final view of Venice for condemned prisoners.

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More reading:

The 15th century Doge immortalised by Byron and Verdi

The Doge who freed land for two of Venice’s most beautiful churches

The Doge who clamped down on Spanish spies

Also on this day:

Since 1681: Festival of Madonna della Salute

1688: The birth of architect and engraver Antonio Visentini

1854: The birth of Pope Benedict XV

1907: The birth of politician and partisan Giorgio Amendola

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Gaetano Cozzi – historian and writer

Professor pursued academic research despite his disability

Gaetano Cozzi overcame disability to
become an expert on Venetian history

Historian, professor, and writer Gaetano Cozzi, who became an expert on the history of Venice and taught at both Venice and Padua Universities, was born on this day in 1922 in Zero Branco in the province of Treviso in the Veneto.

Although confined to a wheelchair for most of his adult life, Cozzi became famous internationally because of his research into the life of writer and statesman, Paolo Sarpi, and his own writing about the relationship between law and society in Italy.

Cozzi grew up in Legnano, a municipality of Milan, and went to military school. At the age of 20, he became a second lieutenant in the Alpine troops. While attending a training school in Parma he was kicked by a horse and suffered a leg wound. A vaccine injected into him to treat the wound caused a serious infection and although his condition stabilised after a few months he was left paralysed in his lower limbs.

He had to have frequent periods in hospital, but his medical treatment, rather than demoralising him, stimulated him intellectually. He began to take an interest in politics and came into contact with the Liberal Party in Italy. He contributed to the Resistance in 1943, while lying in his hospital bed, by writing for Italian newspapers that carried propaganda pieces. He later left the Liberal Party for the Radical party and then joined L'Unità Popolare, a short-lived Democratic and Liberal political party.

Despite being paralysed, Cozzi prepared to take his university exams and he graduated in History of Italian Law at the University of Milan in 1949. His thesis was about the writer Paolo Sarpi, and the relationship between the state and the church in Italy.

Cozzi moved to Venice to continue his research, even though life was difficult for him there because of his disability. He also found it difficult to find accommodation because of the large population in the city at the time. 

Paolo Sarpi, the Venetian writer on whose
work Cozzi became a leading authority

After the founding of the Institute for the History of Venetian Society and State, he was appointed its secretary in 1955.

His first book, about Nicolò Contarini, who was the Doge of Venice in 1630, had to be dictated by Cozzi to his mother in 1958 because his illness had once again forced him to lie in bed.

Cozzi was appointed to teach history at the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature in Venice and while attending a meeting at the Giorgio Cini Foundation in 1960, he met Luisa Zille, an expert in philology, who he married in 1962 in Venice. He later collaborated with his wife to edit the Complete Works of Paolo Sarpi.

In 1966, Cozzi was appointed by the ancient University of Padua to teach medieval and modern history at their faculty of Political Sciences.

After returning to teach at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice in the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy in 1970, he fought for a degree course in history to be created there. 

Cozzi was a prolific writer about criminal justice and prisons in the Venetian Republic and he also wrote The History of Venice, published in two volumes in 1986 and 1992.

In 1987, he became a board member of the newly established, Treviso-based Benetton Foundation for Studies and Research.

All Cozzi’s writing and research had to be interspersed with long periods in hospital because of complications with his health. He suffered a further blow when his wife, Luisa, who was suffering from depression, took her own life in 1995.

Cozzi’s teaching career came to an end in 1998 with a ceremony at Ca’ Foscari, where he was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus.

The historian died in 2001 in Venice at the age of 78. He was buried in the cemetery at Zero Branco next to his wife, Luisa. His gravestone bears the inscription: ‘Still together, always together.’

Casa Luisa e Gaetano Cozzi, just outside Zero
Branco, has a library housing the Cozzi archive

Travel tip:

Zero Branco is a comune - municipality - in the province of Treviso in the Veneto, located about 20km (12 miles) northwest of Venice and about 10km (6 miles) southwest of Treviso.  Casa Luisa e Gaetano Cozzi in Via Milan is now a cultural centre in the countryside outside Zero Branco, having been bequeathed to Fondazione Benetton in Gaetano Cozzi’s will. It is an eight-hectare complex consisting of a former farmhouse, rustic outbuildings, and agricultural land, which is used by the Benetton Foundation for agricultural research.  A library houses Cozzi’s documents and archives that are made available to scholars. Luisa’s Bechstein piano is preserved there and musical activities take place at Casa Cozzi in her memory.

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Porticoes and weeping willow trees line the
picturesque Canale Buranelli in pretty Treviso

Travel tip:

The pretty town of Treviso is 30km (19 miles) north of Venice. Visitors can stroll along by canals, but unlike Venice they are fringed by willow trees and adorned with the occasional water wheel and you won’t encounter large tour groups coming in the opposite direction. There are plenty of restaurants serving authentic cucina trevigiana and cucina veneta, but at more modest prices than you will find in Venice, and plenty of places to sample locally-produced Prosecco. Treviso is close to the so-called strada del prosecco, the road between Valdobbiadene and Conegliano, which is lined with wineries producing Prosecco DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata), the stamp of quality given to the best Italian wines. It takes only about ten minutes to walk from the railway station through the 16th century Venetian walls and along Via Roma, Corso del Popolo, and Via XX Settembre to Piazza dei Signori, at the centre of Treviso. From this central square, a short walk through Piazza San Vito leads to a picturesque part of Treviso, Canale Buranelli. You can walk alongside the canal under the porticoes of the houses and see the flower-decorated balconies on the ornate buildings on the other side. Nearby is Treviso's fish market - the  Pescheria, which is held daily on a very small island in the middle of the River Sile. Treviso’s Duomo, built in the 12th century but remodelled in the 15th, 16th, and 18th centuries, houses Titian’s Annunciation, painted in 1570, and frescoes painted by his arch rival, Pordenone.

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More reading:

Paolo Sarpi, the patriotic Venetian who the Pope wanted dead

Luciano Benetton, the entrepreneur who co-founded clothing brand

Why Treviso commemorates star tenor Mario del Monaco

Also on this day:

1616: Europe's first free public school opens in Frascati, near Rome

1881: The birth of car manufacturer Ettore Bugatti

1904: The birth of Umberto II, the last king of Italy

1919: The birth of cycling great Fausto Coppi

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