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Why San Giorgio Maggiore is worth your visit

July 15, 2019

The view of the San Giorgio Maggiore island is one that every visitor of Venice recognizes, and it is probably amongst the most photographed sites in the city. The island is however much more than a nice image. It is a perfect, quiet area to enjoy the beauty of Venice and to immerse yourself in history.

 

The origins of San Giorgio Maggiore date back to 790, when a first church was built on what was then called the island of the cypresses. In 982, Doge Tribuno Memmo gave the island to the Benedictine monk Giovanni Morosini to found a monastery. Unfortunately, an earthquake destroyed all the buildings on the island in 1223 and everything had to be rebuilt. The island stayed in the hands of the Benedictines until the early 19th century when Napoleon claimed it as a military area. He built a warehouse for the artillery and a dock with two small towers, which can be seen from the Riva degli Schiavoni. When Count Vittorio Cini bought the island in 1951, the monastery was destroyed after almost 150 years of military occupation. In honour of his son Giorgio, he wanted to restore it to its original beauty, to create an international cultural centre and to re-integrate the San Giorgio Maggiore island into the life of Venice. Even today, the Fondazione Giorgio Cini continues his legacy and new projects are continuously added. The latest example is the opening of the music theatre at the end of April, with a view on the lagoon.

Fondazione Giorgio Cini music theatre

The back side of the San Giorgio Maggiore Island with the new music theatre at the left

 

So, why should you make the effort to jump on the vaporetto to cross the lagoon?

 

Admire the view of Venice from the campanile

If you want a beautiful view of the whole of Venice, the lagoon and the islands, I suggest you take the elevator to the top of the bell tower (approx. 60 meter) of the San Giorgio Maggiore church. This allows you to see the San Marco basilica and the Palazzo Ducale, which is quite impossible from the campanile on the San Marco square. Besides the nicer view, the queues are also limited or non-existing. The bell tower was built in 1791, after the previous one collapsed in 1774.

If you like to admire Venice from the top, make sure to read this article ‘The 5 most stunning rooftop views over Venice’. This campanile is the number one in the list.

TIP: When you enter the church, check first if there is a line or not. If not, take the elevator, enjoy the view and visit the church afterwards. If there is a line for the elevator, then visit the church first. Chances are that the queue is gone by the time you finish looking around.

View from campanile San Giorgio Maggiore

View from the campanile (from the left, clockwise): San Marco square and Riva degli Schiavoni, the cypress and Palladio gardens of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini and Giudecca, lagoon islands, Riva dei Sette Martiri and the Arsenale

 

Feel blessed in the church of San Giorgio Maggiore

The white church of San Giorgio Maggiore is not the original church of the island, but actually the third one. The first one was built around 790 and was destroyed by the earthquake in 1223. The church was rebuilt on the back of the island, so it was not at the same position as the present church. The current landmark of Venice was designed by Andrea Palladio, who lived on the island for 20 years and started the construction in 1565. Some elements still had to be finished after his death in 1580, including the white marble façade which was finished in 1611.

TIP: The historical novel ‘The Venetian Bargain’ of Marina Fiorato is set in this time period. One of the main characters of the book is Palladio. Although the book focuses more on the Redentore church on Giudecca, it also refers to his design for the refectory of the monastery on the San Giorgio Maggiore island.

San Giorgio Maggiore church

San Giorgio Maggiore church

 

The interior of the church is very open and has works of Tintoretto: ‘Ultima Cena’ (The Last Supper) and ‘Raccolta della Manna’ (The Fall Of Manna). (More information on Tintoretto can be found in ‘Where to find the most stunning masterpieces of Tintoretto’.) The beautifully carved wooden sanctuary has been made by Albert van den Brulle from Antwerp (Belgium), together with Gasparo Gatti from Bergamo. It shows episodes from the life of Saint Benedictus. There is currently also a colourful sculpture of Sean Scully on display, as part of the Art Biennale 2019.

Sean Scully at San Giorgio Maggiore

 

Explore the beauty of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini

The former monastery now houses the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, one of the most prestigious international cultural institutions. The foundation has its own research programmes and institutes, dedicated to art history, the history of Venice, music (with a separate Antonio Vivaldi Institute), theatre and drama. Researchers reside in the Branca Center on the San Giorgio Maggiore island. International conferences, exhibitions and workshops – mainly related to these topics – are organized in the complex. Also G7 summits and Unesco conferences were hosted here.

 

All the buildings have been completely restored with a lot of attention for detail and the use of materials. The result is really extra-ordinary. You can visit the monumental complex with a guided tour and I can certainly recommend it.

TIP: Tours are organized every day, from 10 AM to 6 PM. You can choose between a visit of the Fondazione or combine it with the Vatican Chapels and/or the campanile.The video-guided itineraries are available in Italian, English, French, Spanish, German and Russian. It even has a simple, intuitive interface for children. The tour lasts one hour. You can buy the ticket online or in the ticket office.

Fondazione Giorgio Cini entrance

The entrance of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini

 

The visit shows you the 3 inner gardens: one with 4 cypresses, one designed by Palladio and one labyrinth that shows the Borges name. The latter was inspired by ‘The Garden of Forking Paths’, one of the best-known stories of the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges, who loved Venice. You also visit the refectory, designed by Palladio, where the monks used to eat and where now some of the more prestigious meetings are held. Against the wall is a huge reproduction of the painting ‘Le Nozze de Cana’ (The Wedding at Cana) from Paolo Veronese. The original was stolen by Napoleon when he occupied the island and can be seen at the Louvre in Paris.

Fondazione Giorgio Cini Borges garden

The Borges garden at Fondazione Giorgio Cini (in the upper right corner: the construction of the garden in 2011, seen from the campanile)

 

Finally, you see the ancient Longhena library, with the original bookcases by Franz Pauc from 1671. This is a very impressive room and I immediately wanted to browse the old books. Afterwards, you visit the new library ‘Nuovo Manica Lunga’, which was finished in 2009 and is built according to the latest library technologies. The design is magnificent with natural light coming in from the ceiling. The former cells of the monks have been transformed in small meeting rooms. If you are studying art or literature, this really must feel like heaven. If you are interested in other historical libraries in Venice, I suggest you read my post ‘7 authentic libraries that will amaze you in Venice’.

Fondazione Giorgio Cini Borges libraries

The libraries of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini: Longhena and Nuovo Manica Lunga

 

Visit the glass museum Le Stanze del Vetro

When you walk along the small port, you reach the glass museum at the backside of the monastery. This used to be the former ‘convitto’ or boarding school. It is a rather small museum, but the access is free (it is sponsored by the Fondazione Giorgio Cini and Pentagram Stiftung) so there is no reason not to visit it. They organize temporary exhibitions and there is a large glass sculpture ‘Qwalala’ from Pae White outside the building. There are also often free guided tours in the weekend, but you can also ask for a private tour, in exchange for a donation for research activities organized by the Glass Study Centre of the Cini Foundation.

glass sculpture venice

The Qwalala installation of Pae White

 

Be amazed by the Vatican Chapels

As part of the 2018 Architecture Biennale, the pavilion of the Holy See was located in the park of San Giorgio Maggiore. 10 well-known architects from all over the world (such as Norman Foster, Flores & Prats and Sean Godsell) have been asked by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi (Pontifical Council for Culture) and curator Francesco Dal Co to design a chapel. The result is simply stunning. You can find more details and additional pictures in ‘Review of the Architecture Biennale 2018: Holy See‘. The chapels haven’t been removed after the Biennale and can still be visited as part of a guided tour of the Fondazione Cini (see above).

vatican biennale

The chapel designed by Norman Foster for the Pavilion of the Holy See

 

Overall, San Giorgio Maggiore is highly recommended on a trip to Venice. It’s only one stop from San Marco with vaporetto line 2 and it takes you less than half a day if you follow a tour and take your time to admire the view from the campanile. Afterwards, you can return in the direction of San Marco or continue to Giudecca.

TIP: If you only intend to use the vaporetto to visit the island, ask for the ‘traghetto ordinario’ ticket. This reduced fare is only available for a few specific routes and the transfer from San Zaccaria (San Marco) to San Giorgio is one of those. This ticket costs only 5 euros (one way) instead of 7.5 euros for a standard one way vaporetto ticket (see also ‘A practical how-to guide on transportation in Venice‘).

 

The money and time spent by Vittorio Cini and subsequently his Fondazione to restore this island is really incredible and we should be grateful that people like him exist. If you want to know more on how the cultural heritage in Venice is financed, you can find more examples in my post ‘Discover how Venice finances its cultural heritage’.

 

Buon divertimento!

 

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11 Comments


Carolyn Valder
September 28, 2016 at 11:14
Reply

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am visiting Venice next week (leaving London on Wednesday 5th October) and am hoping that you may be able to help with some history relating to San Giorgio during WW2. I have a photograph of my father with shipmates in the Naafi taken in Venice on the 11th October 1945. They were minesweeping there at the end of the war. I would very much like to try and locate and visit the place where this was. Having been in contact with the Naafi association they have suggested that it may have been located in an old casino on San Giorgio.
Could you provide any information about this at all please?
Many thanks,

Carolyn Valder



    Katia
    September 28, 2016 at 16:30
    Reply

    Hi Carolyn,

    I’m afraid I have no idea about an old casino on San Giorgio Maggiore. I suggest you contact either the Naval War College in Venice (http://www.difesa.it/Protocollo/AOO_Difesa/Marina/Pagine/MSTUDI.aspx) or the Fondazione Giorgio Cini. The latter is based on San Giorgio and has a huge library and researchers with different specialties, so they might know about this. You can contact their Institute for the History of the Venetian Society and State at tel. +39 041 2710226 or +39 041 2710227.

    Sorry I can’t be of more help. Good luck and enjoy your trip next week!

    Katia – The Venice Insider

    Katia
    November 27, 2016 at 13:39
    Reply

    If you wonder what happened after the question of Carolyn, here’s her feedback:

    We knew as a family that my father (who died in 1986) had been based at the end of the war in Trieste on a minesweeper in the Royal Navy. He’d served since 1940 mainly sailing between Liverpool and New York on the Atlantic convoys.
    When he died we found several photographs that he had taken with the crew of the minesweeper and which he had kept on his person all the time. One was the picture that I sent you previously of them having drinks. We had always assumed that these photos were taken in Trieste, although my Dad (on one of the very rare occasions that he would talk about the war) did say he had visited Venice at the end of the war.
    Recently my aunt (his surviving much younger sister) gave me a copy of the same photograph but this had been sent to her mother during the war and had a note written on the back with the date of 11th October 1945 and the location as being the Naafii Venice.
    The coincidence was that my husband and I were married on the 1tth October 1986 (sadly 10 days after my father’s death), and we were going to Venice to celebrate our 30th anniversary. So I wanted to see if we could track down where he had been 71 years earlier.
    The Naafi organisation had no records of wartime locations, but were able to send me some links to other war diaries, one of which stated that the Naafi in Venice was in a corner off St Mark’s Square and that it had been a casino in the past. Another mentioned San Giorgio as well and that led me to your website.

    When I contacted the Biennale offices they said we’d only be able to see the room if we attended the concert on the Friday night, so that’s what we did. The seating was unallocated and we chose to sit at the back alongside a column in front of the sound engineers. I went round the room trying to pinpoint the matching location and eventually realised that it was the exact column we were sat alongside. In the photograph attached my husband has his back to the camera in almost the exact same spot that my Dad had sat (he was facing the camera in his photo). So again we thought this was a great coincidence.

    We had a brilliant time in Venice and I was very glad I decided to do the detective work! We wouldn’t have got anywhere without your help and that of whoever spotted the photograph on your website. So many many thanks for that.

    Once again my very best wishes and great detective work!

    Kind regards,

    Carolyn

      Julija
      October 14, 2018 at 15:06

      fascinating story! thanks for posting! We will be staying on Giudecca for 2 nights, 18-20 of October 2018, that’s how I ended up on this page.

        Katia
        October 15, 2018 at 20:48

        Thanks Julija! I’m glad you ended up on my page by searching for ideas for your next trip. I assume you found the post on Giudecca as well?

        All the best
        Katia – The Venice Insider

Wendy
January 15, 2018 at 00:27
Reply

My Goodness, I stop reading ! My schedule for the seven days in Venice is getting hard to find spots to see everything that I want to see and still relax 🙂 Thank you for more information than I can possibly absorb !!!!



    Katia
    January 15, 2018 at 09:11
    Reply

    Wendy,

    You will have to book a next trip, and another one and … That’s also how I got hooked to the city 🙂

    Enjoy your trip!
    Katia – The Venice Insider

      Julija
      October 14, 2018 at 15:07

      This is very true! Never enough of Venice! we are going 2d time this year

Elisa
June 26, 2019 at 15:01
Reply

Stumbled across this article as this is where me and my fiance got engaged!

It really was such a wonderful surprise and the island really is a hidden gem to be discovered. I will forever recommend this place to my friends and family when they visit, not only because it holds a special place in my heart but because it is so beautiful!



    Katia
    June 30, 2019 at 11:53
    Reply

    Hi Elisa,

    That’s a romantic story! I will now always remember it when I go to San Giorgio Maggiore 🙂

    Do you also consider marrying in Venice? If so, you might be interested in reading how I organized my destination wedding there in this post How to organize your destination wedding in Venice?

    Have a nice weekend!
    Katia – The Venice Insider

A Tintoretto Pilgrimage – io sto a casa.
August 19, 2020 at 19:56
Reply

[…] early and sailed on what could have been that very same vaporetto from the San Zaccaria stop over to San Giorgio Maggiore: an island with a church all unto itself. The boat was spacious and almost empty. I took pictures […]



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