The Great School of San Rocco

The Great School of San Rocco is a brotherhood of Layvics founded in 1478. The profound popular veneration of St. Rocco, whose relic was already in possession of the Brotherhood since 1485, contributed to its strong growth until it became the richest school in the city.

It was then that it was decided to build the new imposing, monumental seat called the Tintoretto to paint its most famous pictorial cycle with episodes of the Old and New Testaments. It is the only one of the ancient Great Schools to have survived the fall of the Republic.

Today the religious activities are still active and the school still pursues ancient charitable tasks, as well as taking care of its remarkable artistic heritage.

It is an exceptional place where over 60 paintings are preserved in their original location in a building that has hardly undergone modifications since its construction.

How to explore the Scuola Grande di San Rocco?

• The school has an entrance on the ground floor and the Chapter meeting room on the upper floor, similar to the type of buildings of the other Small Schools. The main facade is plastered with natural marble, dotted and drawn by the sharp contours of Istrian stone, doors, and windows, in which the space for the statue of the Holy Holder is made. After a radical restoration, Scaletta is now used for temporary exhibitions.
• San Rocco is the only Venetian brotherhood church and is also thought of as the shrine of its saint named Rocco. The body of St. Rocco, preserved in the high altar since its transfer to Venice in 1485, is an ongoing destination of pilgrimages. The church has a single nave, illuminated by four high monophores per side with three side chapels framed by lexeme. It belongs to the Venetian tradition of conventual churches. The side chapels are simple oxidized rooms turned on a cruising floor intended for the altar where the body of St. - Rocco is preserved.
• The entrance wall of this school has paintings of the Sala Dell Albergo that illustrate miracles and episodes from the Passion of Christ. These paintings were intended as objects of meditation, following a scheme that signifies complex religious and spiritual meanings.
• The brothers used the large hall for plenary meetings called Sala Capitolare (in English, 'Chapter Room'). This hall consists of 33 paintings. The ones on the ceiling depict stories from the Old Testament, those on the walls illustrate the life of Christ, and the altar has two paintings showing the gigantic figures of St. Roch and St. Sebastian. There are six chiaroscuro Sybils over the tympana of the windows.
• The Sala Terrena was used for liturgical services. It is a vast rectangular hall divided into a nave and two side aisles by two rows of columns. The eight large canvases on the wall of this hall show episodes from the life of the Virgin and the childhood of Christ.