SCUOLA GRANDE DI SAN ROCCO, Exterior

Hi, I'm Debbie, your personal guide. Together with MyWoWo, I'd like to welcome you to one of the wonders of the world.

Today I'll accompany you through the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, which is one of the most exciting buildings in Venice!

If you're wondering why the palace before you is called a "School", you should know that "Schools" in Venice were actually social institutions and were enormously important for the life of the city, especially between the 1400s and 1700s. The "Schools" were similar to modern trade unions: corporations, associations of people doing the same job - but also, sometimes, foreign resident communities in the lagoon. There were six "Scuole Grandi", or Great Schools, that were devoted to providing charity or welfare, and tens of thousands of people participated. Even today, for example, the Scuola Grande di San Marco is a hospital. Although they were not religious societies, the Schools almost always had the name of a saint. Over the centuries, as you will see, the locations of these brotherhoods were enriched by extraordinary painting cycles, which constitute one of the most original characteristics of Venetian art....