The Frari Church and the Scuola San Rocco

Scuola Grande di San Rocco and the Frari: a unique site.

The Frari has been the church for the most important Franciscan Monastery in Venice. Founded in the 13th century, this monumental temple – flanked by the second tallest belltower after St. Mark’s – was reconstructed in 1440 and embellished with some of the greatest art treasures in the city, sponsored by confraternities and prestigious Venetian families. The focal point of the magnificent perspective of its interior is Titian’s Assunta, a large painting considered as a mile stone of the Renaissance art in Venice.

The Assumption of the Virgin Mary is the only altarpiece commissioned directly by the Franciscan friars and still stand in the Frari over the main altar: the famed sculptor Canova described it as “the finest painting in the world”. Here is also where the famed painter Titian was buried to comply with his will. Highlights from this wonderful series of artworks feature Giovanni Bellini, Paolo Veneziano, Vivarini, Canova and Donatello.

A few steps away is the devotional complex of Scuola Grande di San Rocco (Saint Roch), patron of the plague victims, to whom a church and an adjacent house for the confraternity are dedicated. This was the house were the members of Scuola Grande di San Rocco, important and wealthy brotherhood, held their meetings. Built in the early 16th C with the main purpose of assisting the victims of the plague, it features one of the most impressive painting cycles in the city and in Europe: over 60 canvasses framed in gold, all painted by the great Jacopo Tintoretto who dedicated over 20 years of his career to this remarkable challenge.

DURATION: 2 hours

TOUR PRICE:€ 170

ENTRANCE FEES (per person):

Scuola Grande di San Rocco € 10 p.p.;
reductions € 8 p.p.
Frari Church:  € 5 p.p; reductions € 2

PLEASE NOTE:
The tour price is for a party of 1 to 8 people, and doesn’t include admission fees.
Should your party exceed 8 participants, please contact us for a quote.