The stones of San Servolo

Our journey begins in the heart of the island, in front of the Church dedicated to San Servilio, an Istrian martyr of the third century, from which it takes its name 

Small size, cozy and beautiful in its simplicity. The façade is softened by a portico supported by pillars and columns in pomarolo marble

The busts of apostles of the fifteenth century that adorn the front wall were originally located inside the pre-existing church

On the acroteri of the tympanum stand two figures of angels, one praying the other with arms crossed on the chest in an attitude of adoration, the work of Giovanni Ferrari known as il Torretto

It is not easy to notice but at the base of the cross on the top of the church, there is a small pomegranate in Istrian stone ... 

In Christian symbolism the pomegranate, broken or open, is an image of the fullness of Jesus, of his suffering and of his resurrection 

In particular, the pomegranate surmounted by the cross is the symbol of the religious order of St. John of God, the fatebenefratelli, who from 1716 to 1904 managed the Hospital of San Servolo 

The patron saint of the order is represented in glory before the Virgin in the fresco painted by Jacopo Marieschi on the ceiling of the nave in 1761 

... under the cross, in the altarpiece painted by Francesco Maggiotto in 1791

... and again in one of the marble busts representing the benefactors of the hospitals, placed on the cornice that decorates the pediment
 

The stonecutter who built the altars in 1791 has remained anonymous, like all the stonemasons, plasterers and masters who over the centuries have built the splendor of Venice

The church project was not made by an architect but by the master builder Gaetano Brunello, often simply called murèr (bricklayer), who completed its construction in 1761

The two bell towers with the unusual bulb domes are the most characteristic element of the complex, so much so that San Servolo was known as the island of the two bell towers

Music, and in particular sacred music, was considered by the medicine of the early nineteenth century to be a beneficial impression, capable of elevating the soul, which is why they tried to make the mental patients listen to it

Perhaps for this very reason the prior, Father Luigi Portalupi, in 1810 enriched the Church with his most precious jewel: the organ placed on the choir

An inscription dated 1745 recalls that it is the ninety-eighth work of Don Pietro Nacchini, one of the most renowned organ builders in Venice

Restored and fully functional, the Nacchini retains the original timbre of the sounds. This feature, together with the excellent sound diffusion of the room, makes the Church of San Servolo one of the most suitable venues for performing Baroque music

The complex of buildings south of the Church, developed around the original Benedictine settlements, constitutes the so-called monumental core

Here we find the old Apothecary room, where the eighteenth-century vases are lined up on the original shelves

A nineteenth-century fresco, resurfaced during the restoration works, depicts the religious medical staff of San Servolo. It is the work of an Asylum's patient

The medical management of the hospital was located on the first floor, with the splendid Library whose elegant wooden structures house more than 8,000 volumes

A stumbling block , initiative of the german artist Gunter Demnig, was placed in front of the entrance to the building in memory of the six Jewish patients deported from the Psychiatric Hospital in October 1944

In the park of the island, proceeding south, the buildings of the former Mental Hospital pavilions, house now the San Servolo Residential Center    

Before leaving the island, we stop  under a group of olive trees in front of a statue representing the Virgin and the Child, a rare example of Venetian sculpture from the early 18th century