Love of beauty is a fundamental feature typical of the Greek community in Venice. Undeniable proof of it lies with the beautiful building complex of the so-called Square of the Greeks (Campo dei Greci), consisting of the Flangini School (Collegio Flangini) that now houses the Scoletta di San Nicolò Institute where the Greek Brotherhood of St. Nicolas used to reside, and the Church of St. George (San Giorgio dei Greci) with its spacious courtyard and imposing bell tower (the Cambanile). The careful selection of talented architects and painters to make those buildings and their artworks reflects the high aesthetic standards shared by the members of the Brotherhood. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that Baldassare Longhena, an illustrious Venetian 17th century architect whose name is associated with various other buildings in the City of the Doges, the most prominent of which is the Church of Santa Maria della Salute, was assigned the construction of the school (the Collegio Flangini) as well as the Brotherhood’s headquarters (the Scoletta).
The illuminated shadows exhibition of paintings is actually housed at the Scolletta, which was originally built for Brotherhood members. The Hospital of the Greeks used to operate on the first floor of the Scoletta, now home to the Institute’s Icon Museum, while the second floor accommodates the Sala del Capitolo where the Greek Orthodox Community used to convene and where it still holds meetings to date. These were all built thanks to a legacy bequeathed upon the Brotherhood by Thomas Flanginis, a lawyer, in 1648. It is at the Sala del Capitolo, which, up until 1955, served as a venue for the Institute’s social gatherings and events, that the aforementioned exhibition of works by contemporary Greek artists is held.
The actual decision in favour of building imposing edifices on the Campo was made by the Greeks of Venice, as stated in the relevant document, because they believed it would be “to the benefit and the exaltation of our brotherhood” (a beneficio et essaltazione della nation nostra). The “benefit” the 17th century Diaspora Greeks had in mind at the time is without question as is their contribution, given how the historical ambiance of the Sala del Capitolo mingles with its artistic aura, and how science that investigates the historical past turns its gaze to contemporary artistic creations.
Chryssa Maltezou
Director of the Hellenic Institute for Byzantine
and Post-Byzantine Studies in Venice
