Overview
The original building was completed in 1260, but was almost destroyed by fire in 1485. It was rebuilt under the supervision of Pietro Lombardo until 1496 when a dispute with the Scuola brothers transferred the contract to Mauro Coducci. He completed the upper floors around 1495. Despite being absorbed by the hospital, the building and its facade remain intact. The lower facade is considered to be one of the best examples of the Lombardo works of the Renaissance. Pietro Lombardo worked on this with his sons Tullio and Antonio; who also assisted him on the nearby Santa Maria Miracoli. The upper floor and the lunette crowning were carried out by Mauro Coducci, and recalls the roof line of the Basilica San Marco. The lunette above the main door was most likely done by Bartolomeo Bon, and is all that remains of the previous building. The main portal to the Scuola is now the main entrance to the Civic Hospital. On either side it is flanked by marble reliefs of lions, symbol of the evangelist. The second, smaller door located between the main portal and the church was the entrance to the Cappella della Madonna della Pace (now suppressed). It is flanked by two illusionist reliefs of the Life of St Mark by Tullio Lombardo: The Baptism, and the Healing of Sant'Aniano. The upper main hall is divided between the chapel/altar area and the main meeting space. The original paintings (by Jacopo Tintoretto), depicting scenes from the life of St Mark have been removed and are split between the Accademia Gallery and the Brera, Milan. The altar is a work by Sansovino (1533-1546) and flanked by two paintings by Domenico Tintoretto, which are original and added after his father's commission. The coffered ceiling is by the master woodcarver Vettore Scienzia da Feltre and is the style usually found in the Scuole. It was damaged by a bomb August 14, 1917, and subsequently repaired. The exhibit cases display objects from the medical library collections. The lower hall was built by Coducci in 1495, however it was demolished in the 18th century (under Austrian occupation) and rebuilt as it was by the Board of Hospital Governors
- Lorenzetti, Venice and Its Lagoon: Historical-Artistic Guide (Rome: Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato, 1961) as translated and with supplementary content by Taryn Marie Zarrillo, 2012/13
