Scuola Levantina in Venice

The Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, commonly called I Frari, was built throughout the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries by Franciscan fathers. The belfry, the highest in the city after that of San Marco (80 metres), was completed in 1396. The façade was not completed until 1440, but under Napoleon I, monastic life came to an end and the church was entrusted to a diocesan priest. The sanctuary contains many works of art, including works by Titian, and numerous funerary monuments to great Venetian men.

The church of San Rocco was built between 1489 and 1494, although the dome was not completed until 1507. Between 1726 and 1732, the church was radically renovated according to a project by Giovanni Scalfarotto, who replaced the flat ceiling with a vault interrupted by large windows, keeping only the old apses and the dome. Work on the façade began in 1756, following a competition won by Giorgio Fossati. Between 1765 and 1769, ignoring what had already been built by Fossati, the current façade was erected by Bernardino Maccaruzzi, who had won a second competition by proposing a two-storey solution that also recalled the finish of the façade of the nearby Scuola Grande, but overloaded it with sculptures. From the original façade, the old portal and the rose window, which open the side entrance, can still be seen.

The church of San Tomà or San Tommaso was erected in 917, renovated at the end of the 14th century, enlarged in 1508 and embellished with a marble façade in the second half of the 17th century. At the beginning of the 18th century, the church was in danger of collapsing; work on the foundations began in 1742. The last restoration was completed in 1803. In 1837 it was given to the conventual fathers who moved to a small convent nearby, where they remained until 1867.