Scuola Grande di San Rocco

About the museum

The Scuola Grande di San Rocco is a lay confraternity founded in 1478. The cult of Saint Roch, whose relics have been kept by the confraternity since 1485, encouraged rapid growth and made this Scuola the richest in the city.

To house it, a monumental seat was decided upon. In 1517 the architect Pietro Bon was commissioned; he followed the traditional scheme of the Venetian Scuole: a ground-floor hall divided into three aisles by two rows of columns and, above it, a large single room, the Sala Capitolare, beside which lies the smaller Sala dell'Albergo. Tintoretto was called in for the decoration and there executed his most famous pictorial cycle, with episodes from the New and Old Testaments.

It is the only one of the historic Scuole Grandi to have survived the fall of the Republic. More than sixty paintings are still in their original location, in a building that has undergone very few changes since its construction. The confraternity is still active: it carries out its traditional works of charity and takes care of its artistic heritage.

Highlights

• Tintoretto's cycle in the Sala dell'Albergo and the Sala Capitolare
• More than 60 paintings still in their original location
• Three-aisled ground-floor hall
• Monumental staircase
• Treasury and ceramics of the Scuola
• Works by Giorgione, Titian and Tiepolo

Permanent exhibition

• Il ciclo pittorico di Tintoretto – The route passes through the Sala dell'Albergo, the Sala Capitolare, the ground-floor hall and the church, where the large canvases by Tintoretto remain in the place for which they were painted.

Founded

1517

Operated by

Confraternita della Scuola Grande di San Rocco

Visitors per year

approx. 136,444

Admission & discounts

Admission fees are contributions to the restoration and maintenance of the artistic heritage and to charitable activities. Online sale of tickets is not available; payment can be made in cash or by card. Free admission to the church for residents of the Comune di Venezia, Catholic clergy and children up to 8 years old; free accredited guides in the Scuola Grande.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Free admission up to 8 years, reduced ticket from 8 to 18 years and family ticket for 2 adults with minor children.

Getting there & parking

About 8 minutes on foot from Santa Lucia railway station and about 5 minutes from the Piazzale Roma transport terminal.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Bookshop on the ground floor, run by lineadacqua, with publications on 16th-century Venetian art, on Tintoretto and on the Scuola.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit