San Giovanni di Verdara or Saint John of Verdara is a former

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

monastery and church located on Via San Giovanni di Verdara # 123, in the city of

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, region of Veneto, Italy. It was founded in 1221, but now serves as a

military hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned and operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a ...

, and is not accessible to the public.

History and description

The site by 1219 housed a convent of

benedictine order , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monks. Because the site had luxuriant growth of vegetation, the site gained the suffix of ''de Verdara''. In 1436, the monastery was granted to the

Canons Regular of the Lateran The Canons Regular of the Lateran (CRL), formally titled the Canons Regular of St. Augustine of the Congregation of the Most Holy Savior at the Lateran, is an international congregation of an order of canons regular, comprising priests and lay bro ...

. They commissioned from Lorenzo da Bologna and Giuliano da Porlezza a refurbishment of the monastery and design of the present church building. By 1566, the monastery had become an abbey, and over the next centuries had accumulated a well known library, with collections from Pietro Montagnana, Marco Mantova Bonavides, and

Ludovico Antonio Muratori Lodovico Antonio Muratori (21 October 1672 – 23 January 1750) was an Italian historian, notable as a leading scholar of his age, and for his discovery of the Muratorian fragment, the earliest known list of New Testament books. Biography Born ...

. The order of canons was suppressed in 1784 by the Republic of Venice, and the monastery briefly passed to the Jesuit order. The library was dispersed to the Civic Museum of Padua and the

Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana The Marciana Library or Library of Saint Mark ( it, italic=no, Biblioteca Marciana, but in historical documents commonly referred to as ) is a public library in Venice, Italy. It is one of the earliest surviving public libraries and repositorie ...

. Over time, the monastery and church were used for different functions including ''brefotrofio'' (orphanage for abandoned babies) and barracks; the church was deconsecrated by 1866. Inside the church were buried Giovanni Calfurnio, Giovanni da Cavino,

Luca Ferrari Luca Ferrari (February 17, 1605 – February 8, 1654) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Biography Also called ''Luca da Reggio''. He was reputedly initially a trainee of Alessandro Tiarini. Moschini identifies him as a pupil of Guido ...

, and Domenico Senno. The large cloister of the monastery was designed circa 1492 by Pier Antonio dell'Abate, who along with Benedetto Montagna frescoed a chapel on site. Most of the decorations and monuments in the church have been moved for display in the Musei Civici agli Eremitani. An inventory in 1817 noted the external façade had the tomb of

Andrea Briosco Andrea Riccio (1532) was an Italian sculptor and occasional architect, whose real name was Andrea Briosco, but is usually known by his sobriquet meaning "curly"; he is also known as Il Riccio and Andrea Crispus ("curly" in Latin). He is mainly k ...

. The fresco over the door, depicting the ''Virgin and Child with Sts Joseph and John the Baptist'' was painted by Jacopo Ceruti. The first altar had a ''Pieta'' sculpted in marble by

Antonio Bonazza Antonio Bonazza (1698 – c. 1762) was an Italian sculptor of the Rococo. Antonio was the son of Giovanni Bonazza, a prominent sculptor active in Padua (1654–1736), and member of a large family of sculptors. He may have been influenced by Oraz ...

. The funeral monument of Lazzaro Bonamico had a marble bust of the author by Felice Chiereghino. Other canvases were painted by

Pietro Rotari Pietro Antonio Rotari (30 September 1707 – 31 August 1762) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Born in Verona, he led a peripatetic career, and died in Saint Petersburg, where he had traveled to paint for the Russian court. His portr ...

, Pietro Ricci, Pietro da Bagnara, and Stefano dall' Arzere. The church once housed a canvas depicting ''Bishop St Patrick heals a sick man'' by

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Giovanni Battista Tiepolo ( , ; March 5, 1696 – March 27, 1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an impo ...

.Guida per la citta di Padova
by Giannantonio Moschini, page 116-120.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giovanni di Verdara 1221 establishments in Europe 13th-century establishments in Italy Augustinian monasteries in Italy Benedictine monasteries in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Padua 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy