The Carmini Church, Venice

The Carmini – several artistic gems worth discovering:

I have visited the Carmini several times in the last year and each time I’ve been very impressed by the wonderful artistic gems hidden within the church. On my last visit in January, it was pouring with rain, so I popped into the Scuola next door to buy a book. While there, the lovely lady at the Scuola cassa insisted that I go upstairs to see the Tiepolo paintings. She told me, “Veramente vale la pena” – and she was absolutely right!

As I emerged back into the rain I thought I might share a few of my personal highlights from the church itself:

1. Lorenzo Lotto (1529) – St Nicholas, St Lucy and St John the Baptist

Firstly, I like the elevation of St Nicholas and the other saints floating on cotton wool clouds above a stormy landscape. Then I find myself captivated by the detail of St Lucy’s eyes lying at her feet – a wonderfully unexpected touch of wit and humour for the early 16th century! John the Baptist is rather daringly depicted, almost naked. Whilst the landscape at the bottom of the painting has a distinctly Giorgione feel to it. I find myself thinking of his painting ‘The Tempest‘ which hangs in the Accademia nearby. St Lucy is a favourite of mine, patron saint of sight and ‘bringer of light’. I’ve written about Lucy before.

_{Lorenzo Lotto – Painting in the Carmini Church of SS Lucia, Giovanni, Niccolo (1529)}

2. Early Tintoretto (c. 1541) – The Presentation at the Temple – Next it’s time to move on to Tintoretto and a painting from early in his career. The dramatic lighting in this painting is superb. Tintoretto was still in his twenties when he painted it, yet I think it is quite brilliant, full of drama and pathos. The influence of Raphael is particularly evident. The altar was financed by the wonderfully named Guild of Compravendi Pesce (the fishmongers). How’s that for a title.

I also love the detail of what appears to be the Lion of St Mark on the gold cloth beneath the table. Very fitting and very Venetian. Later I learned that this painting was restored in 2001 thanks to Save Venice. Then after the acqua alta of November 2019 it received more interventional work in 2023 and 2024 to prevent cracking and lifting of the paint. Even by Venice standards the Carmini is in a particularly damp location.

_{Jacopo Tintoretto (c. 1518/19–1594) Presentation of Christ in the Temple c. 1546-8, oil on canvas}

3. Cima da Conegliano (1509) – The Nativity – Another favourite of mine. I love this Natività, particularly the inclusion of St Catherine (with her broken wheel) yet another saint with a wonderful story. Then there is the archangel Raphael and Tobias – two more of my favourite figures. Tobias, of course, has his fish! There is also St Helena with her cross. I haven’t yet managed to establish who the committente, Giovanni Calbo, was, so that remains a little mystery, perhaps for next time! See below for more on St Catherine of Alexandria.

_{Cima da Conegliano (1509) – Nativity scene with Saints Catherine, Elena, Archangel Raphael, Tobias and the mysterious Committente Giovanni Calbo}

So the moral of this little story is, never walk past an open church door in Venice, after all who knows what is waiting to be discovered within. Here in the space of an hour I was able to enjoy, in complete and blissful solitude paintings by Lorenzo Lotto, Tintoretto and Cima da Conegliano – now that’s quite something.

THE AUTHOR Janet Simmonds writes about history, geography and art in Italy, The Alps and Mediterranean. Janet is an Art Historian and a Geographer. A graduate of the University of Oxford, she has a special interest in Venice and the history of tourism especially The Grand Tour. She works as a guest lecturer in Italy for university groups and private individuals. She also works in Venice, Oxford and London. Janet runs a specialist travel company www.grand-tourist.com offering exceptional journeys in Italy, Greece, Turkiye and British Isles.

You might enjoy some other articles I’ve written about saints and angels in Venice – on the Educated Traveller Blog:

03 November, 2026