In past articles we have looked at some important important Byzantine icons in Venice -- specifically the Madonna Nicopeia (located in the Basilica of San Marco) and the Madonna della Salute (located in the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute). Today we are going to take a look at a third such Venetian icon, one that underwent recent restoration works that were only completed in 2024. I speak here of the Madonna della Pace (Our Lady of Peace) icon which is found in another important Venetian church, the Basilica die Santi Giovanni e Paolo.
The basilica is worth a quick look in its own right for reason of its distinctive form of Venetian gothic. We won't cover it in depth here as we have already discussed this basilica and its architecture in our February 2023 article, Venetian Gothic: The Basilica of Santa Giovanna e Paolo, however for the sake of setting the context in which today's icon is found, here is a reminder of the beautiful facade of that basilica:
The icon itself is located in the Cappella della Madonna della Pace (Chapel of the Madonna of Peace), some views of which can be seen here (including the spectacular ceiling by Ottaviano Ridolfi and Palma il Giovane).
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| Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo |
The icon itself, as in the previous instances, originates from Constantinople, brought to Venice in the year 1349 and the basilica itself provides us with the following information about the history of the icon in relation to the basilica:
The ancient Byzantine icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary was donated to the Dominican Friars of the Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo of Venice by the noble Venetian Paolo Morosini, who brought it from Constantinople in 1348. Since the 16th century, the icon has been called Madonna della Pace (Our Lady of Peace), after some Dominican friars, troubled by serious inner dissent, prayed the Virgin Mary and obtained the reconciliation.
The icon, originally located in a Chapel of the Dominican Convent, was transferred inside the Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo when the Napoleonic decree turned the entire convent into a Civil Hospital.
The devotion to Madonna della Pace (Our Lady of Peace) reached its peak during the two World Wars, whose tragic events led many believers, Venetian and not only, to ask for salvation and solace to the Blessed Virgin Mary for the relatives engaged in the war. The numerous mercies received are attested by plenty of letters and ex voto.
With all that simply by way of background, here are some good views at the splendid Madonna della Pace icon in its recently restored form:
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| Detail |
Prior to the restoration the icon had undergone various historical interventions, including the addition of crowns and the like. For those curious about it, that particular iteration of the pre-restoration icon can be seen here:
One will note how, in the pre-restoration version, not only are there metal crowns that have been added to the icon, the left hand of the Virgin has entirely disappeared with all of the over-painting that occured over the years and the gold leaf itself had all but lost its lustre.
Some might, of course, prefer the crowns in tact, but personally, I believe removing the crowns is the right call, just as it was in the case of the famed Madonna Salus Populi Romani icon in Rome; I say this for reasons both aesthetic (i,e. it looks more beautiful) and historical insofar as it brings the icon back into closer alignment with its historical Byzantine origins.
There is no doubt that the Madonna della Pace icon is one of the most important in Venice, and there is also no doubt that, with its striking form and colours, it is also one of the most beautiful in the city.
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