Campo dei Frari

Campo is an open space, smaller than a piazza, in the center of a Venetian parish, translated literally as "field". In Venice, you run into one every few minutes, and every campo has different atmosphere.

The campo I chose to deconstruct is Campo dei Frari. It is located at the heart of the San Polo district, and it is where Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari stands. This campo appealed to me like Venice in a miniature - it had every little thing I loved about Venice, from the giant church with marvelous art works, to a beautiful bridge sitting on a canal flowing with a gondola, colorful buildings surrounding the center, and of course, a gelato store. It was a very small campo with only a few business around it, yet there were always a few groups of people. Most of them were tourists, who stayed around the campo after visiting Santa Maria Gloriosa die Frari, struck by its grandeur. Sometimes, a group of Venetian students or a couple would stand around the closed well at the center of the campo and hang out. It was interesting to observe the harmony of these different groups of people among themselves as well as with the surroundings, and it reminded me of the harmony between tourists and the real Venetians in such a historical city.

The first thing you see when you enter Campo dei Frari is, of course, Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. This church is one of the notable churches of Venice built in the Italian Gothic style. The plain exterior is in accordance with the Franciscan emphasis on poverty and austerity, yet it houses masterpieces of the Renaissance, including those of Titian, Bellini, Vivarini, and Donatello.

The Frari alone has a number of Italian Gothic architectural elements.

Standing in front of the Frari, you will see three main oculi. This oculus is located right above the facade of the Frari, and it is the biggest one of oculi of the Frari.

The main façade of the Frari features pilasters and lunette in the shape of pointed semicircle.

Three lanterns lie along the rooftop on the front side of the Frari as well as on the sides.

Cusps sit along the entablature on the uppermost part of the Frari. The heavy use of bricks on the imposing edifice can be seen in this picture.

Along the wall of the church are a number of lancets. It is interesting how four different lancets are put together to form a larger lancet. 

The campanile of the Frari is the second tallest in the city after the one in Piazza San Marco. 

The campi in Venice are surrounded by buildings of various architectural styles and colors.

The façade has pilasters supporting an entablature. The uppermost part of the building includes a string course.

This building has its balcony decorated with balustrade. The uppermost part of this building has a string course as well. 

Above the façade is a segmental pediment, which is a pediment with the shape of an arc of a circle having a large radius of curvature, and the windows feature regular (or triangular) pediments.









It felt different visiting Campo dei Frari to look into the atmosphere and architectural elements from passing by it in order to get to different places. While it shared some of the common elements with other campi around Venice, Campo dei Frari definitely had its own vibe with the things that represent Venice all in this one place. The lecture on architecture we had during the trip definitely opened up my eyes to recognize the features of different architectural styles. It was an interesting experience to fully absorb the atmosphere of a place designed for the local people to interact and become an observer from a distance rather than a tourist.