The Ospedale degli Incurabili dates from the early sixteenth century; the first documented mention of it is from 1522. It was established by
Gaetano da Thiene with money donated by two noblewomen, Maria Grimani and Maria Malipiero. It was at first intended to accommodate those with incurable diseases such as
syphilis, but later – like several other Venetian institutions – became an
orphanage. The first structure was probably of wood. From about 1565 – when a request for funds was made to the
Senate – until his death in 1597,
Antonio da Ponte was responsible for the construction of a substantial building with a large
porticoed courtyard, in which stood a church dedicated to
San Salvatore, probably built to a design by
Jacopo Sansovino. It has been suggested that he was also responsible for the layout of the hospital building, which others attribute to
Antonio Zentani. In 1807, after the
suppression of religious orders which followed the
fall of the Republic of Venice and its subsequent fall under the dominion of
Napoleon, the structure of the Incurabili became first a civil hospital and then, in 1819, a
military barracks. The church of San Salvatore was stripped of its contents – which included the altars, marble statuary, and paintings by
L'Aliense,
Giorgione,
Sante Peranda,
Tintoretto and
Paolo Veronese – and was closed; in 1831 it was demolished. Among those associated with the work of the Incurabili in its early years are
Ignazio da Loyola,
Gerolamo Miani and
Francesco Saverio. == Music ==