Ospedaletto

Lonely Planet review

Longhena's baroque Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Derelitti (aka the Ospedaletto, or Little Hospital) is the focal point of a onetime orphanage. The façade is one of the most exuberant bursts of baroque in the city, with giant figures leaning out over the narrow street below. Inside are some fine works by Giambattista Tiepolo and Palma il Giovane.

In an annexe is the elegantly frescoed Sala da Musica (Music Room). Most of the frescoes, which celebrate in allegorical form the importance of music, were done by Jacopo Guarana. Here young female orphans learned to sing and play musical instruments, in many cases becoming virtuosi performers. The putte or figlie del coro (choir girls) were a peculiarly Venetian phenomenon. From around the early 17th century, the state not only took in orphan girls (as well as illegitimate girls and daughters of families fallen on hard times) but also paid for their education here and in three other religious institutions around the city. The bulk of that education served a purpose. Dedicating their time to music, the girls came to form an important part of the city's musical repertory, much admired by locals and foreign visitors to the city alike.