Carnival of Venice 2012: BAROQUE CONCERT

Originally founded in 1261, San Giovanni Evangelista is the second oldest scuola in Venice.Though scuola developed a primary meaning of "school", in Venice these organisations retain their medieval Latin meaning of confraternities, social organisations founded on spiritual principles. The founders of San Giovanni were a confraternity of flagellants. This practice was outlawed in the city of Venice in the same year the scuola was founded.

In 1369 Filippo Maser, the Chancellor of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Cyprus, gave to the school a piece of the true cross which it still owns to this day. The presence of this relic brought about a transformation and helped the scuola become a rich and powerful organization, bringing in wealthy and powerful members to the confraternity, with their donations and bequests.

In 1485 the architect Pietro Lombardo completed the school's most distinctive architectural feature, the outdoor atrium and gateway which separate the complex from the campo to which it adjoins. Shortly after, in 1498, the architect Mauro Codussi completed work on a double staircase linking the upper and lower halls. Lit by round-headed windows it is domed and vaulted. The stairs lead to a large upper room, the Salone redecorated by Giorgio Massari in 1727 , where the concert will take place.