frari
...eligious following expanded. In 1231 Doce Jacopo Tiepolo donated a piece of land to the Franciscan friars in Venice in order to build a church. The first church was begun around 1250 and was completed in 1338 but shortly after a larger replacement was needed. Donations from important Venetian families provided for the expansion and decoration, but this church took over a century to construct. The bell tower, the second highest in Venice, was completed in 1396 and the church that exists today was completed around 1443. It was consecrated in 1492, and dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin as Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, located in the center of the San Polo district in Venice, is the second largest church in Venice after the Basilica of San Marco. More often referred to as “i frari,” meaning the church of the friars, this church is a fantastic example of Franciscan architecture. Every element of this monument, including the style and decoration, emphasizes the Franciscan order’s belief in a life of prayer and contemplation. The Franciscan order was founded based on the life of St. Francis de Assisi. When Pope Innocent III approved the religion and made it into a religious order in 1208, the popularity of the r...