page_title: Miracle of the Relic of the Cross at the Ponte di Rialto
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Miracle of the Relic of the Cross at the Ponte di Rialto / Description
context_page_description: The Miracle of the Cross at the Ponte di Rialto, also known as The Healing of the Madman is a painting by Italian Renaissance artist Vittore Carpaccio, dating from c. 1496. It is now housed in the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice.
context_section_description: The painting shows the miracle of the healing of a madman through the relic of the Holy Cross, held by the Patriarch of Grado  Francesco Querini, which took place in the   Palazzo a San Silvestro on the  Canal Grande, near the Rialto Bridge. The scene has an asymmetrical composition, with figures in the foreground at the left and, behind them, the façade of the buildings following the canal. They feature the typical inverted cone chimneys of medieval Venice.
  The miraculous event is relegated to a wide loggia in the upper left corner: most of the canvas is occupied by a veduta with a great number of  characters and naturalistic items. The people include a group of walkers who precede the religious procession following the relic. The bridge is still in wood, as it was  before it collapsed in 1524. Like the current version (dating from 1591) it had a double row of shops at the sides and, at the top, a movable  boardwalk needed to allow the passage of the taller vessels. 
  On the right is the 15th-century appearance of the  Fondaco dei Tedeschi, destroyed by a fire in January 1505. Other architectural features include the bell tower of San Giovanni Crisostomo, the portico of Ca' da Mosto and the bell tower of Santi Apostoli before its reconstruction in   1672.
  Details of human activities include the private gondolas used as ferries, the presence of numerous foreigners with eastern style garments, women clearing carpets, and workers who are clearing their barrels.
caption: Detail.
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