BACKGROUND ON THE FIRST RELIGIOUS SETTLEMENTS

 

The first information about the island of Saint Elena dates from 1060, and is a document from the notary Benedetto Mallipedo relating to a payment made by the monks of Saint Elena to those of Saint Michael for the purchase of a house close to the monastery. A further document, dated 4th February 1176, confirms the existence of a monastery and a rest place for pilgrims headed to the Holy Land on the island.
A detailed analysis of the oldest Venetian map in existence, the map of the Marcian manuscript from Fra' Paolino of Venice's Chronologia Magna of 1346 demonstrates unequivocally the presence of a religious settlement on Saint Elena. This settlement belonged to the Augustine monks until 1407, when Pope Gregory XII issued a Bull passing it to the Benedictine Order of Monte Oliveto (fig.1 photographic documentation). The island's monastic settlement is clearly visible in the historic maps of De'Barbari 1500, Bordone1534 and Merian of around1635.
According to a supposition of Wladimiro Dorigo, the Italian author and historian, the monastery's buildings, together with those of other medieval religious buildings, are placed in such a way as to corroborate the hypothesis of a Roman centurion barracks in the lagoon. From 1684, part of the monastery and surrounding land was used, with the monks' consent, to install 34 biscuit ovens used to supply the Venetian maritime fleet. The base of part of these ovens has recently come to light and been documented during the restoration of one of the convent's buildings. The choice of place fell on the island probably because of its vicinity to the Arsenal. The presence of the manufacturing operations did not prevent the monastery from prospering until the year of the fall of the Serenissima Republic. In 1806, with the arrival of Napoleon, the church and monastery met the same fate as many other places of worship, which, by becoming property of the State, were deconsecrated and used for other purposes. The monastery in particular became a depot for the Marina da Guerra, while the church, divided into three floors of storage, was used for grain and flour-milling, for the 17th century ovens which were still operational. The religious complex subsequently continued to be used as a holiday and relaxation destination by admirals from Piazza when in Venice on business. In around 1860, Henry of Bourbon, Count of Chambord, rented it for the same use. From 1866 to 1872, the Marina Administration used the island as a depot, until the island was ceded by the State to the Municipality of Venice.

 

INDUSTRIAL EXPANSION

 

The Municipality undertook the expansion of the island through dredging the shelves close to the San Marco basin. They then, from 1881, rented it to the Veneto Company for Public Works, who were planning to construct a shipyard and engineering workshop employing at least 500 workers. In 1886, the Veneto Company purchased the island of Saint Elena from the Municipality of Venice, including the improvements and existing structures, but with a veto on demolishing the former church and adjoining cloisters (fig. 6).
The following year two large stone hangars, numerous canopies and further all-wood hangars were built, as well as two stacks which rose up in the midst of the workshops.
The establishment of the Veneto Company dates from 1872 and before the Venice premises, under the presidency of Stefano Breda, had built engineering workshops in Padua, Brescia and Terni; it also managed 350 kms of railway (Guidovie Venete). The new Venetian factory had the task of producing steamboats, railway carriages, bridges etc, and in 1887 employed 880 workers. The workshops ceased operations at the beginning of the 20th century when the Company went into liquidation. The surrounding area in the meantime, between 1881 and 1885, underwent a major transformation: the swampland between the island and the Napoleonic Gardens was filled in, using the area as a training zone, replacing that of Santa Maria Maggiore. It is precisely here that, from 1925, through the efforts of the charitable organisations the IACP and the Congregazione della Carità, work commenced on the building of Saint Elena?s new urban area (fig.10).
The urbanisation of the island concluded with the construction of the stadium and the ?Morosini? naval college (fig. 11). The island stayed the same until the natural disaster that devastated the area occupied by the Celli shipyard, in the north-east, formerly occupied during the second half of the 19th century by the workshops of the Venetian Company for Public Works.