Cappella Malchiostro

The Malchiostro Chapel in Treviso Cathedral brings together architecture and painting from the early sixteenth century. Titian's Annunciation and Pordenone's fresco decoration belong to a small funerary foundation with an ambitious artistic programme.

Why it matters

Canon Broccardo Malchiostro, chancellor to Bishop Bernardo de' Rossi, commissioned and financed the chapel as his burial place. The collaboration of prominent painters within this setting reflects the cultural connections of Renaissance Treviso.

What to notice

Titian's Annunciation was made for the altar, while Giovanni Antonio de' Sacchis, known as Pordenone, decorated the walls and cupola in fresco. Painting and the marble architectural framework were conceived as parts of a shared sacred space. The lost cupola decoration is an important absence within that ensemble.

Context and history

Construction began in 1519. Later damage and repeated interventions altered the painted surfaces, followed by postwar and twentieth-century restoration. Conservation has therefore become part of the chapel's history, alongside the original commission and the artistic relationship between its altarpiece and mural decoration.