History of Venetian palazzos. Palazzo Venezia (National Museum)

Venice is an amazingly multifaceted city, rich in its history, which has known ups and downs. Among all this, there was a place and history of the accursed Palazzo Dario. The story is so famous that the artist Claude Monet was interested in it, venerable writers devoted their works ... But I did not hear the clues to this story. Maybe you know her? In the information flow, it is not surprising to miss a lot. In the meantime - a story about what cast such a gloomy shadow on one of the most unusual palazzos in Venice.

Almost no building in Venice was mentioned in the detectives of Donna Leon, including the Palazzo Dario:
Brunetti stood in the same place for a minute, then went to one of the windows and lifted the curtain. The Grand Canal stretched below, the sun gleamed on the water, reflected on the walls of the Palazzo Dario located to the left; the golden tiles that made up the mosaic on the facade of the palace caught the light emanating from the water; breaking up into many sparks, he again rushed down to the canal. Boats sailed past, time passed.
Donna Leon, Venetian Counting

Small red dot on the map - Palazzo Dario:

First a note from the wiki:

Ca "Dario or Palazzo Dario (Italian: Ca" Dario, Palazzo Dario) is a palace in Venice, in the Dorsoduro district. One side overlooks the Grand Canal, the other - Barbaro Square. Opposite the palace is the marina of Santa Maria de Guillo. The palace is a magnificent example of Renaissance architecture. The mosaic facade made of colored marble attracts attention. The palace was built in 1487. Among the owners of the mansion was the French poet Henri de Regnier, who lived here at the end of the 19th century. The palace is also famous for the fact that one of the weddings of the famous film director Woody Allen took place here. The palace has the notoriety of being a cursed house. The owners of the mansion were repeatedly abused, became bankrupt or suicidal. The last death occurred in 1993, when one of the richest Italian industrialists shot himself here after a corruption scandal broke out. In 2005, the German writer Petra Reske published the best-selling book "Palazzo Dario".
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%B0%27_%D0%94%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BE

Here are quotes from the mentioned book by Petra Reska (slightly abridged and highlighted in blue) and we will continue the story about the Palazzo Dario. I will add my notes to quotes in black.

“More precisely, they call it Ka Dario,” said Wanda's companion. - Previously, all the palaces in Venice were called "Ca", from casa, and only the Doge's Palace was called a palazzo, Palazzo Ducale. But today things are looked at more broadly. You are surprised signorina, aren't you? Yes, there are many things that foreigners do not know. Imagine, an American woman recently asked me why the city is so flooded with water. I answered her: "Signora, this is how we wash the streets."

On the map in the center you can see a small palazzo Dario and other palazzos nearby:

Reska's book details the curse of the palazzo and how it affected its inhabitants. Here I will give just a few brief references:

"I mean the curse," he replied, somewhat annoyed that she had interrupted him. “The palazzo where your uncle lives brings misfortune. Many Venetians say that Palazzo Dario especially does not like businessmen, businessmen, and, on the contrary, saves artists. We Venetians always try to find a pattern in everything. But here she is not. Massimo Miniato was, for example, a businessman and still survived in this palace. And the antiques dealer Fabio delle Fenestrelle, on the contrary, in my opinion, was more related to artists. The only regularity that I see here is that misfortune, like powdery mildew, falls on each of its inhabitants. Very few survived and left the palace themselves.

- The first inhabitant of Ca Dario, as far as I remember, was an American, Robert Baulder. After him was Fabio delle Fenestrelle. He ran an antique shop. After him was a hippie, Mick Swinton, he was the manager of the rock band What. Then Massimo Miniato Sassoferato, the financier, as he called himself, whatever that means. And then Aldo Vergato. The richest man in Italy. Of course, you have heard of him. Even Ka Dario did not bring happiness to him, that's for sure. Oh yes, I must have forgotten to mention that none of them survived at the Palazzo Dario. That is, there was one who survived, but he was not lucky either. And these are only those who have lived there in the last fifty years. If you think about the fact that the palazzo is already more than five hundred years old, who knows what scenes were played there that we know nothing about.

“In Ca Dario,” replied the gentleman, “something was always celebrated, at all times. I think there is hardly any other palazzo in which they had so much fun. In the days of Mick Swinton and the Miniato, parties rumbled one after another. “Kilograms of cocaine. It wasn't holidays, it was orgies." “Bras and panties just flew out of the windows,” said taxi drivers who were forced to stand down at the pier all night long.

– In the days of Vergato, it was calm in Ca Dario. And after his death, the house was empty for quite a long time, no one dared to buy it, although the price was quite bearable. In my opinion, at first this American, the director, became interested in him. He just had a burning desire, still, ten billion for a Renaissance palazzo on the world-famous Grand Canal - it's just a gift. He always comes to Venice with his wife on New Year's Eve and stays at the Hotel Gritti, just opposite the Ca Dario. Perhaps one day at breakfast he looked at the house and calculated how many nights he would have to spend in Venice to justify the ten billion. And with such prices as in the Gritti Hotel, these nights would not be so many. There, the rent of one suite costs a million, that is, the cost of almost ten thousand nights in Ca Dario. And if he were destined to spend them there, they would fly by in thirty years, which for a city like Venice is tantamount to a flap of a wing. However, he refused the deal. They say he learned about the curse of the palazzo.

All his life, Baulder dreamed of settling on the world-famous Grand Canal in Venice. He knew that many famous singers, composers, artists, writers and poets lived in the fashionable palazzos of the world-famous Grand Canal: Hemingway and Rainer Maria Rilke, Hugo von Hoffmannstel and Marcel Proust, and even the Queen Mother herself. He bought the Palazzo Dario from a mysterious fellow whom he had seen only twice in his life at the Café Florian. This guy's eyes burned like coals. He offered his empty palace at a ridiculous price. Baulder, who never turned down a good deal, accepted without hesitation. Did he then assume that by making this deal, he thereby handed over his soul to the dark force?

People like Robert Baulder are hardly ever sensitive to such sensations. And even more so, Americans, unlike Europeans, are completely unreceptive to spiritualistic phenomena. If a mysterious man with glowing eyes had told Baulder that the Palazzo Dario was under a curse that cost the lives of all its former owners, he would have laughed in response. Perhaps he might have been impressed by the accident that happened to Mario del Monaco, the famous tenor, after he negotiated a price with mysterious person and signed an agreement to purchase the ill-fated palace. On the way back to Treviso, the singer's elegant limousine overturned, and, still recovering from terrible injuries, he canceled the purchase of Ca Dario.

Boulder, however, took possession of the Palazzo Dario with complete confidence. After stormily celebrating the signing of the purchase agreement at the Café Florian, he boarded a gondola on St. Mark's Quay. The moon, making its night round, entailed a plume of a light path along the water of the world-famous Grand Canal. A ghostly radiance trailed like a shroud over the Palazzo Dario, but Baulder didn't feel the cold fingers of the curse touch him.
- Stunning Venetian light! he sighed as the gondolier rowed steadily through the black water of the world-famous Grand Canal.

The boy's heart skipped a beat as Boulder promptly invited him to dinner at the Palazzo Dario.
After a while they entered the palace through the wrought iron gates. Boulder leaned his shoulder against the heavy oak door, and Girolamo found himself in a room with a cool white marble floor bathed in soft, warm amber light from tall candles. There were ancient musical instruments: harps, cembalos, lyres and spinets.
- Are you into music? whispered Girolamo.
"No," Boulder replied, and smiled with some contempt. - It was Juan who wanted to furnish the salon with musical instruments.

He then took him around the palace and even showed him the "luxurious" bathroom, noting the delight with which Girolamo examined the bidet made from a single piece of marble. In the salon, the boy especially liked the tiger skins with tan marks, and in the hallway, the small marble children's sarcophagi scared him to death.
"Oh, they're just hat stands," Boulder smiled, noticing that the boy was frightened.

On the theme of the interiors and exterior of the palazzo:

Among their rivals, challenging each other on the world-famous Grand Canal, Palazzo Dario looked exhausted. Embodied yellow-gray fragility. A house of cards that only holds up because its base is wider than the upper floors. it seemed that it was enough just to touch a small piece of its marble, as the whole palace silently folded and collapsed into the world-famous Grand Canal. On the plinth of the palace was engraved GENIO URBIS JOANNES DARIO - "Giovanni Dario - the genius of the city." Higher up were three narrow, pointed-vaulted windows, clad in triple bars, as if they were meant to protect the harem. The marble façade was adorned with green granite and red porphyry medallions, reflecting the painted, made-up face of the palace in the water.

But even this beautiful mask could not hide the conspicuous thinness, although it set off all three floors - two piano nobile, aristocratic floors, conceived for inspection, and not as housing, and a modest, reserved upper floor. The palazzo stretched coyly and swaggered in all its appearance, but separately each floor was nothing more than an imposing salon. On the ground floor was the Mohamed Salon, named after Sultan Mohamed II, to whom the architect Giovanni Dario owed his fame and fortune.

On the second floor there was a pink salon. Next to it was a library, a luxurious bathroom, a bedroom, small guest rooms and storage closets.

It was cold, damp and dark within the walls of the palace pier. entire generations of Venetian architecture students devoted their thesis to these marble arches, vaults and columns of wharves and wharves of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

The marble vaults were washed away by the tides, and they were completely covered with pockmarks and crevices from endless flooding. On the quay of Sopraport, two marble figurines of boys whose foreskin had been gnawed off by the water held the turquoise-white striped coat of arms of the Dario family. Everything that was once beautiful in them crumbled and disappeared: limbs, curls, noses - now the salt was already biting into their faces. One of them had such a gaping cavity in the lower part of his face, as if he had leprosy.

Up the stairs to the second floor. The hallway was adorned with gilded plaster rosettes, examples of eerie rococo. But what can you do? For five centuries, the palazzo digested all its inhabitants, calmly and silently.

Some of them believed that they could express themselves by constructing a marble fountain, the other tried to embody their creative impulses in equipping the palace with a kitchen elevator to deliver food to the upper floors.

But what all its inhabitants valued as the individuality of the house - the white and gold tile stoves of the Rococo era and the ceilings decorated with plaster rosettes - was nothing more than a worthless tinsel decoration, which, however, could not spoil the true originality and individuality of the Palazzo. Dario.

Of the three floors of the Palazzo, Radomir mostly occupied only the third. On the second floor, that is, the first of the piano nobile, one could only live in the summer. Sovraintendenza, the Office for the Preservation of Monuments, forbade the heating of this salon in order to preserve the unique examples of stucco work in it. So the furniture on the second floor lay dormant during the winter months under white sheets. Radomir opened this piano nobile only in exceptional cases, for example, when he received photographers from publishing houses that produce albums in Venice, of course, for some monetary compensation.

It did not matter to him in which album the photographs of his palace appeared: "Life in Venice", "Venetian Palazzos", "Palazzo of the world-famous Grand Canal" - Radomir and his Palazzo Dario should have appeared in any of them: Palazzo Dario - view from water; Palazzo Dario - view from the garden; detail of a marble fountain at the entrance; fountain on the second floor; luxury bathroom on the third floor.

Second floor. The window panes, cast with a generous dose of lead, painted the interior a bright pink.

The pink saloon was crammed with furniture, from which, until now, only the Empire style couch could be used. Everything else—slender-legged chairs, chests, cupboards, chests of drawers, magnificent inlaid tables and rootwood secretaries—seemed to show indignation at the very thought of using them for their intended purpose.

“You know, in a certain sense, I have a special relationship with the Palazzo Dario, because thanks to me the original furniture has been preserved in it,” he said proudly. Who knows what would have happened if someone else had bought it. The best items from it would then stand in Milan salons or in America. And this Venetian antiques would not have endured. He needs the Venetian climate. High humidity. If you put it in an American apartment, where the air conditioner works in the summer, and in the winter everything shrinks because of the heating, it will very soon come to an end.

From the history of the owners of the palazzo:

– Palazzo Dario keeps many secrets for me as an art historian. The mass of circumstances hides the truth about him. For a long time there was not a single worthy historical evidence, except for the inscription "Genio Urbis Joannes Darius" on the facade, but such a meager message did not limit human imagination, rather the opposite. And perhaps this is precisely what should be considered as the source of endless stories about the palace.

- Palazzo Dario is the only one in Venice named after its creator. The inscription on the facade is a sign of Giovanni Dario's respect for his homeland. Giovanni Dario was one of the few owners of palaces on the world famous Grand Canal who were not aristocrats. Most likely, the aristocrats of the world-famous Grand Canal considered him an upstart, and all his life he fought for public recognition.

“Once I was looking at the magnificent decoration of this facade, and it seemed to me that I saw in it the elegant nuances of the early Lombard style.
... a balcony with an iron balustrade, installed in the 18th century, emphasizes the magnificence of the facade decoration, the same can be said about the lattice for the lower windows near the water itself.

One of the rooms was almost completely lined with copper. Above the windows of the hall on the second floor there is a surprisingly inlaid gothic cornice. Palazzo Dario, no doubt, has become a worthy possession and housing of its creator - Giovanni Dario, whose name we read on the facade.

– Rod Dario belongs to the most famous and ancient in Venice. He comes from Crete. Giovanni Dario was supposedly born in 1414. By origin he was a tradesman, not a patrician, and a member, on the one hand, of an honorary, and on the other hand, of a minor group of senate secretaries. He performed various duties in the Council of Ten, led quite significant departments in the Senate and carried out various assignments ...
– Many historians have appreciated the merits of Giovanni Dario. Tentori, for example, admires him, almost idolizes him, as a man with a wealth of experience and political talent. Lecomte of the Faculty of History of the University of Montellier writes that Dario had already been appointed Ambassador of the Republic in 1450. However, this statement is not scientific in nature, it is unproven.

... Paolo Morosini, our honored historian from Padua, we owe the fact that it was Giovanni Dario who managed to make peace with the Sultan of Turkey, the terrible Mohammed II, the conqueror of Constantinople ...
- Dario was in 1478 authorized by Doge Giovanni Mocenigo with unlimited rights to decide and conclude peace with Mohamed II.
- Giovanni Dario was held in high esteem in Constantinople, as evidenced by two extremely interesting letters in which he describes the luxurious reception he received in this city ...
... for establishing peace with Mohamed II, the Republic granted him possession in Novent in Padua and, in addition, a thousand ducats from the salt magistracy as a dowry to his illegitimate daughter Marietta. And Mohamed gave him three gold-woven outfits ...

…and Dario's family settled in the palace: Dario with his mistress Chiara, his daughter Marietta and his two nephews Andrea and Francesco Pantaleo.
- How? Giovanni Dario was not married?
- Apparently not. But there is no direct indication of this. Giovanni Dario was seventy-five years old when he settled in his palace, and his life was already covered with thoughts of illness and death. Then he made a will. And in the same year, his daughter Marietta married the patrician Vincenzo Barbaro.

These Barbaros were a highly influential and aristocratic family. They lived in a nearby palazzo. On May 1, 1494, at the age of eighty, Giovanni Dario died. After his death, the palace passed into the possession of the Barbaro family. Until the beginning of the 19th century, it remained their property. With the death of Dario, some fate descended on his heirs and descendants ...
- Marietta was unlucky with her husband, the temper and anger of Vincenzo Barbaro were known to everyone. Soon he was expelled for ten years from the Grand Council for insulting a lawyer.

Marietta suffered because of the shameful position of her husband. And after the death of her father, she also died soon after. Young and unhappy. She was not even twenty. In the prime of youth! In the bedroom of the Palazzo Dario from a heart attack. And a few years after her death, Dario's nephews were brutally and mysteriously killed by robbers. Neither he nor his daughter, even after death, found peace. The church of Santa Maria delle Grazia, where they were buried, was blown up in 1849. The fact is that since 1810 it housed a powder warehouse, which was blown up when the Austrians entered here.

– We are grateful for these numerous valuable references and facts to the works of Rowdon LaBock Brown, the author of the famous study of the life of Maria Sanuto. Raudon Brown was the owner of the Dario Palace from 1838 to 1842. He bought it for four hundred and eighty pounds sterling from the Marquis of Ebdoll, an Armenian diamond dealer who represented Saxony in Venice until he unexpectedly went bankrupt.

... in the last years of the last century, a boarding house was located in the palazzo. central chapter of his story. At that time it belonged to the Comtesse de la Baume Plouvignelle. She made friends with many thinkers, the French poet Henri de Regnier was her frequent guest in the early years of the 20th century, the inscription on the garden wall still reminds of him ...

– It was the Comtesse de la Baume Plouvignelle who initiated the decisive restoration work, when, for example, the fountain on the third floor was rebuilt.

True, she went too far with embellishment, in a word, she overloaded the palace. By her order, large mirrors were hung, they are still hanging, and majolica stoves were also installed. As D'Annunzio rightly noted then, Palazzo Dario turned into a "decrepit courtesan, bent under the weight of her jewelry." The poet lived at that time opposite, in a casetta rossa (pink house).

They tried to make a connection between the ebbs and flows - as one of the mysteries of the palazzo:

– What does the curse of Palazzo Dario have to do with the flood? Wanda didn't hesitate. “All Venice suffers from it.
“But not at low tide, right?” Palazzo Dario is the only palace where water is still standing at low tide in the world-famous Grand Canal. And it began almost immediately after our arrival: the water suddenly rose through the sewer hole - black, smelly, flooded the entire first floor. We thought it was a real flood and didn't understand why the siren didn't sound. And then they looked out of the window and it turned out that in the world-famous Grand Canal, the water had left with low tide. Gone so much that even the boat would not have come to the pier.

– Maybe something is wrong with the stock? It happens a lot,” Wanda said.
Mikel even raised his voice.
- Yes, we had the head of the city hall's flood department, magistratto delle acque. And I couldn't say anything! he shouted.

The bells on the Campanile chimed midnight, and the moon bathed the city in silver light. Anya took a deep breath. The vaporetto of the first line went towards the imposing church of Santa Maria della Salute. As they drew level with the Palazzo Dario, soft light fell on its pale Istrian marble, lighting it up in a festive way.

The tension eased Wanda a little. She began to navigate again, they sailed the Rio San Maurizio towards the world-famous Grand Canal. So Primo really took her to the Palazzo Dario. Palazzo Morosini dai Leoni, where the Guggenheim Museum was located, lay like an unfinished cake on the waterfront. Near the Rio de le Torezele between Palazzo Dario and the American Consulate. Primo led the gondola to the portico of the Palazzo Dario.
... And Palazzo Dario with its porta nera (black gates)!

In Reska's book, with great humor, it is told how various charlatans from magic were invited to the palazzo to cleanse it of the curse. And here a rather cool theory of the origin of the curse due to the poor location of the palazzo:

- Basically everything is clear. So to speak, mathematically, - said Wanda. – Of course, neither you nor your predecessors even bothered to look at the map of the city and how the Palazzo Dario is located. And if you take a look, everything will become clear to anyone who has even the slightest imagination.
She went to the library and, taking out a map of Venice, laid it out on the table in front of Radomir.
- I'll show you what the magician Alexander explained to me. Do you see that the world famous Grand Canal is shaped like a snake or even a dragon? It divides the city into two parts. Up here, at Margera, is the head of a dragon. Wanda ran her index finger along the world-famous Grand Canal. “Here, below, we find ourselves in an area that brings misfortune, because this is the tail of the dragon, the most unfortunate place, although contradictory at the same time.
Why contradictory? Radomir asked.
“Have patience,” Wanda said, “just listen for once. The place where Ka Dario stands is very negative. On the one hand, the palace is located on the left bank…
... And the left means negative, - Radomir finished for her.

- ABOUT! Bravo! Wanda replied. “Look, we are making progress in the world of the unknown!” On the other hand, at the end of the world-famous Grand Canal is the island of San Giorgio, named after St. George, who defeated the dragon. It neutralizes negative energy.
“Sounds logical,” agreed Radomir.
- Opposite us - the symbol of Venice - St. Mark's Cathedral, - Wanda continued confidently. - And both saints, St. Mark and St. George, must drive out evil spirits and destroy the dark power of the dragon.
“But if you look closely at the palazzo, its asymmetry will become clearly visible. In addition, there are seventeen windows in the palace, which is very bad. And the inscription: "Genio Urbis Joannes Darius". Dedication to the city. Like a dedication to a dragon, Alexander said. Same. He also tried to find out what an anagram of twenty-three letters meant. It means: Sub ruina insidosa genero (betrayal is born under the rubble). This means that everyone who moves into this palace will be destroyed,” Wanda finished.

The book reads interestingly, but - Petra Reski never gave her version of the origin of the curse and left the ending open - it can be interpreted in different ways. For those who like to read books with humor, but without a logical ending - suitable.

I will add just a few interesting facts to the history of the Palazzo Dario.

They wanted to rebuild the palazzo. On the left is a drawing of the existing facade, on the right is a drawing of the proposed restructuring, which never took place:

The famous French impressionist painter Claude Monet and his wife visited Venice:

The history of the Palazzo Dario interested Claude Monet and the views of the building were immortalized in the artist's paintings:

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And we saw such a palazzo, having set off immediately from St. Mark's Square in this direction.

Beauty Venice is one of the most ancient and majestic cities in Europe. The only city of its kind, built on the water and famous throughout the world for its unique culture of local carnivals and classical art. More than a hundred islands, about two hundred canals and sixty thousand inhabitants each year receive several million tourists within their borders.

A light haze rising above the water makes Venice attractive both for lovers of antiquities and incorrigible romantics. Newlyweds spend their honeymoon here, elderly lovers enjoy memories of the past here.

History buffs appreciate Venice for its rich past, art lovers love it for its ability to preserve its cultural heritage. Numerous palazzos of the city, overlooking with their majestic facades, are living history Venice and, at the same time, determine its modern architectural appearance.

Made in the style of Gothic, Baroque, Classicism, Venetian palaces are interesting not only for their appearance. Many of them have also retained rich interior decoration. Part of the palazzo was given over to the state needs of the city, some buildings house local museums.

We invite you to get to know the most magnificent palaces Venice and sincerely wish that virtual tour through the exquisite palazzo eventually culminated in the present!

Palaces of Venice - PHOTO

The main residence of the Venetian Doges was built between 1309 and 1424. The Doge's Palace is designed in a strict Gothic style. It used to be used as the political, judicial and maritime center of the city's administration. Today, a museum is located within the walls of the palace, and the building itself is one of the main elements architectural ensemble Venice.

Built in the 15th century by the architects Bona (father and son), the Palazzo Ca' d'Oro is one of the most elegant buildings in the Venetian Gothic style. The "Golden House" (the second name of the palace for the initial decoration with gold leaf) is located on, in the Cannaregio area. For the last eighty years it has housed the Franchetti Gallery.

From the moment of its construction (in the 15th century) until the moment of its sale (in the 19th century), the Palazzo Barbarigo belonged to an ancient and noble family of Venice, bearing a similar surname. The architectural appearance of the building absorbed the features of the Venetian-Byzantine style: the severity of forms, the absence of unnecessary decorations. Murano glass mosaic adorned the façade of Palazzo Barbarigo during the change of owners in the 19th century.

Fondaco dei Tedeschi was born thanks to the close commercial ties that existed between the Venetians and the Germans. It was built between the 12th and 15th centuries and was used by German merchants as storage, commercial and residential premises. Currently, the city post office of Venice and the local telegraph office are located in Fondaco dei Tedeschi.

Initially (X-XIII centuries) Fondaco dei Turchi was built as a palace for the Venetian Pesaro family. In the 16th century, it was transferred to the use of the Turkish merchant community. The building, made in the Venetian-Byzantine style, was used by eastern merchants for living and trading. It now houses the Museum of Natural History.

Palazzo Dolphin Manin was built in the middle of the 16th century according to the project of the outstanding Venetian architect Jacopo Sansovino. The building was based on two medieval houses. The facade of the palace was decorated with graceful arched colonnades, visually extending the not very high, three-story building. Currently, the Bank of Italy operates inside the Palazzo Dolphin-Manin.

Built in the second half of the 16th century, the Grimani di San Luca Palace is located at the confluence of two canals, not far from the Rialto Bridge. The building is made in the Renaissance style. The palazzo consists of three parts and a miniature backyard. The snow-white facade of the palace is decorated with multi-colored marble. Now the Palazzo Grimani houses the Court of Appeal of Venice.

Located next to the Accademia Bridge, on the Grand Canal, Palazzo Cavalli Francheti is a unique monument of Gothic architecture. The palace was built in the 16th century for three families of the same clan - Marcello, Gussoni and Cavalli. In the 19th century, it passed into the hands of the Austrian Archduke Friedrich Ferdinand, and then Baron Franchetti. Today, the halls of the palace house the Institute of Science, Literature and Art.

Built in 1452, Ca' Foscari is one of the most magnificent buildings in Venice. The architecture of the palace has pronounced Gothic features: the rhythmic alternation of arches, columns and windows, the traditional decor of the quatrefoil and lion heads. The ground floor of the building served as a trading warehouse for a long time, the upper premises were used as living quarters. In Ca' Foscari, people of royal blood often stopped - for example, King Henry III of France.

Palazzo Dandolo was born in 1400 thanks to the efforts of a noble Venetian family bearing a similar name. During its long history, the palace building has changed several influential owners. Currently, a five-star hotel operates on the basis of the Dandolo Palace. Hotel Royal Danieli. An architectural and tourist attraction rises on the Grand Canal in the San Marco area.

Designed by the talented Venetian Baroque architect Baldassare Longhena in the second half of the 17th century, Ca'Pesaro embodied not only the features of luxury, but also the strict lines of classicism. The powerful facade of the palace is decorated with both alternating deep arches and decorative figures of aquarius, lion and titanium heads. Today, Ca'Pesaro functions as the Museum of Modern Art.

Designed at the end of the 17th century by the architect Baldassare Longen, Ca' Rezzonico was not completed until 1745. The structure of the palace is classical for Venice: the basement storage floor and the upper floors are residential. Since 1936, the palazzo has housed the Museum of Venice of the 18th century. Exhibit items include exquisite frescoes, tapestries with Flemish espaliers, canvases by Venetian artists, and the halls of the palace themselves.

Ca'Dario Palace was built in 1487. The Renaissance was taken as the basis of the architectural style in it. The asymmetric building of the palazzo has a mosaic facade of green marble and reddish porphyry. Ca'Dario is not an easy building. Local legends refer to it as one of the “cursed houses”, since most of the owners of the palazzo were desperately unlucky in life: they lost their fortunes, were subjected to violence, and committed suicide.

Located between Palazzo Dandolo and Palazzo Farcetti, Ca' Loredan is appearance not much different from the last palace. It acquired its strict Gothic forms in the 13th century. Today, within the walls of Ca' Loredan is the Venetian municipality.

Built in the 20s of the 16th century, the Palazzo dei Camerlingi has a unique facade structure. Unlike other Venetian palaces, the main part of this building goes to each side. Initially, dei Camerlingi was used as the House of City Treasurers, and later became a state prison.

The beginning of the embankment is a square with a monument to Victor Emmanuel II, the unifying king of Italy.

If you look to the left, you will see a bewitching panorama of the Venetian Lagoon and the Grand Canal...

You look to the right - there are magnificent marble palaces with columns and lancet arches. They were built on the banks of the Grand Canal for a long time, since the XIV-XV centuries. At that time, architecture was the main sign of the wealth and prestige of the Venetian nobility.

One of these palaces in the late Venetian Gothic style is the Palazzo Dandolo. This magnificent building once belonged to the Dandolo family, from where it got its name. But very soon the family members decided to sell the palace to another eminent family - Gritti, thereby launching a long history of sales and purchases of this palazzo.
A few words about the powerful Dandolo family, who gave Venice the four doges. One of them, Enrico Dandolo, became the inspirer and organizer of the fourth crusade against Constantinople. The events of that time are reflected on the canvas "Doge Enrico Dandolo calls on the soldiers to go on a crusade" by the artist Jean Leclerc, which hangs nearby in the Doge's Palace.
The Fourth Crusade remains one of the most shameful pages in the history of Christian civilization. The military campaign launched to retake the Holy Land ended in perfidious civil strife. The fourth crusade was planned for 1199, it was supposed to begin with a blow to Egypt, and then, if successful, Jerusalem itself would fall into the hands of the winners. But instead, the crusaders went to the Byzantine Empire and April 13, 1204 took Constantinople and sacked it.
So, it turns out, at the Doge of the Republic of St. Mark. in addition to political and economic considerations, there were accounts with the Byzantine Empire. Enrico Dandolo in 1171 was the envoy of Venice in Constantinople. And in Byzantium there was a custom to blind the subjects of other states, even diplomatic representatives, if this state came into conflict with the Greek Empire. In March 1171, Vasilevs Manuel I Komnenos (c. 1122-1180) ordered all the citizens of Venice who were on the territory of the empire to be suddenly arrested and their property to be confiscated. It was then that Enrico Dandolo lost his sight.

Jean Leclerc. Doge Enrico Dandolo calls on soldiers to go on a crusade, 1621

After Gritti, the palace was owned by representatives of the aristocratic families of Michele, Mocenigo, Bernardi. Apparently, the rich and nobles who bought the palazzo were simply not ready to pay for its maintenance. This continued until the 1630s, until the palace was acquired by the Italians, who made it the most popular gambling house in the city, introducing the rule to play in masks so as not to experience shame in front of those present with major losses. However, after some time, the casino had to be closed at the insistence of the authorities, and its owner had to flee.
The palace remained in the history of Venice, due to the fact that the first opera in Venice, The Stolen Proserpina by Claudio Monteverdi, was staged here in the early forties of the 17th century. Monteverdi at that time held the position of bandmaster in the Cathedral of St. Mark, which is a stone's throw from the palace. The Venice Opera opened only in 1637, and before that performances were held in private palaces.

Now the parking lot of gondoliers next to the palazzo is called Danieli, because the palace eventually turned into the famous Hotel Danieli. In 1822, the Venetian businessman Giuseppe del Nieli rented part of the premises of the Dandolo Palace. Renting rooms to a traveler, he gradually bought the entire building and turned it into a hotel, calling his last name - Danieli.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the owners, descendants of Giuseppe del Nieli, added another one to the main Dandolo palace. The new building received its own name Danielino. Later, a new building was added to the complex of two houses, which was called Casa Nuova.
At different times, celebrities - King of Prussia Wilhelm, Charles Dickens, Honore de Balzac, Marcel Proust, Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo - stayed at the hotel. In the 10th issue, which is very popular to this day, the romance between George Sand and Alfred de Musset broke out.

In 2008, the new Italian owners decided to restore all three buildings and invited the famous French decorator Jacques Garcia for this.

The interiors of the palace amaze with excessive luxury: Gothic arches and passages, wall paintings, patina mirrors, antique handmade carpets and tapestries, exquisite forging, Murano chandeliers and stained glass. A marble staircase covered with carpet goes up three floors.

Crystal sconces, bronze candelabra, Murano glass, Venetian mirrors, old paintings in gilded frames, antique palace furniture and heavy velvet curtains - there is nothing here.

These rooms can only be called a real museum of the Venetian Baroque.

In 2010, the hotel hosted the filming of The Tourist, starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. It was the 10th room that the heroes of the film chose, because from here, through the panoramic lancet windows and from the balcony, a stunning view of the Grand Canal opens.

Here Proust wrote "In Search of Lost Time". Perhaps it was on this terrace that Byron composed the lines of his future "Childe Harold". Thomas Mann and Wagner, Dickens and Strauss - all of them are remembered by the walls of "Daniel". But the most famous guests of the hotel were not great people, but great passions: here Gabriele D'Annunzio fell in love with Eleonora Duse, and George Sand cheated on Alfred de Musset.

Oh, this Venice - so many beauties, so many stories, so many passions, it beckons to itself with its uniqueness and inexhaustibility!

Sources of information

Venice is famous for its large number of palaces.

The palace complex of Venice was created over many centuries. Centuries of development and prosperity of the Venetian Republic fell under the influence of Byzantine, Gothic, Romanesque styles. The Renaissance made a huge contribution.

Historically, only the Doge's Palace could be called a palace. The rest of the buildings claiming this title had to bear the nameKa(Italian Ca ), short forCasawhich means home. Later, the mansions began to be calledPalazzo(ital.Palazzo), that is, the Palace.

Each influential Venetian family considered it their duty to build a mansion, maybe several. As a result, many mansions in the names began to reflect the names of the owners. For the construction and decoration of family palaces, families attracted the best architects, sculptors and artists.

Doge's Palace(ital.Palazzo Ducale) in Venice - great memorial Italian Gothic architecture , one of the main attractions of the city. Is situated on St. Mark's Square next to the same name cathedral . Although the first building on this site stood in 9th century , the construction of today's building was carried out between 1309 and 1424 presumably an architect Filippo Calendario. In 1577 part of the palace was destroyed by fire, and Antonio de Ponti, the creator Rialto Bridge

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Ca' d'Oro, or Palazzo Santa Sofia(Italian Ca "d" Oro) - a palace in Venice, on the Grand Canal in the Cannaregio area. It is considered the most elegant Palace on the Grand Canal. Vermilion and ultramarine were also used in the decoration. The palace is considered an example of Venetian Gothic.

The building in the Gothic style was built in the XV century, between 1425 and 1440, according to the project of the architects Giovanni Bona and his son Bartolomeo Bona. Commissioned by the patrician Marino Contarini.

Ka" Rezzonico- a palace in Venice, in the Dorsoduro district, on the Grand Canal. Since 1936, the palace has housed the Venice Museum of the 18th century.

Designed by the architect Baldassar Longena in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, construction was completed many years after his death under the direction of Giorgio Massari in 1745. The construction was commissioned by the patrician Filippo Bona. In the interior there are grandiose frescoes by Tiepolo.

The name of the palace comes from the surname of a rich, but not noble family, whose representative acquired this mansion by the time construction was completed. Pope Clement XIII came from the Rezzonico family.

Ca" Foscari or Palazzo Foscari, doge-ownedFrancesco Foscari, this gothic building is located on

grand canal It was built in 1452year. It is currently home to Ca' Foscari University (Università Ca "Foscari). Designed the building Bartolomeo Bon

Ka "Foscari is a typical example of the residence of the Venetian nobility and merchants. The ground floor was used as a warehouse, the first and second floors were used as a place of residence, they are called "Piano nobile". The central arcade of the second floor is made according to models facade of the loggia of the Palazzo Ducale.

Large central window arcade illuminates Big hall, on the sides there are smaller windows. It is one of the most imposing buildings with the largest courtyard of a private house that can be seen in Venice. The main entrance to the palace was from the side of the canal, since the main activity was trade.

That is why the facade of the house, which overlooks grand canal , much prettier than the façade on the courtyard side. The outer façade consists of a rhythmic sequence arches, columns and windows, these alternations belong to the Gothic style. Each column is decorated with a quatrefoil and a lion.

Palazzo Barbarigo- Palace on the Grand Canal, where Saint Gregorio Barbarigo was born.

The building was originally built in the 16th century. The palazzo was completed in the heyday of the Renaissance. The project provided for three floors: from the open lower loggia there was an exit to the canal, the two upper floors also had open loggias, decorated with columns.

In 1886, the owners of the building - the owners of the glass production, the facade of the palazzo was decorated with Murano glass mosaics. When the mosaics were completed, the then new owners were denounced by their aristocratic neighbors as nouveau riche, with a sharp taste and carried out the decoration at odds with the noble facades of neighboring buildings.

Despite this, the current appearance of the palazzo is one of the most memorable and striking on the entire Grand Canal.

Palazzo Grimani- canal palace Rio di San Luca, at the point where the latter flows into the Grand Canal. It was built during the Renaissance modern look refers to the years 1556-1575.

It was originally built for Doge Antonio Grimani. After his death, in 1532-1569, it was successively rebuilt by the Doge's heirs, first by Vittore Grimani, procurator general of the city, then by Giovanni Grimani, cardinal and patriarch of Aquileia. Presumably, Michele Sanmicheli performed the order of the latter in a row. The palace was finally completed in 1575 by Giovanni Rusconi. The door portal was designed by Alessandro Vittoria.

The palace consists of three parts and a small backyard. The facade of the palace is decorated with multi-colored marble.

Palazzo Dolphin Manin Palace on the Grand Canal.

Built in the middle of the 16th century by the architect Jacopo Sansovino. The Venetian merchant and diplomat J. Dolphin acted as the customer of the palace. The full modern name of the palace appeared after the last Doge of Venice, Lodovico Manin, lived in the palazzo from 1789 to 1797.

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Palazzo dei Camerlingi Palace on the Grand Canal in the San Polo area. Located next to the Rialto Bridge.

It was built in the years 1525-1528 by order of the Doge Andrea Gritti, as the house of the city treasurers, from which it got its name. Later became a state prison.

Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti- a palace in the San Marco district, on the Grand Canal, next to the Accademia Bridge.

It was built in the 15th century by architects K. Boito, J. Manetti. The palace was reconstructed, in fact completely rebuilt, in 1871-1882 with the preservation of late Gothic forms.

Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo is located in Piazza San Marco.

The palace was built in 1499 for Pietro Contarini. The main feature of the palace is an openwork spiral staircase (architect Giovanni Candi). The stairs lead to the arcade, which offers a charming panoramic view of the city's rooftops. Currently, the staircase is being restored and is closed to the public. The palace is located in a little visited lane near Campo Manin, not far from Rialto Bridge

Palazzo Corner Spinelli Palace on the Grand Canal in the San Marco area.

One of the finest Renaissance palaces in Venice. It was built from 1480 to 1500 by the architect Mauro Coducci. The architectural feature of the palace is the double arched windows rounded at the top and the rusticated masonry of the ground floor. The palace became the prototype for many city buildings.

In 1542 the building was transferred to the Korner family. Under the new owners, the architect Michele Sanmichele completely redesigned the interiors of the palace.

The owner of the building in the 19th century was the famous Venetian collector Giuseppe Salom, who amassed a significant collection of paintings by Pietro Longhi and his contemporaries in the palace.

Ka "Loredan (Palazzo Loredan) a palace in the San Marco area. Built in the 13th century, located on the Grand Canal, between Palazzo Dandolo and Palazzo Farsetti. Since 1868, the municipality has been located in the palace.

Palazzo Soranzo- a palace in the San Polo district on the square of the same name.

The Pink Palace is made in the Gothic style. Across the square from the palace is the Palazzo Corner Mocenigo

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Fondaco dei Tedeschi- The palace is located on the Grand Canal, in the Rialto quarter. Former German farm.

Similar to the Fondaco dei Turchi, in the 16th century it was a building for housing, storage and trade for German merchants.

The palace was designed by Girolamo Tedesco. The building has a large courtyard. Previously, the facade of the palace was decorated with frescoes by Giorgione and Titian, who died during the fire of 1505.

In 1603-1604 Ivan Bolotnikov lived here. Having been captured by the Tatars, he was sold into slavery to the Turks, where he had to be a galley rower. Bolotnikov was liberated by German ships that captured a Turkish ship at sea. He was brought to Venice. Bolotnikov lived for a year in the German trading compound in Fondaco dei Tedeschi and learned German. Subsequently, the Germans, who then lived in Russia, served in his rebel army.

Currently, the building houses the city post office and telegraph office.

In early 2012, Benetton signed an agreement to restore the palace. Clothing manufacturer plans to turn it into a shopping center

Fondaco dei Turchi The palace is located on the Grand Canal. Former Turkish courtyard.

The building with covered galleries was built in the 13th century in the Veneto-Byzantine style. The palace was built in imitation of the most luxurious Middle Byzantine buildings in Constantinople, and in turn was the prototype for many Venetian palaces.

The name is associated with Turkish merchants, who rented the building as a warehouse and housing.

Initially, the palace was in the possession of the city, and it was here that the Emperor of Byzantium, who was visiting His Serene Highness, as well as many other eminent guests of Venice, were received. After the palace was owned for a long time by various wealthy families of Venice, from 1621 to 1838 it became the property of the Turkish community.

The building was completely restored in the 19th century and now houses the Museum of Natural History.

GALLERY OF VENETIAN PALACES.

FOSCARI.

Morolin.

Ca' Da Mosto

Ca" Vendramin Calergi(Now Casino)

HOUSEFrancesco Petrarca

House di Sebastiano Venier, comandante navale a Lepanto e poi doge di Venezia

Palazzetto Stern

Palazzo Barbarigo Nani Mocenigo

Palazzo Bellavite

Palazzo Bernardo

All photos from the Internet.

On the Grand Canal, one cannot but pay attention to the wonderful facades of the Venetian palaces! Your eyes will fall on the beautiful buildings, fraught with the secrets and mysteries of the city, as well as reminiscent of its former greatness. We have selected the five most beautiful, in our opinion, palaces of a beautiful city on the water.

This marvelous building in the Gothic style was erected right by the waters in 1437-1452 and belonged to the Venetian Doge Francesco Foscari, a nobleman who tried to flaunt his wealth and influence. By the way, the palace came out amazing beauty. Even the most sophisticated critics could not find flaws in it, calling it the most successful example of Gothic in Venice.

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Francesco also believed that he was building a real family residence, which would be occupied by his heirs and their descendants for many centuries. However, his dream was not destined to come true: in the 19th century, the palace served as a barracks for soldiers, the proximity to which had an extremely negative impact on the building. And after a long and painstaking restoration, which was completed in 2005, Foscari Palace turned into the residence of a higher educational institution.

Palazzo Labia

Some time ago, namely in the 18th century, this stunning palace was considered the family home of the richest Labia family in the city, who invited the most talented architects of the city on the water, Alessandro Treminion and Andrea Cominelli, to create a project for the construction of the city's most talented architects. However, soon a wealthy family, who enjoyed high life and increased public attention with might and main, went bankrupt and lost the palazzo, which passed into the possession of Prince Lobkowicz. But the representative of the nobility quickly sold the palace to the Israeli fund of Koenigsber. After that, the palace was used for various purposes: it was a sawmill, a textile factory, and a clothes dryer. In the 1960s, it was acquired by the Italian radio and television company RAI, which made its office in the palace.

Palazzo Dario

Selecting the most interesting and beautiful of the numerous palaces of Venice is a very difficult task. However, it is simply impossible not to mention the Palazzo Dario. Its facade, like many other palaces, faces the Grand Canal, showing everyone and everyone its unusually bright color of marble.

It was built in 1487 in the classical style by order of Giovanni Dario, a member of the Venetian nobility who served as secretary of Venice. By the way, the inhabitants of the city call this building the “cursed palace”, because of the numerous failures and tragedies that befell the Dario family, as well as other owners and guests of the palace. The Venetians find it difficult even to calculate the number of inhabitants who died here by an absurd death, diligently avoiding this place.

Palazzo Dandolo

Palazzo Dandolo is widely known outside magnificent city on the water, which it has adorned since the 1400s. This beautiful building once belonged to the Dandolo family, from where it got its name. But very soon, family members decided to sell the palace to another eminent family - Gritti, thereby launching a long history of sales and purchases of this place from one hand to another. It seemed that the rich and nobles who bought the palazzo were simply not ready to pay for its maintenance, and therefore they sold it to their friends and acquaintances.

This continued until the 1630s, until the palace was acquired by people who made it the most popular gambling house in the city, introducing the rule to play in masks so as not to experience shame in front of those present with large losses.


However, after some time, the casino had to be closed at the insistence of the authorities, and its owner had to flee. Now Palazzo Dandolo is home to the luxurious Hotel Danieli.

Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace, Palazzo Ducale)

Palazzo Ducale, also known as, is perhaps one of the " business cards» Venice. The permanent residence of the Doge was built in 1424 by Filippo Calendario in the style of exquisite Italian Gothic. For many centuries, the Doge's Palace was the very heart and symbol of political life.

However, when it fell in 1797, the purpose of this majestic building also changed. From that moment on, it served for different purposes, was the home of various administrative divisions. By the end of the 19th century, the palace gradually began to fall into decay, and the city administration allocated an impressive amount of funds for its restoration and restoration.

Almost all government services that occupied the premises here were moved to other buildings. Only the State Committee for the Protection of Objects Remained cultural heritage. In 1923, the Italian government, which owns this architectural monument, decided to open a museum inside the Doge's Palace, which still operates today.

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