The Ca' d'Oro or Palazzo Santa Sofia is a palace on the
Grand Canal in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
, northern
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. One of the older palaces in the city, its name means "golden house" due to the
gilt and
polychrome
Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors.
Ancient Egypt
Colossal statu ...
external decorations which once adorned its walls. Since 1927, it has been used as a museum, as the
Galleria Giorgio Franchetti.
It has long been regarded as the best surviving palazzo in
Venetian Gothic architecture
Venetian Gothic is the particular form of Italian Gothic architecture typical of Venice, originating in local building requirements, with some influence from Byzantine architecture, and some from Islamic architecture, reflecting Venice's trading ...
, retaining all the most characteristic features, despite some losses. On the facade, the
loggia
In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...
-like window group of closely spaced small columns, with heavy
tracery
Tracery is an architecture, architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of Molding (decorative), moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the s ...
with
quatrefoil
A quatrefoil (anciently caterfoil) is a decorative element consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially overlapping circles of the same diameter. It is found in art, architecture, heraldry and traditional ...
openings above, uses the formula from the
Doge's Palace
The Doge's Palace ( it, Palazzo Ducale; vec, Pałaso Dogal) is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme auth ...
that had become iconic. There are also the byzantine-inspired decoration along the roofline, and patterning in fancy coloured stone to the flat wall surfaces. The smaller windows show a variety of forms with an
ogee
An ogee ( ) is the name given to objects, elements, and curves—often seen in architecture and building trades—that have been variously described as serpentine-, extended S-, or sigmoid-shaped. Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combinat ...
arch, capped with a relief ornament, and the edges and zone boundaries are marked with ropework reliefs.
The third act of
Amilcare Ponchielli's opera ''
La gioconda'' is set in the palace.
History
![0 Venise, la Ca' d'Oro (2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/0_Venise%2C_la_Ca%27_d%27Oro_%282%29.JPG)
The palace was built between 1428 and 1430 for the
Contarini
The House of Contarini is one of the founding families of Venicehttps://archive.org/details/teatroaraldicose02tett, Leone Tettoni. ''Teatro araldico ovvero raccolta generale delle armi ed insegne gentilizie delle piu illustri e nobili casate ...
family, who provided Venice with eight
Doges between 1043 and 1676. The architects of the Ca d'Oro were
Giovanni Bon Giovanni may refer to:
* Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname
* Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data
* ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...
and his son
Bartolomeo Bon
Bartolomeo Bon (also spelled Buon; died after 1464) was an Italian sculptor and architect from Campione d'Italia. His career spans the transition between Venetian Gothic architecture and the rather late start of Venetian Renaissance architecture. ...
.
Following the
fall of the Venetian Republic
The fall of the Republic of Venice was a series of events that culminated on 12 May 1797 in the dissolution and dismemberment of the Republic of Venice at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte and Habsburg Austria.
In 1796, the young general Napoleon ...
in 1797, the palace changed ownership several times. In 1846,
Alessandro Trubetzkoi, purchased the palace, which was in a ruinous state, as a gift for ballet dancer
Marie Taglioni
Marie Taglioni, Comtesse de Voisins (23 April 1804 – 22 April 1884) was a Swedish-born ballet dancer of the Romantic ballet era partially of Italian descent, a central figure in the history of European dance. She spent most of her life in t ...
. The reckless renovation of the architect resulted in his imprisonment under charges of vandalism. In the end, many of the Gothic features, including the stairway of the inner courtyard and the balconies which overlooked the courtyard, were removed.
In 1894, the palace was acquired by its last owner, baron
Giorgio Franchetti; throughout his lifetime, he amassed an important art collection and personally oversaw its extensive restoration, including the reconstruction of the stairway and the Cosmatesque courtyard with ancient marbles. In 1916, Franchetti bequeathed the Ca' d'Oro to the Italian State. It is now open to the public as a gallery:
Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca' d'Oro.
During the
2019 Venice flood, waters reached the top of the wellhead in the inner courtyard.
Description
The principal façade of Ca' d'Oro facing onto the Grand Canal is built in the Bons' floral
Venetian Gothic
Venetian Gothic is the particular form of Italian Gothic architecture typical of Venice, originating in local building requirements, with some influence from Byzantine architecture, and some from Islamic architecture, reflecting Venice's trading ...
style. Other nearby buildings in this style are
Palazzo Barbaro and the
Palazzo Giustinian
The Palazzo Giustinian is a palace in Venice, northern Italy, situated in the Dorsoduro district and overlooking the Grand Canal next to Ca' Foscari. It is among the best examples of the late Venetian Gothic and was the final residence of Pri ...
. This linear style favoured by the Venetian architects was not superseded by
Venetian Renaissance architecture
Venetian Renaissance architecture began rather later than in Florence, not really before the 1480s, and throughout the period mostly relied on architects imported from elsewhere in Italy. The city was very rich during the period, and prone to fire ...
until the end of the 15th century, or later.
On the ground floor, a recessed colonnaded
loggia
In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...
gives access to the entrance hall (''
portego de mezo'') directly from the canal. Above this colonnade is the enclosed balcony of the principal salon on the ''
piano nobile
The ''piano nobile'' (Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ''bel étage'') is the principal floor of a palazzo. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the hou ...
''. The columns and arches of this balcony have
capitals which in turn support a row of
quatrefoil
A quatrefoil (anciently caterfoil) is a decorative element consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially overlapping circles of the same diameter. It is found in art, architecture, heraldry and traditional ...
windows; above this balcony is another enclosed balcony or loggia of a similar yet lighter design.
The palace has (like other similar buildings in Venice) a small inner courtyard. The neighboring palace is
Palazzo Giustinian Pesaro
Palazzo Giustinian Pesaro is a Gothic palace located in Venice, Italy, in the Cannaregio district and overlooking the Grand Canal. The palazzo is situated between Ca' d'Oro and Palazzo Morosini Sagredo.
History
The palace dates back to the late ...
.
Francis H. Kimball
Francis Hatch Kimball (September 24, 1845 – December 20, 1919) was an American architect practicing in New York City, best known for his work on skyscrapers in lower Manhattan and terra-cotta ornamentation. He was an associate with the firm ...
, the famed American architect behind landmarks like the Empire State Building, used the Ca' d'Oro as inspiration for the
Montauk Club
The Montauk Club is a social club located in a Francis Kimball-designed building in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The Club provides dining and drinking services and offers an extensive schedule of events including a Book Club, a Beer Club, Murder Mystery ...
, a social club in Brooklyn, New York.
Museum
The gallery houses the collection of works of art collected by Giorgio Franchetti in his life. Following the donation to the Italian State in 1916 and in preparation for the museum, the Franchetti collection was accompanied by some state collections from which most of the bronzes and sculptures on display come from, as well as numerous Venetian and Flemish paintings.
Among the most valuable works are the San Sebastiano by
Andrea Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna (, , ; September 13, 1506) was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini.
Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g. by lowering the horizon in order ...
and the Portrait of Marcello Durazzo by
Antoon van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy.
The seventh c ...
.
In addition to the exhibition rooms, the museum houses various laboratories for the conservation and restoration of works of art.
File:Venezia Ca' d'Oro Innenhof 12.jpg, The courtyard
File:Venezia Ca' d'Oro Innenhof 07.jpg, Cosmatesque
Cosmatesque, or Cosmati, is a style of geometric decorative inlay stonework typical of the architecture of Medieval Italy, and especially of Rome and its surroundings. It was used most extensively for the decoration of church floors, but was also u ...
floor in the ''portego''
File:Ca d Oro Cortile e portale Venezia.jpg, Rear doorway, to the street
File:Ca' d'oro, cappella, coffitto a cassettoni con decori a rilievo, XV sec..JPG, 15th-century ceiling
File:The Casa d Oro Venice Ruskin.jpg, Pencil and watercolour by John Ruskin
John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...
. (1845)
File:Ca' d' Oro - panoramio.jpg, Canal entrance during a flood
File:Ca' d'oro, una sala al secondo piano 02.JPG, An exhibition hall on the second floor of the building
See also
*
List of buildings and structures in Venice
This is a list of buildings and structures in Venice, Italy.
A
* Ala Napoleonica
* Arsenal
* Ateneo Veneto
B
* Biblioteca Marciana
C
* Ca' da Mosto
* Ca' d'Oro
* Ca' Farsetti
* Ca' Foscari
* Ca' Loredan
* Ca' Pesaro
* Ca' Rezzonico
* ...
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Galleria Giorgio FranchettiSatellite image from Google MapsCa' d'Oro on Smarthistory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ca Doro
Buildings and structures completed in 1430
Art museums and galleries in Venice
Historic house museums in Italy
House of Contarini
Museums in Venice
D'Oro
D'Oro
Gothic architecture in Venice
National museums of Italy
1827 establishments in Italy