The Fondaco dei Turchi (

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

: ''Fontego dei Turchi'', tr, Türk Hanı) is a Veneto-Gothic style palazzo, later on named as the Turks' Inn, on the Grand Canal of

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 ...

, northeast

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 ...

. It was described by

Augustus Hare Augustus John Cuthbert Hare (13 March 1834 – 22 January 1903) was an English writer and raconteur. Early life He was the youngest son of Francis George Hare of Herstmonceux, East Sussex, and Gresford, Flintshire, Wales, and nephew of ...

in the 19th century as "a Byzantine palace of the 9th century, and one of the earliest buildings, not ecclesiastical, in Venice. .... A few years ago it was one of the most unique and curious buildings in Europe, and the most important specimen of

Italo-Byzantine Italo-Byzantine is a style term in art history, mostly used for medieval paintings produced in Italy under heavy influence from Byzantine art. It initially covers religious paintings copying or imitating the standard Byzantine icon types, but pa ...

architecture, but it was modernised and almost rebuilt by the ... government in 1869".''Venice'', 1884, p. 76 , Smith Elder, London
google books
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Early history

The palace was constructed in the first half of the 13th century by Giacomo Palmier, an exile from

Pesaro Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...

. The

Venetian Republic The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

purchased it in 1381 for

Niccolò II d'Este Niccolò is an Italian male given name, derived from the Greek Nikolaos meaning "Victor of people" or "People's champion". There are several male variations of the name: Nicolò, Niccolò, Nicolas, and Nicola. The female equivalent is Nicole. The f ...

, the

Marquess of Ferrara Emperor Frederick III conferred Borso d'Este, Lord of Ferrara, with the Duchy of Modena and Reggio in 1452, while Pope Paul II formally elevated him in 1471 as Duke of Ferrara, over which the family had in fact long presided. This latter terr ...

. During its early history, the palazzo also served as a residence to many visiting dignitaries.

Turkish quarters

From the early 17th century through to 1838, the fondaco served as a residence for Venice's

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...

population (thus "''dei Turchi''"). The ''fondaco'' (from

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

: '' fonduk'') then served as a combination home,

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...

, and

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

for the Turkish traders, as the ''

Fondaco dei Tedeschi The Fondaco dei Tedeschi ( Venetian: ''Fòntego dei Todeschi'', in literal English, "warehouse of the Germans") is a historic building in Venice, northern Italy, situated on the Grand Canal near the Rialto Bridge. It was the headquarters and rest ...

'' served as headquarters and restricted living quarters for German foreigners. A number of restrictions were placed on the fondaco and its residents, including certain times one was able to enter and leave the fondaco, as well as on trading. Among other things, Venetian Turks imported

wax Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to giv ...

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...

, and

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

to the city. After the Venetian Republic was conquered and abolished by

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

in 1797, the Turkish traders continued to live in the palazzo until 1838. The building was in a very bad state by the mid-19th century, and was completely restored between 1860 and 1880. Some innovations have been added to the original Veneto-Byzantine design: for example, there were originally no towers on either side.

Today

From 1890 to 1923, the area was home to the

Museo Correr The Museo Correr () is a museum in Venice, northern Italy. Located in St. Mark's Square, Venice, it is one of the 11 civic museums run by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia. The museum extends along the southside of the square on the upper ...

collection, which was moved to the

Procuratie Nuove The Procuratie (English: Procuracies) are three connected buildings along the perimeter of Saint Mark's Square in Venice, Italy. Two of the buildings, the Procuratie Vecchie (Old Procuracies) and the Procuratie Nuove (New Procuracies), were ...

and Ala Napoleonica museums, at the

Piazza San Marco Piazza San Marco (; vec, Piasa San Marco), often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as ''la Piazza'' ("the Square"). All other urban spaces in the city (exc ...

, after 1923. Today, the area houses the Natural History Museum of Venice, with historical collections of flora and fauna, fossils, and an aquarium.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fondaco Dei Turchi Houses completed in the 13th century Dei Turchi Dei Turchi Museums in Venice Ottoman Empire–Republic of Venice relations Republic of Venice Geography of Venice

Early history

Turkish quarters

Today

See also

Notes

References