HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Grand Canal ( it, Canal Grande ; vec, Canal Grando, anciently ''Canałasso'' ) is a channel 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  ...
,
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 ...
. It forms one of the major water-traffic corridors in the city. One end of the canal leads into the
lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons ...
near the Santa Lucia railway station and the other end leads into the basin at San Marco; in between, it makes a large reverse-S shape through the central districts ('' sestieri'') of Venice. It is long, and wide, with an average depth of .


Description

The banks of the Grand Canal are lined with more than 170 buildings, most of which date from the 13th to the 18th century, and demonstrate the welfare and art created by the
Republic of Venice 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 ...
. The noble Venetian families faced huge expenses to show off their richness in suitable
palazzo A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
s; this contest reveals the citizens’ pride and the deep bond with the lagoon. Amongst the many are the
Palazzi Barbaro The Palazzi Barbaro—also known as Palazzo Barbaro, Ca' Barbaro, and Palazzo Barbaro-Curtis—are a pair of adjoining palaces, in the San Marco district of Venice, northern Italy. They were formerly one of the homes of the patrician Barbaro fam ...
,
Ca' Rezzonico Ca' Rezzonico () is a palazzo and art museum on the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro ''sestiere'' of Venice, Italy. It is a particularly notable example of the 18th century Venetian baroque and rococo architecture and interior decoration, and dis ...
, Ca' d'Oro,
Palazzo Dario The Palazzo Dario is a palace located between the Palazzo Barbaro Wolkoff and the narrow Rio delle Torreselle on the Grand Canal of Venice, Grand Canal in the sestiere of Dorsoduro, of the city of Venice, Italy. The palace was built in the Vene ...
, Ca' Foscari,
Palazzo Barbarigo Palazzo Barbarigo is a palace situated facing the Grand Canal of Venice, Italy. It is not to be confused with the Palazzo Barbarigo Minotto and Palazzo Barbarigo della Terrazza, both also on the Grand Canal, and other palazzi, and several vill ...
and to Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, housing the
Peggy Guggenheim Collection The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is an art museum on the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro ''sestiere'' of Venice, Italy. It is one of the most visited attractions in Venice. The collection is housed in the , an 18th-century palace, which was the home ...
. The churches along the canal include the basilica of
Santa Maria della Salute Santa Maria della Salute ( en, Saint Mary of Health), commonly known simply as the Salute, is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica located at Punta della Dogana in the Dorsoduro sestiere of the city of Venice, Italy. It stands on the na ...
. Centuries-old traditions, such as the , are perpetuated every year along the Canal. Because most of the city's traffic goes along the Canal rather than across it, only one bridge crossed the canal until the 19th century, the Rialto Bridge. There are currently three more bridges, the Ponte degli Scalzi, the
Ponte dell'Accademia The Ponte dell'Accademia is one of only four bridges to span the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It crosses near the southern end of the canal, and is named for the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia, which from 1807 to 2004 was housed in the ...
, and the controversial
Ponte della Costituzione The Ponte della Costituzione ( en, Constitution Bridge) is the fourth bridge over the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It was designed by Santiago Calatrava, and was moved into place in 2007 (connecting Stazione di Santa Lucia to Piazzale Roma), a ...
from 2008, designed by
Santiago Calatrava Santiago Calatrava Valls (born 28 July 1951) is a Spanish architect, structural engineer, sculptor and painter, particularly known for his bridges supported by single leaning pylons, and his railway stations, stadiums, and museums, whose sculp ...
, connecting the train station to
Piazzale Roma Piazzale Roma is a square in Venice, Italy, at the entrance of the city, at the end of the Ponte della Libertà. Piazzale Roma and nearby Tronchetto island are the only places in Venice's insular urban core accessible to ground motor vehicles ...
, one of the few places in Venice where buses and cars can enter. As was usual in the past, people can still take a ferry ride across the canal at several points by standing up on the deck of a simple
gondola The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, ...
called a '' traghetto'', although this service is less common than even a decade ago. Most of the palaces emerge from water without pavement. Consequently, one can only tour past the fronts of the buildings on the grand canal by boat.


History


The first settlements

The Grand Canal probably follows the course of an ancient river (possibly a branch of the Brenta) flowing into the lagoon.
Adriatic Veneti The Veneti (also Heneti) were an Indo-European people who inhabited northeastern Italy, in an area corresponding to the modern-day region of Veneto.stilt house Stilt houses (also called pile dwellings or lake dwellings) are houses raised on stilts (or piles) over the surface of the soil or a body of water. Stilt houses are built primarily as a protection against flooding; they also keep out vermin. ...
s and relied on fishing and commerce (mainly salt). Under the rule of the
Roman empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
and later of the
Byzantine empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
the lagoon became populated and important, and in the early 9th century the
doge A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics". Etymology The ...
moved his seat from
Malamocco Malamocco ( vec, Małamoco) was the first, and for a long time, the only settlement on the Lido of Venice barrier island of the Lagoon of Venice. It is located just south of the island's center and it is part of the Lido-Pellestrina borough of ...
to the safer "Rivoaltus". Increasing trade followed the doge and found in the deep Grand Canal a safe and ship accessible canal-port.
Drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess of water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils is good enough to prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic condition ...
reveals that the city became more compact over time: at that time the Canal was wider and flowed between small,
tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...
-subjected islands connected by wooden bridges.


"Fondaco" houses

Along the Canal, the number of "fondaco" houses increased, buildings combining the warehouse and the merchant's residence. A
portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cul ...
(the ''curia'') covers the bank and facilitates the ships' unloading. From the portico a corridor flanked by storerooms reaches a posterior
courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...
. Similarly, on the first floor a
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 ...
as large as the portico illuminates the hall into which open the merchant's rooms. The façade is thereby divided into an airy central part and two more solid sides. A low
mezzanine A mezzanine (; or in Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft with non-sloped ...
with offices divides the two floors. The fondaco house often had lateral defensive towers (''torreselle''), as in the
Fondaco dei Turchi The Fondaco dei Turchi (Venetian: ''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 nor ...
(13th century, heavily restored in the 19th). With the German warehouse, 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 res ...
(which is also situated on the Grand Canal), it reflects the high number of foreign merchants working in Venice, where the republic supplied them with storerooms and lodging and simultaneously controlled their trading activity. More public buildings were built along the Canal at
Rialto The Rialto is a central area of Venice, Italy, in the ''sestiere'' of San Polo. It is, and has been for many centuries, the financial and commercial heart of the city. Rialto is known for its prominent markets as well as for the monumental Ria ...
: palaces for commercial and financial Benches ( Palazzo dei Camerlenghi and Palazzo dei Dieci Savi, rebuilt after 1514 fire) and a
mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAE ...
. In 1181 Nicolò Barattieri constructed a
pontoon bridge A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, uses floats or shallow- draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maximum load that they can carry ...
connecting Rialto to Mercerie area, which was later replaced by a wooden bridge with shops on it. Warehouses for flour and salt were more peripheral.


The Venetian-Byzantine style

From the Byzantine empire, goods arrived together with sculptures,
frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
s,
column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression (physical), compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column i ...
s and
capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
to decorate the fondaco houses of patrician families. The
Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome and lasted u ...
merged with previous elements resulting in a Venetian-Byzantine style; in architecture, it was characterized by large
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 ...
s with round or elongated
arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vau ...
es and by polychrome marbles abundance. Along the Grand Canal, these elements are well preserved in
Ca' Farsetti Ca' Farsetti is a palace in Venice, Italy. It is located in the ''sestiere'' (district) of San Marco, and faces the Grand Canal, not far from the Ponte di Rialto. The neighboring building is Palazzo Cavalli. History The palace was built in ...
,
Ca' Loredan Ca' Loredan is a 13th-century Romanesque-style former palace of the Loredan family located on the Grand Canal in Venice, northern Italy. It is located in the ''sestiere'' (district) of San Marco and faces the Grand Canal, not far from the Ri ...
(both
municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
seats) and Ca' da Mosto, all dating back to the 12th or 13th century. During this period Rialto had an intense building development, determining the conformation of the Canal and surrounding areas. As a matter of fact, in Venice building materials are precious and foundations are usually kept: in the subsequent restorations, existing elements will be used again, mixing the Venetian-Byzantine and the new styles ( Ca' Sagredo,
Palazzo Bembo Palazzo Bembo is a palace in Venice, Italy, on the Grand Canal, close by the Rialto Bridge and next to the Palazzo Dolfin Manin. History It was built by the noble family of Bembo in the 15th century. Although it was remodeled several times o ...
). Polychromy, three-partitioned façades, loggias, diffuse openings, and rooms disposition formed a particular architectural taste that continued in the future. The
Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
, with the loot obtained from the sack of Constantinople (1204), and other historical situations, gave Venice an Eastern influence until the late 14th century.


Venetian Gothic

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 tradin ...
found favor quite late, as a splendid
flamboyant Gothic Flamboyant (from ) is a form of late Gothic architecture that developed in Europe in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, from around 1375 to the mid-16th century. It is characterized by double curves forming flame-like shapes in the bar-tr ...
("gotico fiorito") beginning with the southern façade of 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 aut ...
. The verticality and the illumination characterizing the Gothic style are found in the porticos and loggias of fondaco houses: columns get thinner, elongated arches are replaced by pointed or
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 ...
or lobed ones. Porticos rise gently intertwining and drawing open marbles in
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 ...
s or similar figures. Façades were
plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...
ed in brilliant colors. The open marble fascias, often called "
lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...
s", quickly diffused along the Grand Canal. Among the 15th-century palaces still showing the original appearance are Ca' d'Oro,
Palazzo Bernardo a San Polo The Palazzo Bernardo a San Polo, also known as the Giustinian Bernardo is a Gothic-style palace located between Palazzo Querini Dubois and across the Rio del la Madoneta, Casa Sicher, on the Grand Canal in the sestiere of San Polo of Venice, It ...
, Ca' Foscari (now housing the
University of Venice Ca' Foscari University of Venice ( it, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, simply Università Ca' Foscari) is a public university in Venice, Italy. Since its foundation in 1868, it has been housed in the Venetian Gothic palace of Ca' Foscari, from ...
),
Palazzo Pisani Moretta Palazzo Pisani Moretta is a palace situated along the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy (in the sestiere of San Polo) between Palazzo Tiepolo and Palazzo Barbarigo della Terrazza. History Built in the second half of the 15th Century by the Bembo ...
,
Palazzi Barbaro The Palazzi Barbaro—also known as Palazzo Barbaro, Ca' Barbaro, and Palazzo Barbaro-Curtis—are a pair of adjoining palaces, in the San Marco district of Venice, northern Italy. They were formerly one of the homes of the patrician Barbaro fam ...
,
Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti is a palace in Venice, Italy, not far from the Ponte dell'Accademia and next to the Palazzo Barbaro on the Grand Canal of Venice. Since 1999 it has been the seat of the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti and ...
.


Renaissance

By the start of the 15th century,
Renaissance architecture Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought ...
motifs appear in such buildings as the
Palazzo Dario The Palazzo Dario is a palace located between the Palazzo Barbaro Wolkoff and the narrow Rio delle Torreselle on the Grand Canal of Venice, Grand Canal in the sestiere of Dorsoduro, of the city of Venice, Italy. The palace was built in the Vene ...
and the
Palazzo Corner Spinelli The Palazzo Corner Spinelli is a palace in Venice, northern Italy, located on the Grand Canal of Venice, Grand Canal, in the sestiere (Venice), sestiere of San Marco (sestiere of Venice), San Marco. It stands across the canal from the Palazzo ...
; the latter was designed by
Mauro Codussi Mauro Codussi (1440–1504) was an Italian architect of the early- Renaissance, active mostly in Venice. The name is also rendered as ''Coducci''. He was one of the first to bring the classical style of the early renaissance to Venice to replace ...
, pioneer of this style in Venice. Ca' Vendramin Calergi, another of his projects (now hosting the
Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live enterta ...
), reveals a completed transition: the numerous and large windows with open marbles are round-arched and have columns in the three
classical order An order in architecture is a certain assemblage of parts subject to uniform established proportions, regulated by the office that each part has to perform. Coming down to the present from Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman civilization, the arc ...
s.
Classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect ...
is more evident in
Jacopo Sansovino Jacopo d'Antonio Sansovino (2 July 1486 – 27 November 1570) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect, best known for his works around the Piazza San Marco in Venice. These are crucial works in the history of Venetian Renaissance arc ...
's projects, who arrived from
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
in 1527. Along the Canal, he designed Palazzo Corner and
Palazzo Dolfin Manin Palazzo Dolfin Manin is a palace in the ''sestiere'' of San Marco on the Canal Grande of Venice, northern Italy. It is located near the Palazzo Bembo and Palazzo Dandolo Paolucci, not far from the Rialto Bridge. History The palace was built by ...
, known for grandiosity, for the horizontal layout of the white façades and for the development around a central courtyard. Other Renaissance buildings are
Palazzo Papadopoli The Palazzo Papadopoli is a Baroque-style palace located on the Canal Grande of Venice, between Palazzo Giustinian Businello and Palazzo Donà a Sant'Aponal in the Sestiere of San Polo, Venice, Italy. The opposite building is the Palazzo Corner C ...
and
Palazzo Grimani di San Luca The Palazzo Grimani di San Luca is a Renaissance-style palace, located between the Palazzo Corner Valmarana and the Rio di San Luca and the flanking Palazzo Corner Contarini dei Cavalli on the Grand Canal in the sestiere of San Marco of the ci ...
. Several palaces of this period had façades with frescoes by painters such as
Il Pordenone Pordenone, Il Pordenone in Italian, is the byname of Giovanni Antonio de’ Sacchis (c. 1484 – 14 January 1539), an Italian Mannerist painter, loosely of the Venetian school. Vasari, his main biographer, wrongly identifies him as Giovann ...
,
Tintoretto Tintoretto ( , , ; born Jacopo Robusti; late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594) was an Italian painter identified with the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized the speed wit ...
,
Paolo Veronese Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , also , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as '' The Wedding at Cana'' (1563) and ''T ...
, all of them unfortunately lost. Particularly noteworthy were the frescoes by Veronese and Zelotti on Ca Cappello, overlooking the Grand Canal at the intersection with the Rio de S. Polo.


Venetian Baroque

In 1582,
Alessandro Vittoria Alessandro Vittoria funerary monument - San Zaccaria, Venice Alessandro Vittoria (1525–1608) was an Italian Mannerist sculptor of the Venetian school, "one of the main representatives of the Venetian classical style" and rivalling Giambo ...
began the construction of
Palazzo Balbi Palazzo Balbi is a palace on the Canal Grande, Venice, northern Italy. It is included in the ''sestiere'' (quarter) of Dorsoduro, to the right of Ca' Foscari. Currently it is the seat of the President of the Veneto region and of the regional co ...
(now housing the
Government of Veneto The Regional Government of Veneto (''Giunta Regionale del Veneto'') is the executive of Veneto, one of the twenty regions of Italy. The Regional Government, which has its seat at Palazzo Balbi on the Grand Canal, is led by the President of Veneto ...
), in which
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...
elements can be recognized: fashioned
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
s, broken
pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...
s, ornamental motifs. The major Baroque architect in Venice was
Baldassarre Longhena Baldassare Longhena (1598 – 18 February 1682) was an Italian architect, who worked mainly in Venice, where he was one of the greatest exponents of Baroque architecture of the period. Biography Born in Venice, Longhena studied under the architect ...
. In 1631 he began to build the magnificent
Santa Maria della Salute Santa Maria della Salute ( en, Saint Mary of Health), commonly known simply as the Salute, is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica located at Punta della Dogana in the Dorsoduro sestiere of the city of Venice, Italy. It stands on the na ...
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...
, one of the most beautiful churches in Venice and a symbol of Grand Canal. The classical layout of the façade features decorations and by many statues, the latter crowning also the refined
volute A volute is a spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals. Four are normally to be found on an Ion ...
s surrounding the major
dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
. Longhena later designed two majestic palaces,
Ca' Pesaro The Ca' Pesaro is a Baroque marble palace turned art museum, facing the Grand Canal of Venice, Italy. Today it is one of the 11 museums run by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia system. The building was originally designed by Baldassarre Lo ...
and
Ca' Rezzonico Ca' Rezzonico () is a palazzo and art museum on the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro ''sestiere'' of Venice, Italy. It is a particularly notable example of the 18th century Venetian baroque and rococo architecture and interior decoration, and dis ...
(with many
carvings Carving is the act of using tools to shape something from a material by scraping away portions of that material. The technique can be applied to any material that is solid enough to hold a form even when pieces have been removed from it, and ...
and
chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...
effects), and Santa Maria di Nazareth church (''Chiesa degli Scalzi''). For various reasons the great architect did not see any of these buildings finished, and the designs for all but Santa Maria Della Salute were modified after his death. Longhena's themes recur in the two older façades of
Palazzo Labia Palazzo Labia is a baroque palace in Venice, Italy. Built in the 17th–18th century, it is one of the last great palazzi of Venice. Little known outside of Italy, it is most notable for the remarkable frescoed ballroom painted 1746–47 by Giova ...
, containing a famous fresco cycle by
Giambattista Tiepolo Giovanni Battista Tiepolo ( , ; March 5, 1696 – March 27, 1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an import ...
. In the Longhenian school grew Domenico Rossi (
San Stae San Stae is a church in central Venice, in the sestiere of Santa Croce. San Stae, an abbreviation for Saint Eustachius, was founded at the beginning of the 11th century and reconstructed in the 17th century, and has a main facade (1709) on th ...
's façade, Ca' Corner della Regina) and
Giorgio Massari Giorgio Massari (13 October 1687 – 20 December 1766) was an Italian late-Baroque architect from Venice. He designed the Villa Lattes near Treviso in 1715, the church of Santo Spritito in Udine, the church of Santa Maria della Pace 1720–46 ...
, who later completed Ca' Rezzonico. The 16th and 17th centuries mark the beginning of the Republic's decline, but nevertheless, they saw the highest building activity on the Grand Canal. This can be partially explained by the increasing number of families (like the Labia) becoming patrician by the payment of an enormous sum to the Republic, which was then facing financial difficulties. Once these families had achieved this new status, they built themselves with impressive residences on the Canal, often inducing other families to renew theirs.


Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architectures along the Canal date to the 18th century: during the first half was built
San Simeone Piccolo San Simeone Piccolo (also called San Simeone e Giuda) is a church in the sestiere of Santa Croce in Venice, northern Italy. From across the Grand Canal it faces the railroad terminal serving as entrypoint for most visitors to the city. Histor ...
, with an impressive corinthian portico, central
plan A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal. ...
and a high copper-covered dome ending in a
cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, f ...
shaped as a temple. Date to the second half Massari's
Palazzo Grassi Palazzo Grassi (also known as the Palazzo Grassi-Stucky) is a building in the Venetian Classical style located on the Grand Canal of Venice (Italy), between the Palazzo Moro Lin and the campo San Samuele. History First owners During the 16th c ...
.


Modern era

After the
fall of the Republic of Venice 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 Napoleo ...
in 1797, much of the palatial construction in Venice was suspended, as symbolized by the unfinished San Marcuola and ''Palazzo Venier dei Leoni'' (housing the
Peggy Guggenheim Collection The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is an art museum on the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro ''sestiere'' of Venice, Italy. It is one of the most visited attractions in Venice. The collection is housed in the , an 18th-century palace, which was the home ...
). The Patrician families, bereft of their hereditary role in governance and sometimes persecuted by revolutionary forces, sought other residences. Several historical palaces were pulled down, but many found other uses, and some restorations have saved their 18th-century appearance. By the late 20th century, most of the more prominent palaces were owned by the city, state, or civic institutions. During the era of the
Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (1805–1814; it, Regno d'Italia; french: Royaume d'Italie) was a kingdom in Northern Italy (formerly the Italian Republic) in personal union with Napoleon I's French Empire. It was fully influenced by revolutionary France ...
, the
Napoleonic 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 wh ...
suppression of the monastic
religious order A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious pract ...
s vacated large sectors of real estate in the city. It also freed large amounts of furnishings and works of art into the antiquarian market or into the possession of the state. Large monasteries changed functions: the ''Santa Maria della Carità'' complex became a museum, the
Gallerie dell'Accademia The Gallerie dell'Accademia is a museum gallery of pre-19th-century art in Venice, northern Italy. It is housed in the Scuola della Carità on the south bank of the Grand Canal, within the sestiere of Dorsoduro. It was originally the gallery o ...
); the Santa Croce complex, was converted into the Papadopoli Gardens area; and the Santa Lucia complex (partially designed by
Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of t ...
) was razed for the establishment of the Santa Lucia Station. The
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
accession restored serenity in the city and stimulated construction along the Grand Canal respecting its beauty, often reproduced in
Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
architectures like the Pescaria at Rialto.


Events


Historical Regatta

On the first Sunday of September the Historical Regatta ("Regata Storica") takes place, a competition between Venetian boats watched by thousands of people from the banks or from floating stands. Competitions are preceded by a historical procession ("Corteo Storico") remembering the entrance of the Queen of Cyprus
Catherine Cornaro Catherine Cornaro ( el, Αικατερίνη Κορνάρο, vec, Catarina Corner) (25 November 1454 – 10 July 1510) was the last monarch of the Kingdom of Cyprus, also holding the titles of the Queen of Jerusalem and Armenia. She was queen ...
after abdication in 1489: gondoliers in costumes sail in typical 16th century boats following the
Bucentaur The bucentaur ( ; ''bucintoro'' in Italian and Venetian) was the state barge of the doges of Venice. It was used every year on Ascension Day (''Festa della Sensa'') up to 1798 to take the doge out to the Adriatic Sea to perform the " Marriage o ...
, doge's state
galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be u ...
.


The Feast-day of the Madonna della Salute

On November 21, Venetians thank the
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
for salvation from the plague epidemic in 1630-38 with a pilgrimage to
Santa Maria della Salute Santa Maria della Salute ( en, Saint Mary of Health), commonly known simply as the Salute, is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica located at Punta della Dogana in the Dorsoduro sestiere of the city of Venice, Italy. It stands on the na ...
. Pilgrims cross Grand Canal on a temporary pontoon bridge from Campo Santa Maria del Giglio, and enjoy stalls and traditional dishes.


Gallery

File:Rialto Gondoliers.jpg, Two gondoliers pull out with clients on board from a row of gondolas on the Grand Canal near the Rialto Bridge File:Venedig panorama Canale Grande.jpg, The Grand Canal from
Ponte dell'Accademia The Ponte dell'Accademia is one of only four bridges to span the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It crosses near the southern end of the canal, and is named for the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia, which from 1807 to 2004 was housed in the ...
; in the foreground
Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti is a palace in Venice, Italy, not far from the Ponte dell'Accademia and next to the Palazzo Barbaro on the Grand Canal of Venice. Since 1999 it has been the seat of the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti and ...
, in the distance
Santa Maria della Salute Santa Maria della Salute ( en, Saint Mary of Health), commonly known simply as the Salute, is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica located at Punta della Dogana in the Dorsoduro sestiere of the city of Venice, Italy. It stands on the na ...
File:1 venice grand canal rialto bridge 2012.jpg, The Grand Canal in Venice, Italy, shot at night from Rialto Bridge File:Canaletto Grand Canal from Palazzo Flangini - JPGM.jpg, ''
The Grand Canal in Venice from Palazzo Flangini to Campo San Marcuola ''The Grand Canal in Venice from Palazzo Flangini to Campo San Marcuola'' is a painting by Canaletto in the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California. Painted around 1738, it may have been commissioned by the English merchant and art colle ...
'', Canaletto, about 1738.
The J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fea ...
, Los Angeles File:Ocean ship entering Grand Canal.jpg, Ocean ship entering Grand Canal


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 * ...
*
Republic of Venice 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 ...
* Grand Canal (Venice) architecture for listing and identification of buildings along the canal


References


Sources

*A. Zorzi, P. Marton ''I Palazzi Veneziani'' – Magnus Ed., Udine 1989; *M. Brusegan ''La grande guida dei monumenti di Venezia'' - Newton & Compton Ed., Roma 2005; . *E. e W. Eleodori ''Il Canal Grande. Palazzi no' – Corbo e Fiore Editori, II ed., Venezia 2007; . *''Guida d'Italia – Venezia''. 3a ed. Milano, Touring Editore, 2007. . *Alvise Zorzi, P. Marton. ''I Palazzi Veneziani''. Udine, Magnus, 1989. . *''Venezia e provincia''. Milano, Touring Editore, 2004. . *Raffaella Russo. ''Palazzi di Venezia''. Venezia, Arsenale Ed., 1998. . *Umberto Franzoi, Mark Smith. ''Canal Grande''. Venezia, Arsenale Ed., 1993. . *Giuseppe Mazzariol (a cura di). ''I Palazzi del Canal Grande''. Novara, Istituto Geografico De Agostini, 1989. *Gianjacopo Fontana. ''Venezia monumentale - I Palazzi''. Venezia, Filippi Ed., 1967. *Andrea Fasolo, Mark Smith. ''Palazzi di Venezia''. Venezia, Arsenale Ed., 2003. .
The Art and Architecture of Venice
*Terisio Pignatti (a cura di). ''Le scuole di Venezia''. Milano, Electa, 1981. *Silvia Gramigna, Annalisa Perissa. ''Scuole di Arti, Mestieri e Devozione a Venezia''. Venezia, Arsenale Coop *
Giuseppe Tassini Giuseppe Tassini (12 November 1827 - 22 December 1899) was an Italian historian and one of the most notable scholars of the toponymy of his birthplace of Venice. His most notable work was ''Curiosità Veneziane'', a minute toponymical study first p ...
. ''Curiosità Veneziane''. Venezia, Filippi Ed., 2001.


External links

{{Authority control Canals in Venice Geography of Venice Water transport in Venice Tourist attractions in Venice Waterways of Italy