![Ca Corner](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Ca_Corner.JPG)
The Palazzo Barbarigo Minotto (also called Palazzo Minotto Barbarigo) is a 15th-century 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 ...
, next to the much larger
Palazzo Corner
Palazzo Corner della Ca' Granda, also called Ca' Corner della Ca' Granda or simply Palazzo Corner or Palazzo Cornaro, is a Renaissance-style palace located between the ''Casina delle Rose'' and the Rio di San Maurizio (Venice), across the Grand ...
.
[Jan-Christoph Rößler]
Palazzo Minotto Barbarigo
Palazzi veneziani - architettura a Venezia Built in the
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, it was originally two palaces, Palazzo Barbarigo and Palazzo Minotto, later joined together. The Barbarigo palace was owned by the
Barbarigo family
The Barbarigo were a patrician, noble Venetian family, whose members had an important role in the history of the Republic of Venice.
History
The family originated from the Istrian area (according to the tradition, their ancestral place was Mugg ...
for several centuries and was the birthplace of
Gregorio Barbarigo
Gregorio Giovanni Gaspare Barbarigo (16 September 1625 – 18 June 1697) was an Italian people, Italian Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Cardinal (Catholic), cardinal who served as the Bishop of Bergamo and later as the Bishop of Padua. ...
, who once refused the Papal Crown. It was later owned by the Minotto and Martinengo families.
![Venezia - Palazzo Minotto-Barbarigo - facciata](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Venezia_-_Palazzo_Minotto-Barbarigo_-_facciata.jpg)
Three staterooms face the Grand Canal and another three face Rio Zaguri. In the first half of the 18th century
fresco
Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
es and paintings by
Giovanni Battista 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 impo ...
,
Francesco Fontebasso
''Allegory of Faith'' (v.1750) San Zanipolo Venice
Francesco Fontebasso (4 October 1707 – 31 May 1769) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque or Rococo period of Venice. He first apprenticed with Sebastiano Ricci, but was strongly influen ...
and
Carpoforo Tencalla
Carpoforo Tencalla (or Tencala) (10 September 1623 - 9 March 1685) was an influential Swiss-Italian Baroque painter of canvases and frescoes. He is little studied and has come only recently to the attention of art critics and historians. He intro ...
were commissioned by Pietro Barbarigo. Its chapel has
Louis XIV Style
The Louis XIV style or ''Louis Quatorze'' ( , ), also called French classicism, was the style of architecture and decorative arts intended to glorify King Louis XIV and his reign. It featured majesty, harmony and regularity. It became the officia ...
elm flooring inlaid with olive-root
marquetry
Marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie; from the French ''marqueter'', to variegate) is the art and craft of applying pieces of veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns, designs or pictures. The technique may be applied to case furn ...
. The palace's doors, are in the same style, banded in walnut with bronze handles shaped as vine leaves. The floors of the staterooms are a blend of
terrazzo
Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical bindi ...
paving and Venetian "pastellone" paving.
Description
![Sala Tiepolo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Sala_Tiepolo.jpg)
The palace is actually formed by two different buildings, merged in the 17th century. The ancient part, a 15th-century Venetian-Gothic architecture featuring 12th century Byzantine friezes, was originally known as Palazzo Minotto; the newer part, Palazzo Barbarigo, was built in the 17th century.
On the occasion of Gregorio Barbarigo's marriage with the keen and cultured
Caterina Sagredo, in 1739, the greatest artists of the time were called to embellish the palace in both its parts, which had been unified by then. Among these the great master
Gianbattista 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 impor ...
,
Francesco Fontebasso
''Allegory of Faith'' (v.1750) San Zanipolo Venice
Francesco Fontebasso (4 October 1707 – 31 May 1769) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque or Rococo period of Venice. He first apprenticed with Sebastiano Ricci, but was strongly influen ...
,
Gerolamo Mengozzi Colonna
Gerolamo Mengozzi Colonna (1688 – Venice, 27 October 1774) was an Italian painter, mostly of frescoed quadratura.
Biography
Born in Ferrara, Gerolamo was a pupil of the painters of architectural perspective painters Antonio Felice Ferrari and ...
, and
Carpoforo Mazzetti.
In 1741 was hired the Ferrarese
quadraturist Mengozzi Colonna, who painted the domestic chapel located in a recess of the building and hidden by two wooden leaves. Around it a Louis XIV elm flooring inlaid with olive-root and other prized wood marquetry. The following year Mengozzi Colonna intervenes also on the central hall (
portego
Portego ("porch" in Venetian dialect) is a characteristic compositional element of the Venetian civil buildings built during the years of the Republic of Venice. The portego is similar to a reception hall but has peculiar features.
History
The por ...
) designing the beautiful Venetian terrazzo pavings.
The palace's doors are
Louis XIV style
The Louis XIV style or ''Louis Quatorze'' ( , ), also called French classicism, was the style of architecture and decorative arts intended to glorify King Louis XIV and his reign. It featured majesty, harmony and regularity. It became the officia ...
, banded in walnut and with bronze handles shaped as vine leaves.
Gianbattista Tiepolo started his work here in 1741, painting the monochromes and two of the overdoors that frame the central canvas, "The triumph of Virtue and Nobility over Ignorance". The original oil painting is now part of
Cà Rezzonico's collection and has been replaced here with a 20th-century copy.
![Tiepolo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Tiepolo.jpg)
The whole pictorial decoration represents the cultural interests of Gregorio and Caterina, freshly married. Four monochromes represent Sciences: History, Astronomy, Geography and Astrology. The other four, with mixtilinear framings represent the Arts: Painting, Sculpture, Music and Poetry. The frescoes in the overdoors depict ''Merit'' and ''Abundance''.
This whole cycle is influenced by the neoclassical trend that conquered the whole city during that period, through its ornamental motives, ancient-looking sculptures, sarcophagi, amphorae and vases, together with the "Olympic grace" of its figures.
The parlor is also known as "the room of Wisdom", since it exalts the commissioner's idea of the arts and sciences giving wealth and nobility.
The central oil on canvas was painted by Tiepolo in 1744-1745. Next to the two female figures representing ''Virtue'' and ''Nobility'' there is a young page holding a drape of their vest: it is probably a portrait of the painter's son, Giuseppe Maria. Behind him we notice another figure, supposedly a self-portrait of the artist himself. Ignorance, defeated, falls down dragging with her a winged genie who is holding a bat, allegory of Vice. This celebrative representation, dear to the masters of the house, is also an example of Tiepolo's artistic maturity, highly influenced by Veronese models.
Carpoforo Mazzetti, pupil of another Ticinese artist,
Abbondio Stazio Abbondio is the name of:
People
* Abbondio Marcelli (1932–2015), Italian rower
* Abbondio Sangiorgio (1798–1879), Italian sculptor
* Abbondio Smerghetto (1931–2018), Italian rower
* Abundius, saint
Places
* Sant'Abbondio, former municipality ...
, molded the stuccos in the
rocaille
Rocaille ( , ) was a French style of exuberant decoration, with an abundance of curves, counter-curves, undulations and elements modeled on nature, that appeared in furniture and interior decoration during the early reign of Louis XV of France. ...
style alcove. The decorations originate from the central opening where the bed is placed, branching out on both sides to reach the doors, adorned with mirrors. Above them, the crest and its shield-carrying angels overlook the room.
![Alcova](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Alcova.Traviata_Act_III.JPG)
Mazzetti worked also on the dining room's stuccos, where he represented mythological scenes in pale colours and very realistic and colourful animals to adorn the ceiling.
Musica a Palazzo, a cultural association of classical musicians, has leased 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 ...
'' since 2005 and uses it for small-scale opera productions.
[Bing, Alison]
''Venice Encounter''
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books.
History Early years
Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarked ...
, 2009, p. 56.
See also
The Barbarigo family owned several other palaces in Venice which still bear their name, most notably the
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 villas ...
. The others are Palazzo Barbarigo alla Maddalena,
Palazzo Barbarigo della Terrazza
The Palazzo Barbarigo dalla Terrazza is a Renaissance-style palace on the Grand Canal, across the Rio San Polo from the Palazzo Cappello Layard and adjacent to the Palazzo Pisani Moretta in the sestiere of San Polo, in Venice, Italy. In 2015, ...
, and
Palazzo Barbarigo Nani Mocenigo
Palazzo Barbarigo Nani Mocenigo is a Gothic palace in Venice, Italy located in the Dorsoduro district, along the Nani embankment on the San Trovaso river, near the
campo of the same name.
History
The palace dates back to the 15th century and was ...
.
References
Sources
*
* Elementi per la Ricostruzione dell'attività artistica di Gerolamo Mengozzi Colonna in "Bollettino dei Musei Civici Veneziani", 1983-1984.
* Piana Bistrot Annalisa, Ritornano a Palazzo Barbarigo i monocromi di GiambattistaTiepolo,in "Arte Veneta",n.49, 1996.
* Muraro Michelangelo, L'Olympe de Tiepolo in Gazette de Beaux – Arts",1960.
* Magrini Marina, Il Fontebasso nei Palazzi Veneziani,in "Arte Veneta",1974
* Pedrocco Filippo, Ca' Rezzonico, museo del Settecento veneziano, Venezia : Marsilio, 2001. - 78 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
*
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, ovvero Origini delle denominazioni stradali di Venezia, Rist. – Venezia, Filippi, 1990.
* Judith Martin, No Vulgar Hotel: The Desire and Pursuit of Venice, 2007,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbarigo Minotto, Palazzo
Palaces in Sestiere San Marco
Palaces on the Grand Canal (Venice)
Gothic architecture in Venice
Houses completed in the 12th century
Houses completed in the 17th century
Barbarigo family