The Palazzo Giustinian is a palace 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 ...

, situated in the

Dorsoduro Dorsoduro is one of the six sestieri of Venice, in northern Italy. Dorsoduro includes the highest land areas of the city and also Giudecca island and Isola Sacca Fisola. Its name derives from the Italian for "hard ridge", due to its comparati ...

district and overlooking the Grand Canal next to

Ca' Foscari Ca' Foscari, the palace of the Foscari family, is a Gothic building on the waterfront of the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro ''sestiere'' of Venice, Italy. It was built for the doge Francesco Foscari in 1453, and designed by the architect B ...

. It is among the best examples of the late

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 ...

and was the final residence of

Princess Louise of Artois Louise Marie Thérèse d'Artois (21 September 1819 – 1 February 1864) was a duchess and later a regent of Parma. She was the eldest daughter of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry, younger son of King Charles X of France and Princess Caroline ...

History and description

The edifice was built in the late 15th century, perhaps with the participation of

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. ...

. The palace consisted originally of two separated sectors, one for each branch of the family, which were later joined by a façade; these are the ''Ca' Giustinian dei Vescovi'' (now housing part of the

Ca' Foscari University 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 w ...

) and the ''Ca' Giustinian dalle Zogie'' (now privately owned). Behind the façade, they are separated by an alley which, through a ''sottoportego'', or portico-tunnel, connects to the central portal. The two sub-palaces share numerous decorative features with the annexed ''Ca' Foscari''. They have an L-shaped plan with four floors, the upper ones having

mullioned window A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

s. At 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 ...

they form a six-arches arcade with an interwoven motif of multi-lobes circles. The single windows are ogival, or decorated with a three-lobe motif. ''Ca' Giustinian dei Vescovi'' has in the rear a court with a Gothic staircase, while Ca' Giustinian delle Zogie has a large garden.

Owners and notable residents

The family sold the palazzo in the 19th century. Since then, personalities such as painter Natale Schiavoni, German composer

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

(who wrote the second act of ''

Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was compose ...

'' here between 1858 and 1859), the last Duchess of Parma, Louise d'Artois, and Hungarian violinist

Franz von Vecsey Franz von Vecsey (born Ferenc Vecsey; 23 March 18935 April 1935) was a Hungarian violinist and composer, who became a well-known virtuoso in Europe through the early 20th century. Early life and career He was born in Budapest and began his vi ...

have lived here.

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wro ...

was staying there with J. W. Cross during her honeymoon in 1880. ''Ca' Giustinian dei Vescovi'' now houses part of the

, and ''Ca' Giustinian dalle Zogie'' is now privately owned.

References

* {{coord, 45.4345, N, 12.3266, E, source:kolossus-itwiki, display=title Houses completed in the 15th century Giustinian Giustinian Gothic architecture in Venice House of Giustiniani Venetian Gothic architecture

History and description

Owners and notable residents

See also

References