The Palazzo Michiel Dalle Colonne is a

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 t ...

style palace located on the northern bank of the Grand Canal in the sestiere of

Cannaregio Cannaregio () is the northernmost of the six historic ''sestieri'' (districts) of Venice. It is the second largest ''sestiere'' by land area and the largest by population, with 13,169 people . Isola di San Michele, the historic cemetery island, ...

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. It is one building south of the junction of Rio del Santissimi Apostoli with Grand Canal, next to the

Palazzo Michiel del Brusà Palazzo Michiel del Brusà is a palace located in Venice, more precisely in the Cannaregio district, and overlooking the Grand Canal. The building is located between Palazzo Michiel dalle Colonne and Palazzo Smith Mangilli Valmarana. History ...

and across the Canal from the Rialto Mercato and the Campo della Pescaria. The palace is also referred to as Palazzo Michiel Dalle Colonne a Santa Sofia.

History

The present facade is mainly due to reconstructions of the original Gothic-Byzantine palace during the 17th and 18th-centuries, the most important rebuilding was by the architect

Antonio Gaspari Antonio Gaspari was an Italian architect of the late-Baroque, active in both Venice and the terrafirma of the Veneto. He was a pupil of Baldassarre Longhena, and upon his master's death in 1682, he completed some of his projects, including Longh ...

(1656-1723). The palace had many owners during the centuries including the Grimani and Zeno families. In the 17th-century it was acquired by Ferdinand Charles Gonzaga Nevers, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat. He is described as a prince enamoured by profligate delights, including women, specially those heavy and large, and of infamous character. Tassini, citing the History of Italy by Botta, describes him as keeping the palace as a debauched serraglio, governed by the Countess Calori. Muratori in his Annals describes the Duke as always venturing to carnival of Venice ''to procure the glory of besting all in the search for pleasure''. Others said ''all night long his palace was the scene of theatrical representations by dissolute women, with music and banqueting, so that he had a worse name than Sardanapalus of old''. However the reign of this Duke was ill-fated. During the War of the Spanish Succession, he favored the French, even selling in 1681 the fortress of

Casale Monferrato Casale Monferrato () is a town in the Piedmont region of Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is situated about east of Turin on the right bank of the Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montferrat hills. Beyond the river lies the v ...

for profit. He denied this manipulations to his Austrian overlords, but tired of his deceit, in 1707, they exiled him to this palace, where he brought as much statuary, painting and precious items as he could carry. Abandoned by all, on June 30, 1708 he was declared a felon by the emperor, and died a few days later in Padua. He was buried in the church of Santa Sofia of that city. His heirs soon sold the palace to Count Conigli of Verona, who owned it by 1712, but by 1716 it was owned by

Marcantonio Michiel Marcantonio Michiel (1484–1552) was a Venetian noble from a family prominent in the service of the State who was interested in matters of art. His notes on the contemporary art collections of Venice, Padua, Milan and other northern Italian centr ...

, husband of Giustina Renier. In 1716, Michiel dalle Colonne hosted

Frederick Augustus I of Saxony pl, Fryderyk August Józef Maria Antoni Jan Nepomucen Alojzy Ksawery , image = Frederick Augustus I of Saxony by Marcello Bacciarelli (ca 1808-1809).png , caption = Portrait by Marcello Bacciarelli (1809) , succession = King of Saxony , coron ...

, later Duke of Warsaw, and Karl Albrecht, Elector of Bavaria (and future Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor) and his mother. The Michiel added a third floor and added interior decorations under the sculptor

Michelangelo Morlaiter Michelangelo Morlaiter (Venice, 23 December 1729 – 1806) was an Italian painter, active mainly in Venice. He was one of the founding members and professor of the '' Accademia di Scoltura, Pittura, ed Architettura Civile'' in Venice in 1766. His ...

and painter Francesco Zanchi. The palace was next inherited by the Martinengo family. The palace, under the Martinengo underwent major reconstruction after the mid-19th-century. In the 20th century, the palace served many functions including the offices of the

Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The ...

(Casa del Fascio) and other ministries. The 18th-century frescoes in the palace by Franchi depict the ''Allegory of Victory'', ''Triumph of Merit'', and ''Allegory of Abundance'' in the piano nobile and in the floor above, ''Allegory of Peace''.Ministerio dei beni e delle attivita' culturali e del turismo
Direzione regionale per i beni culturali e paesaggistici del Veneto.

References

{{Coord, 45.4403, 12.3352, type:landmark_region:IT, display=title Baroque architecture in Venice Michiel dalle Colonne Michiel dalle Colonne