Palazzo Gradenigo is a palace in Venice, located in the
Santa Croce district, near
Palazzo Soranzo Cappello and the church of
San Simeone Profeta, and overlooking Rio Marin.
History
The palace was built on a project by architect Domenico Margutti, a student of
Baldassare 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 architec ...
, at the end of the 17th century to be the grand residence of the Gradenigo family, one of the noblest among the Venetian aristocracy. Over the centuries, the palace was the site of great celebrations, which were held in the palace gardens. In the 19th century, Archduke
Frederick of Austria lived in the palace and died there.
In the early 20th century these gardens inspired some places in novel ''
Il Fuoco'' by the Italian writer
Gabriele D'Annunzio.
Currently, the palazzo is in good condition after being restored in 1999.
Architecture
The façade has three levels and an attic open by square windows, overlooks the river, on which, on the ground floor, there are two portals.
The two
noble floors are asymmetrical: the first features a series of ten balustraded single-lancet windows; the second has larger windows, among which stands out, on the far left, a
quadrifora, corresponding on the facade overlooking the garden, to a
trifora.
It is precisely the garden that has made the palace famous: in fact, until the early 20th century the garden was among the vastest in Venice and was one of the greatest prides of the Gradenigos. A small part of it remains nowadays, following the building development in the surrounding area.
Inside, much of the original pictorial decoration has been lost over the centuries; however, there remain 17th-century stuccos and some 18th-century frescoes attributed to
Jacopo Guarana.
Gallery
Palazzo Gradenigo a Venezia dettaglio.jpg, Facade details
Code of arms - Palazzo Gradenigo.jpg, Gradenigo coat of arms
Portal to the canal - Palazzo Gradenigo 01.jpg, Portal to the canal
Garden - Palazzo Gradenigo 02.jpg, Garden
Garden - Palazzo Gradenigo 01.jpg, The entry to the garden
References
{{Reflist
Houses completed in the 17th century
Palaces in Sestiere Santa Croce
Gradenigo
Gradenigo family