The Ca' da Mosto is a 13th-century, Venetian-Byzantine style palace, the oldest on the
Grand Canal, located between the Rio dei
Santi Apostoli and the
Palazzo Bollani Erizzo
Palazzo Bolani Erizzo is an ancient Venetian palace of the 13th century, built along the Grand Canal in the Cannaregio district. It stands wall to wall with Palazzo Dolfin.
History
The palazzo was the ancient residence of the poet Pietro Aretino ...
, in the
sestiere of Cannaregio in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
,
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 ...
.
Architecture
left, Ca' Da Mosto - facade on ''Campiello del Leon Bianco''
The palace has high narrow arches and distinctive
capitals. The features show its beginnings as a ''casa-fondaco'', the home and workplace of its original merchant owner. A second floor was added at the beginning of the sixteenth century, and a third in the nineteenth. The central part of the first floor is decorated with a wide
heptafora with leftmost opening currently closed up.
History
The palace dates from the early 13th-century, and takes its name from the Venetian da Mosto family, the most famous of whom was
Alvise Cadamosto
Alvise Cadamosto or Alvise da Ca' da Mosto (, also known in Portuguese as ''Luís Cadamosto''; c. 1432 – 18 July 1488) was a Venetian explorer and slave trader, who was hired by the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator and undertook two known ...
, an Italian explorer who worked with slave traders in Portugal, and who was born in the palace in 1432. It stayed in the da Mosto family until 1603, when Chiara da Mosto left her entire estate to
Leonardo Donà dalle Rose of the Donà family, a
nephew of her second husband, rather than to her da Mosto relatives, with whom she had fallen out.
Between the 16th and the 18th centuries the Ca' da Mosto housed the well-known ''Albergo Leon Bianco'' (the White Lion Hotel). In 1769 and 1775 the
Holy Roman Emperor and son of
Maria Theresa,
Joseph II
Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...
, lived here during his stay in Venice.
Present day
The Ca' da Mosto currently sits empty, with the high waters of the canal having breached its basement. According to an interview in ''
The Lady'', the palace is admired by
Francesco da Mosto
Francesco da Mosto (; born 1961) is an Italian architect, author, historian, film maker and television presenter. He presented the three BBC 2 series '' Francesco's Venice'' (2004) and '' Francesco's Italy: Top to Toe'' (2006) where he explored ...
, a descendant of its eponymous former owners, and is the Venetian building he would most like to see restored. As of January 2019, the Ca' da Mosto has undergone a €3 million restoration, followed by an €8.7 million investment intended to transform the palace into a luxury hotel.
Renovation work is expected to be finished by 2020.
See also
*
Palazzo Falier
Palazzo Falier is a civil building located in Venice, Italy in the Cannaregio district. The palazzo is particularly known for having been the home of Marin Falier, Doge of the Republic of Venice, who was executed for attempting a coup d'état.
H ...
, also one of the oldest Venetian buildings.
Sources
*Francesco da Mosto, ''Francesco's Venice'' (London: BBC, 2004)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ca' Da Mosto
Da Mosto
Da Mosto
Buildings and structures completed in the 13th century
Medieval Italian architecture
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