ARCHITECTURAL ICON CA’ D’ORO BY GIOVANNI BON

The elaborate Gothic masterpiece on the bank of Venice’s Grand Canal

The Ca’ d’oro is one of the most beautiful residential buildings

in all of Venice, a spectacular blend of Gothic, Byzantine, Moorish and Islamic architectural styles. Venetian architect Giovanni Bon and his sculptor son Bartolomeo were commissioned to design it by Marino Contarini, a wealthy political figure from an influential family (eight Contarinis served as elected Doges to the Republic of Venice, the highest office in the city’s government). Completed in 1430, the design of the house was inspired by the Palazzo Ducale, known as the Doges’ Palace, and was constructed around the same time. Bon’s smaller- scale version was built by the same stonemasons and sculptors, and borrowed many of the floral ornamentations, intricate carvings and decorative pinnacles. The house has three storeys, each one more elaborate than the last. To make the palace the standout showpiece on the Grand Canal, Contarini had parts of the façade adorned in shimmering ultramarine – the most prized pigment of the Renaissance, traditionally reserved by artists for depicting the Virgin’s robes because of its extreme costliness – and gold leaf (Ca’ d’oro translates as house of gold).

Over the course of the 16th century and after the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797, the house changed owners several times. In 1846, Russian Prince Paolo Troubetzkoy bought the prized abode for famed Italian ballerina Marie Taglioni. Under her ownership, Bon’s creation suffered badly: the original Gothic stairway was destroyed, the carved wellhead by Bartolomeo that sat at the heart of the palazzo was sold, and much of the original interior stonework was removed. It is believed that during a visit to the city Victorian art critic John Ruskin mourned upon seeing the building’s original features being ripped out and discarded right in front of him. Finally, in 1894, with a new affluent owner, arts patron Baron Giorgio Franchetti, the house was restored to its former glory. Franchetti had the beautiful mosaic floors painstakingly restored and even managed to retrieve the long-lost sculptural wellhead.

In 1916, the building was donated to the Italian State and was opened to the public in 1927 as the Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca’ d’oro, which houses a wonderful array of Renaissance artworks, including the stunning Annunciation by Venetian artist Vittore Carpaccio and Sleeping Venus with Cupid by Paris Bordone. Cannaregio, 3933, 30121 Venice, Italy (cadoro.org).