UK architect to restore Venetian landmark

A BRITISH architect has been chosen to lead the restoration of a monumental building in Venice’s St Mark’s Square, where the Doge’s minions once schemed and squabbled over the governance of the city state.

Sir David Chipperfield will oversee the multi-million pound renovation of the 16th-century Procuratie Vecchie, which will be opened to the public for the first time in 500 years when the project is completed in 2020.

The scheme will include the opening up of a hidden passageway that leads from St Mark’s Square over a narrow canal to the Royal Gardens, a public park on the banks of the Grand Canal that has been in a state of abandonment for years.

Previously hidden courtyards will be opened and a drawbridge built to allow gondolas to pass along the canal.

The Procuratie Vecchie, the longest building in Venice, was once home to the nine governors who helped the Doge administer what was then known as La Serenissima, the Most Serene Republic.

It boasts frescoed walls and decorated ceilings, and stretches for 500ft along the piazza. The project is being financed by Assicurazioni Generali, the insurers that occupied the building from 1832 until just a few months ago when it transferred its offices elsewhere.

The Procuratie Vecchie palazzo was built in the 1530s. “This is a building with a monumental presence in a monumental square which the whole world loves,” said Sir David, an award-winning architect who has worked on high-profile projects in the UK, Germany and Italy. “It is part of the only big civic space in Venice. It’s got an amazingly theatrical presence.”