The Palazzo Loredan Cini is a Gothic-style palace located between the Palazzo Balbi Valier and the Rio San Vio on the Grand Canal, in the sestiere of Dorsoduro,

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. The palace was formed from the amalgamation of the former Palazzo Foscari-Loredan with the adjacent Palazzo Grimani. The narrow facade on the Canal has no entrance, but the facade to the north on the Rio, has a single water door, and is connected to the adjacent campo by a bridge. The facade is decorated with two

polifora Polifora is a type of the multi-light window. It appears in towers and belfries on top floors, where it is necessary to lighten the structure with wider openings. The term ''polifora'' usually refers to the window with at least five parts. Overvi ...

History

The

Foscari The House of Foscari () was an ancient Venetian patrician family, which reached its peak in the 14th–15th centuries, culminating in the dogeship of Francesco Foscari (1423–1457). History According to family tradition, they originated from ...

palace, also called Loredan palace, was built on a site belonging to the Giustinian in the 14th-15th centuries. In 1428 it was purchased by the Republic for 6,500 ducats, and transferred to the Marquis of Mantua. A decade later, it was confiscated and given to Francesco Sforza. Nearly a decade later, it was again appropriated and sold by public auction to Doge

Francesco Foscari Francesco Foscari (19 June 1373 – 1 November 1457) was the 65th Doge of the Republic of Venice from 1423 to 1457. His reign, the longest of all Doges in Venetian history, lasted 34 years, 6 months and 8 days, and coincided with the inception o ...

. The Foscari, under Elisabetta Venier Foscari rebuilt it in the mid-1560s. In 1797 the palace was still occupied by descendants of the family, Nicolo Foscari and his brothers. During the Austrian occupation it was used as a barrack for the Croatian soldiers. During the 19th century, it served as the Scuola Superiore di Commercio. From 1564 to 1567, the Grimani palace had been originally built for Vincenzo, of the

Santa Maria Formosa Santa Maria Formosa, formally The Church of the Purification of Mary, is a church in Venice, northern Italy. It was erected in 1492 under the design by Renaissance architect Mauro Codussi. It lies on the site of a previous church dating from t ...

branch of the Grimani family. In the 19th-20th century, it was the residence of

Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies Don Carlos, Prince of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Infante of Spain (Full Italian name: ''Carlo Maria Francesco d'Assisi Pasquale Ferdinando Antonio di Padova Francesco de Paola Alfonso Andrea Avelino Tancredi, Principe di Borbone delle Due Sicilie, Inf ...

. In 1920, after his marriage to the actress

Lyda Borelli Lyda Cini, Countess of Monselice (née Borelli, 22 March 1884 – 2 June 1959) was an Italian actress of cinema and theatre. Her career in theatre started when she was a child, acting on stage with Paola Pezzaglia in the French drama '' I ...

, the industrial tycoon

Vittorio Cini Vittorio Cini, Count of Monselice (20 February 1885 – 18 September 1977) was an Italian industrialist and politician, Senator from 1934 to 1943 and minister of communications of the Kingdom of Italy from February to July 1943. He was among ...

acquired the Palazzo Foscari on the Grand Canal. He merged it with the adjoining palace. In 1934, under the fascist rule of

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

, Cini was named Senator of Italy. Despite the upheavals that occurred at the end of Italy's involvement with the Axis in World War II, Cini remained a major collector of Italian art. After Vittorio's son Giorgio died in 1949, he created in 1951 the Giorgio Cini Foundation, based on the island of

San Giorgio Maggiore San Giorgio Maggiore ( vec, San Zorzi Mazor) is one of the islands of Venice, northern Italy, lying east of the Giudecca and south of the main island group. The island, or more specifically its Palladian church, is an important landmark. It h ...

. This foundation was engaged in the protection, patronage, and research regarding cultural and artistic legacy of Venice. From 1956 to 1958, the architect Tommaso Buzzi was commissioned to redesign the interior of the palace. Vittorio Cini died in 1977. In 1984, his daughter, Yana Cini Alliata di Montereale, donated his collections to the Palazzo Cini Gallery, under the ownership by the Fondazione Giorgio Cini. The collection of artworks, including porcelain and ivories, was increased when the Cini Guglielmi di Vulci heirs permanently loaned a large collection of Ferrarese paintings.Palazzo Cini
official site. Among the works on permanent display in the first floor of the palace are: * ''St George'', from the Colonna altarpiece by Cosmè Tura * ''Virgin and Child with Saints Nicholas, Jerome, Augustine and Christopher'', by Michele Pannonio * ''Saints George'', ''Catherine of Alexandria'', and ''Jerome'', panels from , once in church of San Petronio of Bologna, * ''Madonna and Child, by follower of Giovanni Francesco Maineri * ''St John the Baptist in the Wilderness'', by

Marco Zoppo Marco Zoppo (1433 – 19 February 1498) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period, active mainly in Bologna. He was born in Cento. He was a pupil of the painter Lippo Dalmasio then for a few years with Francesco Squarcione around 1455. ...

* ''Portrait of Tito Vespasiano Strozzi'', by Baldassarre D’Este * ''Virgin and Child'', by

Lorenzo Costa Lorenzo Costa (1460 – 5 March 1535) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. Biography He was born at Ferrara, but moved to Bologna by his early twenties, and was probably influenced by the Bolognese School. However, many artists worked in ...

* ''Allegorical Scene'' from bedroom of Alfonso I in the Estense Castle, painted by

Dosso Dossi Giovanni di Niccolò de Luteri, better known as Dosso Dossi ( 1489–1542), was an Italian Renaissance painter who belonged to the School of Ferrara, painting in a style mainly influenced by Venetian painting, in particular Giorgione and early T ...

* ''Holy Family and Young Saint John'', by

Battista Dossi Battista Dossi (ca. 1490–1548), also known as Battista de Luteri, was an Italian painter who belonged to the Ferrara School of Painting. He spent nearly his entire career in service of the Court of Ferrara, where he worked with his older ...

* ''Pietà'', ''Circumcision'', and ''Presentation at the Temple'', by Ludovico Mazzolino * ''Adoration by Shepherds'', by Michele Ciampanti * ''Holy Family with St John the Baptist'', by

Piero di Cosimo Piero di Cosimo (2 January 1462 – 12 April 1522), also known as Piero di Lorenzo, was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. He is most famous for the mythological and allegorical subjects he painted in the late Quattrocento; he is said to ...

* ''Virgin and Child'', by Niccolò di Segna * ''St John the Evangelist Drinks from Poisoned Cup'' and ''Assumption of Saint'', by

Taddeo Gaddi Taddeo Gaddi (c. 1290, in Florence – 1366, in Florence) was a medieval Italian painter and architect. He was the son of Gaddo di Zanobi, called Gaddo Gaddi. He was a member of Giotto's workshop from 1313 until the master's death in 1337. A ...

* ''Crucifixion'' by

Bernardo Daddi Bernardo Daddi ( 1280 – 1348) was an early Italian Renaissance painter and the leading painter of Florence of his generation. He was one of the artists who contributed to the revolutionary art of the Renaissance, which broke away from the conven ...

* ''Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints'', by the studio of

* ''The Ascension of Christ'' by

Guariento Guariento di Arpo (13101370), sometimes incorrectly referred to as Guerriero, was a 14th-century painter whose career was centered in Padua. The painter is buried in the church of San Bernardino, Padua. Guariento's major commissions in Padua i ...

* ''Virgin and Child'', polychrome wood by Nino Pisano * ''Virgin and Child with Saints, Angels and Donor'', by

Filippo Lippi Filippo Lippi ( – 8 October 1469), also known as Lippo Lippi, was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento (15th century) and a Carmelite Priest. Biography Lippi was born in Florence in 1406 to Tommaso, a butcher, and his wife. He was orph ...

* ''St Thomas Aquinas'', by

Fra Angelico Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro; February 18, 1455) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Vasari in his ''Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent".Giorgio Vasari, ''Lives of the Artists''. Pengu ...

* ''Madonna and Child'', by

Piero della Francesca Piero della Francesca (, also , ; – 12 October 1492), originally named Piero di Benedetto, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. To contemporaries he was also known as a mathematician and geometer. Nowadays Piero della Francesca i ...

* ''Judgement of Paris'', by

Sandro Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th century, when he was rediscovered ...

and studio * ''Virgin Adoring the Child with Two Angels'', by

Domenico Ghirlandaio Domenico di Tommaso Curradi di Doffo Bigordi (, , ; 2 June 1448 – 11 January 1494), professionally known as Domenico Ghirlandaio, also spelled as Ghirlandajo, was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Florence. Ghirlandaio was part of t ...

and

Sebastiano Mainardi Bastiano di Bartolo Mainardi (1466 – 1513) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. He was born in San Gimignano and was active there and in Florence. According to Giorgio Vasari, Mainardi is portrayed in the frescoes in the Sasse ...

* ''Virgin and Child with Two Angels'', by

* ''Portrait of Two Friends'', by

Pontormo Jacopo Carucci (May 24, 1494 – January 2, 1557), usually known as ''Jacopo da Pontormo'', ''Jacopo Pontormo'', or simply Pontormo, was an Italian Mannerist painter and portraitist from the Florentine School. His work represents a profound sty ...

* ''Virgin and Child'' in polychrome terracotta, by Giovanni De Fondulis * ''Virgin and Child'' by the Master of the Bigallo Crucifix * ''Two Apostles'' by studio of Giotto * ''Virgin and Child Enthroned with Two Saints'', by Master of the Horne Triptych ( Gaddo Gaddi) * ''Maestà'' by Master of Badia a Isola * ''Christ Mocked'', ''Flagellation'', and ''Crucifixion'', by the Master of the Poldi Pezzoli Diptych

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loredan Cini Art museums and galleries in Venice Historic house museums in Italy Museums in Venice Palaces in Sestiere Dorsoduro Palaces on the Grand Canal (Venice) Gothic architecture in Venice * *