Palazzo Contarini Dal Zaffo, also known as ''Palazzo Contarini Polignac'' is a large palace in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, located in the

Dorsoduro Dorsoduro is one of the six sestiere (Venice), sestieri of Venice, in northern Italy. Dorsoduro includes the highest land areas of the city and also Giudecca island and Isola Sacca Fisola. Its name derives from the Italian language, Italian fo ...

district, overlooking the Grand Canal, in an intermediate position between

Palazzo Brandolin Rota Palazzo Brandolin Rota is a palace in Venice, Italy, located in the Dorsoduro district and overlooking the Grand Canal, between the Gallerie dell'Accademia and Palazzo Contarini Polignac. History The palazzo was built in the 17th century, initi ...

and Palazzo Balbi Valier.

Attribution

The palazzo was probably built in the second half of the 15th century. The architect of the palazzo is unknown, but the design is frequently attributed to Giovanni Buora,

Mauro Codussi Mauro Codussi (1440–1504) was an Italian architect of the early-Renaissance, active mostly in Venice. The name is also rendered as ''Coducci''. He was one of the first to bring the classical style of the early renaissance to Venice to replace th ...

, or

Pietro Lombardo Monument of the Doge Pietro Mocenigo 1481 :''Pietro Lombardo is also the Italian version of the name of the theologian Peter Lombard.'' Pietro Lombardo (1435–1515) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect; born in Carona (Ticino), he ...

. The architect was most likely inspired by the Lombard architectural style. Together with

Palazzo Dario The Palazzo Dario is a palace located between the Palazzo Barbaro Wolkoff and the narrow Rio delle Torreselle on the Grand Canal of Venice, Grand Canal in the sestiere of Dorsoduro, of the city of Venice, Italy. The palace was built in the Vene ...

the building is one of the first examples of

Renaissance architecture Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

structures in the city.

History

The Contarini dal Zaffo family, which owned many other famous palazzos, rebuilt the structure between 1562 and 1582 without altering its exterior. The palazzo was named after Giorgio Contarini, who was Count of

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

(Zaffo) in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. Since 1758, the building was owned by several wealthy families: first by the Manzoni, then by the Angaran, and then by the Polignac. In 1901, the building was bought by Winaretta Singer, who was the daughter of

Isaac Singer Isaac Merritt Singer (October 27, 1811 – July 23, 1875) was an American inventor, actor, and businessman. He made important improvements in the design of the sewing machine and was the founder of what became one of the first American multi-na ...

and the Princess of Polignac. Because of the Polignac's ownership, the palace bears its double name of Contarini Polignac. When the palazzo was the residence of the Princess of Polignac, it became the site of a great intellectual salon, hosting important personalities in the field of the arts (especially music), like

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

. Today, the palazzo is still a private residence and a property of the Decazes family, direct descendants of Winaretta Singer, Princess of Polignac ; it was restored between 2004 and 2007. During the International Art Exhibitions of the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

, the large palazzo is a frequent venue for various art events.

Architecture

The typical

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

façade of three levels is entirely covered by polished marble tiles, which give the building its particular beauty and prominence. The palazzo's look appears as a mixture of elements inspired by Byzantine art, Renaissance architecture, and components of Tuscan origin, thus creating a union, which severity and grace were much appreciated even by

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

. The structure stands on a place of previous

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

factory, of which only the shape of the windows and the round decorations that enrich the facade survive. There are two

noble floor (Italian language, Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ) is the architectural term for the principal floor of a ''palazzo''. This floor contains the main reception and bedro ...

s, both with the same layouts, decorated by pentaforas in the central part flanked by two single-lancet windows on either side. Also present on the ground floor are the openings with round arches, six in total, plus the central portal with direct access to the canal. The right side of the building shares walls with

, while the left side has a beautiful side façade with a three-light window on the second floor and a covered terrace on the first, overlooking a garden open to the Grand Canal and bordering with Palazzo Balbi Valier. On the back side, the building is decorated with another

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. Overv ...

. The interior contains frescoes by

Giandomenico Tiepolo Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (August 30, 1727March 3, 1804) was an Italian painter and printmaker in etching. He was the son of artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and elder brother of Lorenzo Baldissera Tiepolo. Life history Domenico was born in Ve ...

Cultural depictions

A painting by

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

dating back to 1908 demonstrates the facade of the building. Monet also painted

Ca' Dario The Palazzo Dario is a palace located between the Palazzo Barbaro Wolkoff and the narrow Rio delle Torreselle on the Grand Canal in the sestiere of Dorsoduro, of the city of Venice, Italy. The palace was built in the Venetian Gothic style an ...

and Palazzo Da Mula Morosini.

References

{{Authority control Houses completed in the 15th century Contarini dal Zaffo Contarini dal Zaffo Renaissance architecture in Venice