Palazzo Contarini Fasan is a small Gothic palace in

Venice, Italy Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto 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 linked by 438 bridge ...

, located in the

San Marco San Marco is one of the six sestiere (Venice), sestieri of Venice, lying in the heart of the city as the main place of Venice. San Marco also includes the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Although the district includes Piazza San Marco, Saint Mar ...

district and overlooking the Grand Canal. The palazzo is also called the House of Desdemona.

History

Palazzo Contarini Fasan is a peculiar structure built in the 15th century and once owned by the

Contarini The Contarini is one of the founding families of Venicehttps://archive.org/details/teatroaraldicose02tett, Leone Tettoni. ''Teatro araldico ovvero raccolta generale delle armi ed insegne gentilizie delle piu illustri e nobili casate che esis ...

family. Over the centuries, the palazzo has attracted substantial attention as a home of Desdemona, a character from Shakespear's ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

''. According to a legend, Nicola Contarini, a famous heroic leader in the wars against the Turks in the 1500s, once lived in the palazzo. He was said to have had the very dark skin so as to be nicknamed "Moor". Contarini's wife, Palma Querini was exhausted by the brutal jealousy of her husband, so she returned to her family. Another legend says that Shakespeare's Othello in fact was modeled after Cristoforo Moro (hence the nickname "the Moor"). Moro was Admiral of the Venetian fleet. In 1515, he married a daughter of Donato from Lezze, nicknamed "White Devil" (hence the name "Desdemona"). In 1508, Moro lost his wife while travelling to Crete under dubious circumstances.

Architecture

The palazzo is a narrow building with a high façade. The window layout is typical for the

Venetian Gothic architecture Venetian Gothic is the particular form of Italian Gothic architecture typical of Venice, originating in local building requirements, with some influence from Byzantine architecture, and some from Islamic architecture, reflecting Venice's trading ...

and consists of three levels. In the ground floor, there are three small rectangular windows (there is no access to the water); on the first

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 ...

there is a

trifora Trifora is a type of three-light window. The trifora usually appears in towers and belfries—on the top floors, where it is necessary to lighten the structure with wider openings. Overview The trifora has three openings divided by two small colu ...

with balcony with openings supported by small columns of white stone. The second noble floor has two

monofora Monofora is a type of the single-light window, usually narrow, crowned by an arch, and decorated by small columns or pilasters. Overview The term usually refers to a certain type of window designed during the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque, ...

s. Between them, under a small square opening, there is a large bas-relief coat of arms of the Contarini family. The top of the façade terminates with a

dentil A dentil (from Lat. ''dens'', a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice. Dentils are found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and also in later styles such as Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian Rev ...

led cornice with the 15th-century frescoes that once embellished the surface. On the left side, an overpass connects the building with the adjacent structure. The overpass has a single-light window, similar to those on the facade. The renowned art historian

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 ...

wrote in his ''

The Seven Lamps of Architecture ''The Seven Lamps of Architecture'' is an extended essay, first published in May 1849 and written by the English art critic and theorist John Ruskin. The 'lamps' of the title are Ruskin's principles of architecture, which he later enlarged upon i ...

'' that the palazzo was "the most elaborate piece of architecture in Venice."

Gallery

Naya, Carlo (1816-1882) - n. 64 - Venezia - Palazzo Contarini Fasan 3.jpg, Photo by

Carlo Naya Carlo Naya (1816 in Tronzano Vercellese1882 in Venice) was an Italian photographer known for his pictures of Venice including its works of art and views of the city for a collaborative volume in 1866. He also documented the restoration of Giotto ...

(1870s) Palazzi Contarini Fasan e Ferro.jpg, From ''La patria, geografia dell’Italia'' by Gustavo Strafforello (1902) Palazzo Contarini Fasan on Grand Canal by Boston Public Library.jpg, Photo by Paolo Salviati Casa Contarini Fasan Venice Ruskin.jpg, From ''Ruskin, Turner and the Pre-Raphaelites'' by Robert Hewison (2000) Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico - BEIC 6342968.jpg, Balcony, photo by

Paolo Monti Paolo Monti (11 August 1908 – 29 November 1982) was an Italian photographer known for his architectural photography. In his early period, Monti experimented with abstractionism as well as with effects such as blurring and diffraction. In 19 ...

(1969) Paolo Monti - Serie fotografica (Venezia, 1969) - BEIC 6331405.jpg, Balcony details, photo by

(1969)

References

{{Coord, 45.43184, 12.33425, format=dms, type:landmark_region:IT, display=title Houses completed in the 15th century Contarini Fasan Contarini Fasan Contarin