Description of the attraction
Palazzo Balbi is a palace in Venice, standing on the banks of the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro quarter to the right of another palace - Ca 'Foscari. Today, the Palazzo building houses the seat of the government of the Veneto region and the regional council.
The palace was built in 1582 by the architect Alessandro Vittoria for the aristocratic Venetian Balbi family. For a time it was owned by the Biondi family, in the 19th century, the building was acquired by Michelangelo Guggenheim, and later by the Electric Society of the Adriatic. Only in 1971 was the seat of the regional government located in Palazzo Balbi.
The palace consists of three floors with a mezzanine and a superstructure, and its facade has strict symmetrical shapes. On the lower floor, in the center, there is a large semicircular portal decorated with mascarons and tympanum. On the sides there are two smaller entrances. The upper floors of the same size are divided into three sections by false columns and horizontally separated by wide formwork. In the center are three triple vaulted windows with a pair of Doric columns and parapets. The family coats of arms of the Balbi family are located between the windows on the ground floor. Under a jagged cornice are small oval windows with graceful frames, and the top of the building is crowned with two obelisk-shaped turrets, which resemble those of Palazzo Belloni Battaja. The interior of the Palazzo Balbi is decorated with 18th century frescoes by Jacopo Guarana.
