Description of the attraction
Ca 'd'Oro (Ca' d'Oro) - "Golden House" - a luxurious palace in Venice on the banks of the Grand Canal. It got its name due to the fact that gold leaf was used in its original decoration. The official name of the palace, located in the Cannaregio quarter, is Palazzo Santa Sofia. Today it is considered one of the finest examples of Venetian Gothic.
Ca 'd'Oro was built between 1428 and 1430 by architects Giovanni and Bartolomeo Bona for the patrician Marino Contarini from the powerful family that gave Venice eight doges. Previously, on the site of the palace stood the Byzantine-style Palazzo Zeno, which Contarini received along with his wife's dowry. Palazzo Zeno was demolished, and a new palace began to be erected in its place, while retaining the elements of the old in the facade.
The main façade of Ca 'd'Oro, overlooking the Grand Canal, is made in the popular Venetian Gothic style, as are the neighboring Palazzo Barbaro and Palazzo Giustinian. On the ground floor of the palace, in a small depression, there is a loggia through which you can get to the lobby. Above the box you can see the closed balcony of the main hall. The columns and arches of this balcony have capitals, which, in turn, support a row of graceful four-leafed windows, and above the balcony there is another covered loggia of similar design. I must say that the very architecture of the palace is a kind of combination of a medieval church and a mosque.
Over the long years of its history, Ka 'd'Oro has changed many owners and was rebuilt several times. In 1894, it was bought by Baron Giorgio Franchetti, who initiated a large-scale reconstruction of the building according to the surviving drawings and paintings. The baron intended to return the palace to its historical appearance. In addition, Franchetti collected a rich collection of paintings, which, after his death, together with Ca 'd'Oro, became the property of Venice and the public domain. Since 1927, the Franchetti Gallery has been housed in one of the most elegant Gothic palaces in Venice.
