Description of the attraction
Ca 'Dario, also known as Palazzo Dario, is one of the palaces in Venice, standing on the banks of the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro quarter at the mouth of the Rio delle Torreselle. One of its façades faces the canal, while the other overlooks Piazza Campiello Barbaro. Opposite is the marina of Santa Maria de Guiglio.
Ka 'Dario was built in 1487 in the then popular Venetian Gothic style, and since then its mosaic façade, made of colored marble, has invariably attracted the eyes of passers-by. The house itself is an excellent example of Renaissance architecture. It got its name from Giovanni Dario, secretary of the Senate of Venice, diplomat and merchant. After Dario's death, the palace became the property of his daughter Marietta, who married Vincenzo Barbaro, the son of the owner of the adjacent Palazzo Barbaro. Subsequently, the Venetian Senate occasionally rented the Palazzo to accommodate Turkish diplomats.
As mentioned above, one of the facades of Ca 'Dario overlooks the small square of Campiello Barbaro, named after the aristocratic Barbaro family. This façade is notable for its Gothic arches. At the end of the 19th century, when the Palazzo belonged to the French aristocrat and writer Countess de la Bohme-Pluvinel, it underwent extensive restoration. The Countess herself surrounded herself with French and Venetian writers, one of whom - Henri de Rainier - is immortalized in the inscription on the wall in the garden: "In this antique house in 1899-1901, the French poet Henri de Rainier lived and wrote." It was on the initiative of the countess that a staircase was built in Ka 'Dario, external chimneys and stoves lined with majolica were made. And in the dining room on the second floor, overlooking the garden, graceful carvings have appeared.
In 1908, Palazzo Dario depicted the great Claude Monet on his canvas - today this painting is kept at the Institute of Arts in Chicago. And at the end of the 20th century, the wedding of the famous Hollywood director Woody Allen took place here. The building itself is now privately owned and usually closed to the public. However, by agreement between the owner of the Palazzo and the Peggy Guggenheim Collections Venetian art museum, it occasionally hosts special cultural events.
I must say that Ka 'Dario has the glory of a damned house. Its owners have repeatedly committed suicide, went bankrupt or became victims of accidents. For example, Marietta, the daughter of Giovanni Dario, committed suicide after her husband Vincenzo Barbaro went bankrupt and he himself was stabbed to death. Their son died tragically in Crete. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Palazzo was bought by the Armenian merchant Arbit Abdoll, who went bankrupt shortly after the acquisition. The next owner of the building, Englishman Redon Brown, also committed suicide. Another owner of the Palazzo, American Charles Briggs, was forced to flee Venice to Mexico because of accusations of homosexuality, and already there his lover shot himself. In 1970, the Count of Turin, Filippo Giordano delle Lanze, was killed in Vdorza, and a couple of years later, the next owner of Ka 'Dario, Kit Lambert, died tragically (fell down the stairs). The last tragedy took place in 1993, when one of the richest industrialists in Italy shot himself, who was involved in a corruption scandal.
