Fondaco dei Tedeschi is a large palace in Venice, located in the sestiere (district) of San Marco, overlooking the Grand Canal, near the Rialto Bridge. SHORT HISTORY Fondaco dei Tedeschi (Warehouse of the Germans) was built around the same time as the Fondaco dei Turchi (Warehouse of the Turks), in the first half of the 13th century. The palace was the landing point for goods brought by the German merchants from Nuremberg, Judenburg and Augsburg. The original palace was destroyed by a devastating fire on the night of January 28, 1505. Soon after, the Venetian Senate decided to rebuild it on a project by Girolamo Tedesco. The reconstruction took place between 1505 and 1508. The building was owned for a long time by the Italian Post Office. In 2008, the palace was purchased by the Benetton Group for an amount of 53 million euros, and was restored by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. The palace was converted into a shopping center and was opened to the public on October 1, 2016. ART AND ARCHITECTURE Fondaco dei Tedeschi is a large building with a square-plan and three levels around an internal courtyard, covered by a glass and steel structure. Read more [...]