Palazzo D’Anna Viaro Martinengo Volpi di Misurata

Palazzo D’Anna Viaro Martinengo Volpi di Misurata, also known as Palazzo Talenti D’Anna Volpi, is a palace in Venice, located in the San Marco district (sestiere), overlooking the Grand Canal between Palazzo Tron and Casa Marinoni.

SHORT HISTORY

Built in the early 16th century at the behest of the Talenti family, it soon passed to the wealthy Flemish merchant Martino D’Anna.

The expansion of the building, which took place around the middle of the 17th century, is due to the subsequent owners, the Viaro, an ancient and noble Venetian family.

During the 18th century, the building changed ownership again, initially by inheritance to the Venetian patricians Foscarini, and subsequently to the Martinengo counts, while in the 19th century it became the property of Count Giovanni Conti.

In 1917, the entrepreneur Giuseppe Volpi became the owner. In 1925, he was awarded the title of Count of Misrata.

ARCHITECTURE

At first glance, the facade of the building appears to be divided into four sections with two alternating structural types, but looking more carefully, we see that the first section on the left was added later.

The original palace, composed of the three sections on the right, is built in Renaissance style. The ground floor has a central water portal and a mezzanine much higher than the norm.

The structure develops with a single noble floor, with a central four-light window with round arches, an upper cornice and a single balcony. The side parts have a pair of single-lancet windows of the same style, with a balcony, interspersed with a noble coat of arms in relief.

The facade closes with an attic, with square windows that are positioned above each of the windows below. The main floor and the attic are divided by a stringcourse cornice and a high strip of plaster that originally housed a fresco by Pordenone, which has now completely disappeared.

The left part of the building almost faithfully traces the central facade of the old palace, except for the presence of two water doors, and with only two windows on the attic floor.

HOW TO GET THERE

On foot, Palazzo D’Anna Viaro Martinengo Volpi di Misurata is located about 2.3 kilometers away from the Venezia Santa Lucia railway station. The closest vaporetto stop is Sant’Angelo, located about 250 meters away, on the waterbus Line 1.