Palazzo Papadopoli

Palazzo Papadopoli, also known as Palazzo Coccina Tiepolo Papadopoli, is a palace in Venice, located in the San Polo district (sestiere), overlooking the Grand Canal between Palazzo Giustinian Businello and Palazzo Donà a Sant’Aponal, opposite Palazzo Grimani di San Luca.

SHORT HISTORY OF PALAZZO PAPADOPOLI

Palazzo Papadopoli was built in the second half of the 16th century on a piece of land which previously housed some buildings dating back to the 14th century.

The palace was commissioned by the Coccina family from Bergamo, who moved to Venice to became part of the Venetian patriciate, to Giangiacomo dei Grigi, also from Bergamo, son of the more famous architect Guglielmo dei Grigi.

The construction of the palace probably started in 1560 and the building was completed around 1570.

Palazzo Papadopoli housed a rich collection of canvases, some of them by Paolo Veronese, among which the most famous is The presentation of the Coccina family to the Virgin.

After beeing the residence of the Coccina family for many years, Palazzo Papadopoli was sold to Francesco d’Este, Duke of Modena, and in 1748 to the Tiepolo family.

In 1745, the remaining part of the art gallery was sold to the Elector of Saxony for the sum of 100,000 sequins. The paintings became part of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden.

In the 18th century, the second noble floor of the palace was decorated by two canvases of Giandomenico Tiepolo, The Charlatan and The Minuet. The more famous Giambattista Tiepolo painted the ceiling of an alcove around 1750.

During the 19th century, the palace was owned in turn by Valentino Comello, who bought it in 1837, by Bartolomeo Stürmer, Austrian marshal, and then by the counts Niccolò and Angelo Papadopoli starting with 1864.

Between 1874 and 1875, the palace was renovated in Neoclassical style by the architect Girolamo Levi, with elements in Rococo style in some rooms. On this occasion, a new wing was erected and a large garden was added near the palace.

The direction of the decoration was entrusted by Levi to the antiquarian Michelangelo Guggenheim. The painter Cesare Rotta created frescoes in the ballroom and along the monumental staircase of the palace.

In 1922, Palazzo Papadopoli passed to the heirs of the Papadopoli family, the noble Arrivabene-Valenti Gonzaga family.

Starting with the 1970s and until 2005, the top floor of Palazzo Papadopoli was the seat of the Institute of Marine Sciences, part of the National Research Council of Italy.

In 2007, the palace was partially leased to a Swiss real estate group which converted it into a hotel. It was later purchased by a Singaporean hotel chain which transformed it into a 7-star hotel with 24 extra-luxury suites in 2013, taking the name of Aman Grand Canal.

ARCHITECTURE OF PALAZZO PAPADOPOLI

Palazzo Papadopoli has an L shape plan and consists of three floors.

The symmetrical facade has three levels well highlighted by two string courses. The more imposing one divides the two noble floors, while a less important one divides the second noble floor from the attic.

The facade of the palace is one of the most majestic and balanced facades among those facing Canal Grande. It is characterized by decorations in Istrian stone, visibly inspired by the work of Sebastiano Serlio, and by the overlapping of several serlianas (Venetian or Palladian windows).

On the ground floor, there is a large round portal, flanked by two pairs of overlapping square windows.

The two noble floors, in correspondence with the portal, are embellished by Venetian windows with a balustrade. The one on the first floor is marked by four semi-columns, while the one on the second floor by pilasters.

In addition to the Palladian window, each noble floor has four single-lancet windows surmounted by a raised tympanum. The tympanums are triangular on the first floor and round on the second.

The attic has seven small oval openings, and on the roof there are two pinnacles in the shape of an obelisk, a peculiarity of a few other Venetian facades, such as Palazzo Belloni Battagia and Palazzo Giustinian Lolin.

HOW TO GET TO PALAZZO PAPADOPOLI

Palazzo Papadopoli is located on foot about 1.2 kilometers away from the Santa Lucia railway station. The closest vaporetto stop is San Silvestro, about 350 meters away, on the waterbus Line 1.